Best Budget GPU/CPU Combos for RPGs in 2025

Want smooth RPG performance without breaking the bank? Here are the best budget CPU/GPU combos for games like BG3, Starfield, and more.

Gamers and PC builders alike love to play role-playing games (RPGs). Modern RPGs like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, Starfield, and The Witcher 3 Next-Gen are very demanding to begin with. Not only do these put a hefty load on the CPU side with their complex AI patterns, large crowds, and world systems, but the GPU is also equally taxed to render gorgeous-looking visuals.

From budget builders to mid-range enthusiasts, this guide lists a few combos that, in 2025, can still deliver an incredible gaming experience.

Note: The pieces of advice are based on extensive research using publicly available data, as well as a deep understanding of game mechanics and how hardware scales with them.

Entry-Level Budget GPU/CPU Combos for RPGs ($400–$600)

Entry-level hardware as of 2025 is pretty capable. The following combos make a good pair for your RPG gaming needs. Note that RPG games put an even load on the CPU and GPU simultaneously, especially during open-world traversal, scripting events, or even cinematic sequences. This behaviour makes it very important to maintain a proper balance — a weak CPU will bottleneck rendering, while a weak GPU will limit resolution and visual quality. These recommended combos offer enough headroom for a smooth 1080p to 1440p experience in most modern RPGs.

Best Value Combo: Intel i3-12100F + AMD RX 6600

Great for 1080p gaming at medium-high settings
Great for 1440p with upscaling at low settings
Ideal for Baldur’s Gate 3, Witcher 3, and even lighter Starfield use

Better Alternative: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 + RX 6650 XT

Great for playing Starfield when compared to Nvidia cards
6-core/12-thread CPU handles modern RPGs, including Starfield, comfortably
Best balance of cost and performance for this tier

Additional notes: Consider the following if you are in the used market and want to purchase older hardware for the best value to play BG3. To begin with, Baldur’s Gate 3 is so well optimized that it runs smoothly even on hardware below the minimum specification. For example, an i5-6600K + GTX 1070 can deliver 35–45 FPS @ 1080p high settings. You can easily buy similar hardware; the experience will be the same.

Mid-Range Performance Leaders ($600–$900 Total)

Mid-range hardware strikes a sweet spot for gamers in this segment, as they wish to turn the settings up a bit, enjoy good visual fidelity, and achieve frame rates above 60. That said, the following combos will suffice your RPG needs. At higher resolutions, as mentioned, balancing the right combination of GPU and CPU becomes even more important to avoid bottlenecks in open-world environments, especially during scripted moments.

The combos below offer that balance, enabling immersive gameplay without sacrificing responsiveness and image quality.

Top Pick Combo: Intel i5-12400F + RTX 3060 Ti / RX 6700 XT / 9060 XT

Ideal for 1080p ultra or 1440p high in most RPGs
Handles CPU-heavy scenes like busy cities and significant battles smoothly
GPUs like the 9060 XT are incredible value to begin with

AMD Enthusiast Option: Ryzen 5 5600X + RX 6700 XT / 9060 XT

Well-suited for high-fidelity 1440p RPG gaming
Extra VRAM helps in texture-heavy environments

Game-Specific Notes: Games like Witcher 3 Next-Gen cripple performance with ray tracing, so unless you are on a stronger GPU, it’s better to play with raster only. GPUs like the RTX 4060 struggle at 1440p RT + FG, but plays fine with raster.

Game-Specific Performance Considerations

Below are specific hardware recommendations and technical guidelines for building gaming PCs optimized for modern RPGs, including Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Starfield, Baldur’s Gate 3, and The Witcher 3 Next-Gen. These are based on current system requirements, performance benchmarks, and future-proofing considerations.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Maxing out the game requires an RTX 4090 / RTX 5080-tier GPU and Ryzen 7 7800 X3D-tier CPU
Budget combos, like the ones mentioned here, will require a lot of adjustments; they just cannot max out the game.
Developers delivered some of the best game optimizations in 2025, but it’s still quite heavy to run

Starfield

Favors AMD hardware significantly
Requires a fast CPU + GPU for towns and exploration
SSD mandatory – HDDs cause texture loading issues
Optimization was poor initially, but it seems to run a lot better now

Baldur’s Gate 3

Excellent optimization
Ryzen 3600X + RTX 3070 gets 70–144 FPS at 1440p
Budget combos run it effortlessly
Even IGPs such as 780M and 680M run this game.

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen

Demands high system resources
Ray tracing causes memory leaks
The best experience is to play with Rasterization on the combos mentioned here

Memory and Storage Recommendations

RAM

16GB is still fine for most RPGs
32GB and beyond is ideal for Baldur’s Gate 3, KCD2, and future titles

Storage

SSDs are essential; ensure you have at least one with SATA, if not NVMe
1 TB+ NVMe recommended for seamless loading and open-world streaming

Platform Considerations and Future-Proofing

AMD AM4 Platform

Great value as of 2025
The Ryzen 5600 offers an upgrade path to the 5800X3D for optimal gaming performance.

AMD AM5 (Newer)

Ryzen 7600 = longer viability
Costs more upfront

Intel LGA1700 (12th Gen)

i5-12400F offers strong per-dollar performance
Pairs well with 3060 Ti, 6700XT, and 9060 XT

VRAM Considerations

16GB VRAM GPUs (like RX 9060 XT) are worth it
8GB will get you through, but it’s limited in texture-heavy RPGs

Conclusion

If you’re gaming on a budget in 2025 and want to play modern RPGs smoothly, our recommendations are as follows:

Best Pick: Ryzen 5600 + RX 6700 XT (used) / 9060 XT (new) – great performance across KCD2, Starfield, BG3, and Witcher 3
Budget Entry: i3-12100F + RX 6600 – ideal for 1080p without ray tracing

Avoid expecting ray tracing at this price range – even mid-range cards suffer here. Focus on rasterized performance for a consistent and enjoyable experience in these CPU- and GPU-intensive RPGs.

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Best Budget GPU/CPU Combos for RPGs in 2025

Entry-Level Budget GPU/CPU Combos for RPGs ($400–$600)

Best Value Combo: Intel i3-12100F + AMD RX 6600

Better Alternative: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 + RX 6650 XT