5 upgrades for your PC setup while you wait for GPU prices to fall

Buying a decent GPU at MSRP is impossible right now — it sucks, but it’s true. GPUs like the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RX 9070 XT are either out of stock everywhere, or available at massively inflated prices. While you wait for GPU pricing to return to normalcy again, you should consider upgrading some other elements of your gaming setup, so you’re fully ready to take your new GPU for a spin whenever you’re able to buy it. Thankfully, the rest of the PC hardware market remains largely unaffected by the pricing crisis plaguing GPUs.

You might be eyeing a current-gen GPU for a significant boost in gaming performance, but without a reasonably powerful CPU, modern storage and memory technologies, and a quality gaming monitor, a new graphics card will feel much less impressive. So, put that money you saved to good use, and scratch that upgrade itch with these five essential PC setup upgrades.

5

A quality gaming headset

It can make a world of difference

High-end gaming is a lot about immersion; you want to get lost in another world in a suspension of disbelief. It’s not easy to do that, however, without immersive sound, and a high-quality gaming headset is the only thing that can remedy that. The best PC speakers might be loud, crisp, and well-tuned, but they can’t possibly replicate the effect of a pair of headphones on your ears, delivering the soundscape of the game world directly to your senses.

I like my soundbar, and I don’t miss the extra weight on my neck, but when I fire up a game like Alan Wake 2, Silent Hill 2, or Ghost of Tsushima, I gladly give up some comfort for the unparalleled proximity I feel to the action on the screen. Of course, I can’t do without my headset mic when I’m playing with friends, or playing music with my partner working in the same room. If you don’t have a good pair of headphones, I’d highly recommend you get one before your new GPU comes in.

Razer BlackShark V2

$91 $100 Save
$9

The Razer BlackShark V2 wired gaming headset offers tons of value for under $100. It offers a good mix of features, including great audio quality with THX Spatial audio, a good-sounding microphone, and more.

Related

Buying a new gaming headset? These are the things I always look for

Use your budget wisely by looking for these features first.

4

A power supply ready for your next GPU

Make sure you’re prepared

GPU manufacturers have had no qualms about the rising power requirements of modern graphics cards. In two generations, we jumped from a 350W RTX 3090 to a 575W RTX 5090, a nearly 250W increase. While you can’t do anything about it, you can at least ensure your power supply is ready for your next GPU. If you built your PC around 3 to 5 years ago, any buffer that you might have accounted for is likely to come up short right now.

So, buying a new power supply is probably one of the first things you should look into before buying your next power-hungry graphics card. Once you’ve decided how much wattage you need on the new PSU, some things to look for are a modular design, 80+ Gold efficiency, ATX 3.0 form factor, and good reviews from reliable publications. You usually don’t need to spend more than around $100–$150 for quality 850W–1200W units. Besides, every cent spent on a quality PSU is worth it.

Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 850W

$110 $130 Save
$20

The Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 850W i a fully modular, 80 Plus Gold-rated power supply supporting the ATX 3.0 standard, and doesn’t cost as much as some other units on the market.

Related

Does efficiency matter when it comes to GPUs?

Is power efficiency important to you when buying a GPU?

3

A fast NVMe SSD

Say ta-ta to SATA

In 2025, SATA SSDs aren’t outdated (especially in terms of cost per GB), but on a gaming PC with 1TB or 2TB drives, there’s no reason to stick to SATA drives anymore. NVMe SSDs cost almost the same as their SATA counterparts at lower capacities, and provide significantly faster performance in not just gaming, but in overall system responsiveness. A 2TB Gen4 NVMe SSD costs only around $100, which, incidentally, is what 2TB SATA SSDs cost.

You don’t need to upgrade to the newer Gen5 SSDs yet, since they’re no faster than Gen4 drives, as far as gaming is concerned. The switch from SATA to NVMe, however, will improve boot time and loading times, and make your PC snappier overall. The improvements will not be as dramatic as those experienced by moving from an HDD to a SATA SSD, but when you’re keeping every other aspect of your PC modern and high-end, why leave your storage behind?

Silicon Power UD90 2TB NVMe

$96 $105 Save
$9

The Silicon Power UD90 2TB NVMe offers affordable Gen4 performance that’s more than enough for modern gaming PCs. Its 5,000MB/s read speed isn’t the best, but the value it offers at the price is unbeatable. 

Related

Should you upgrade to a faster SSD?

If you’re not sure whether you need a new SSD or not, we have all the answers.

2

A stunning gaming monitor

A high-end GPU will need a high-end display

This one is for those who’re still rocking their trusty ol’ 22-inch 1080p 75Hz monitors. When you’re planning to upgrade to a new GPU, your gaming monitor needs to keep pace with it. Without a large and immersive display, your GPU is as good as a paperweight. You should target at least a 1440p monitor with a 27-inch screen, a medium-high refresh rate of around 180Hz, superior brightness and contrast, and decent ergonomics.

With frame generation a big thing on both Nvidia and AI GPUs, you no longer need to restrict your FPS to the raw performance of your GPU. You can easily boost framerates to the 200s on many titles, and having a monitor to experience those frames can enhance your gaming experience by a lot. A high-quality IPS or VA panel is enough to enjoy a good HDR experience; you don’t always need an OLED or QD-OLED monitor.

In terms of size, a 27-inch monitor is ideal for most people, but you could look into 32-inch 4K displays or curved ultrawide monitors for even more immersion. The prices of 27-inch 1440p high-refresh displays have dropped significantly over the last few years, and you only need to spend around half the cost of your new GPU to get a good model. So, before your GPU arrives, make sure your display is ready to deliver all the eye candy you’re looking forward to.

Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS

$209 $269 Save
$60

The ROG Strix XG27ACS is Asus’ answer to budget-friendly competitors with a 1440p 27-inch IPS panel, HDR support, super-fast response time, and a 180Hz refresh rate.

Related

3 reasons why I’m passing OLED monitors and sticking with my IPS for now

OLED monitors are great, but they’re not for everyone.

1

A modern platform

A much-needed upgrade

A new GPU will undoubtedly be a shot in the arm for your PC, but you can’t pair it with an ancient CPU. If you’re running something like the Ryzen 5 3600 or Core i5-10400, your PC deserves a CPU upgrade as well. While older CPUs might not make their age felt in day-to-day usage, and even gaming, you should know that they’re holding back your GPU from its potential, and possibly limiting the features you have access to.

Upgrading to AMD’s AM5 or Intel’s LGA 1700 platform will set you up nicely for the next few years. You can even drop in a new CPU on the same motherboard if you go with AM5. Chips like the Ryzen 5 7600 or Core i5-14600K are great 6-core CPUs for gaming, and are enough to run even high-end GPUs. Plus, a modern platform gives you access to PCIe 5.0 connectivity for GPUs and SSDs, faster DDR5 memory, and more feature-packed motherboards.

PCIe 5.0 might not mean much right now, but future titles will gradually make it inevitable on SSDs due to DirectStorage, and on faster GPUs that can utilize the additional bandwidth.

AMD Ryzen 5 7600

AMD’s Ryzen 5 7600 offers six-core performance at an affordable price. Capable of boosting up to 5.1GHz, this 65W chip is a mighty package with an efficient architecture for a killer gaming build.

Related

3 overlooked reasons you should move on from your ancient CPU

You might not have considered these factors before

Don’t ignore the rest of your build

GPUs might be in a bad place right now, but you can give the rest of the components the attention they deserve. A high-quality gaming headset and a capable gaming monitor can enhance your gaming experience and prepare you for the eventual GPU upgrade. A PSU with enough wattage and a modern NVMe SSD are essential to keep up with the rest of the high-end specs of your build. And, a platform upgrade to AM5 or LGA 1700 will keep your CPU current, complementing your new GPU, and ensuring you aren’t bottlenecked.