Join Patreon
 Join Patreon

Best Budget GPU/CPU Combos for Strategy Games in 2025

By / Tech / June 10, 2025

Discover the best CPU/GPU combos for strategy games that balance visual fidelity and performance without costing a fortune.

Best Budget GPU/CPU Combos for Strategy Games in 2025
An image showing the Core I5 12400F and AMD RX 7600 XT (Image via Amazon)

Unlike every other game, RTS (Real-Time Strategy) games are easier to run. Titles such as Total War, Age of Empires IV, Age of Mythology, and Tropico follow that trend. However, some titles are quite demanding as well, such as Cities: Skylines 2, Anno, and the Civilization Series, which tax the CPU and GPU equally. For these tasks, a significant amount of GPU and CPU horsepower is required; pairing the wrong hardware will cause bottlenecks within your system and may leave either the CPU or GPU underutilized. For this reason, we recommend the following GPU/CPU combinations to avoid performance issues.

Top Budget CPU/GPU Combos: Intel Core i5-12400F + AMD Radeon RX 6600 ($270-300)

Best Budget GPU/CPU Combos for Racing and Sports Games in 2025
Image showing the RX 7600 XT (Image via Amazon)

The Core I5 12400F and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 make an incredible pairing for gamers on a tight budget. The 12400F features six performance cores and twelve threads, with a 4.4 GHz boost clock, which is sufficient for this type of game. At around $110, it’s incredibly affordable. The RX 6600 is a perfect pairing with the 12400F; it has 8GB of VRAM, which is sufficient for games like these, provided you keep in-game settings reasonable. If you consider increasing your budget, you can opt for the RX 9060 XT; it will be well worth it.

AMD Alternative: Ryzen 5 5600 + Intel B570 ($300-$350)

Best Budget GPU/CPU Combos for Strategy Games in 2025
Image showing Ryzen 5 5600 and Intel Arc B570 GPU (Image via Amazon, Asrock)

This particular combination, utilising the Ryzen 5 5600 alongside an Intel B570 Battlemage GPU, is more potent than the Intel-specced version. The B570 Battlemage GPU, in particular, has a clear edge over any other product in this budget lineup, with 10GB VRAM and incredible overclocking potential. All of your games, whether it’s Civ6 or Cities: Skylines 2, will run rock solid. 

High Performance Option: Intel Core i5-14600K + RTX 5060 Ti ($650-700)

As mentioned, some RTS or Real Time Strategy titles are heavier than the others, for which a stronger CPU and a stronger GPU are necessary. Now, at this resolution, the optimal gaming resolution is 1440p. The Core i5-14600K can be purchased for $200, and the 5060 Ti for $400. You can opt for the 9060XT 16GB, which is a viable option here, but some titles mentioned, such as the Civilization Series, Cities Skylines 2, Anno, and Age of Empires, tend to favor Nvidia GPUs.

RTS-Specific Considerations

If you want the absolute best in terms of RTS gaming capabilities, here are a few things you should know. RTS games. First of all, these games are heavily reliant on single-core CPU performance and the processor’s clock speed. A significant amount of AI calculations are involved, alongside physics simulations. Titles like Cities: Skylines 2 and Anno use heavy multi-threading, coupled with single-core usage. For all these use patterns, an X3D chip is the best option; however, it is costly for what it offers, and at its price, a much more powerful GPU and CPU combination become effective alternatives. The current Gen X3D chips are best suited for RTX 4090 and above tier GPUs only, as only then will you notice the advantages that the 3D V-cache offers.

Platform Compatibility

To begin with, both the AM4 and LGA 1700 from Intel are discontinued, which makes them incredibly affordable. That said, both platforms are still extremely potent and are good considerations for RTS-oriented builds.  If you solely want PCIe Gen 5.0, then you can opt for the Intel build. If the latest and greatest doesn’t matter to you, go with the AM4. Either will hold up fine. If you have existing DDR4 memory lying around, both platforms will work fine for you. Intel supports both DDR4 and DDR5, depending on the motherboard choice. AM4 is only DDR4. The CPU and GPU combos mentioned in this guide will be easily compatible with any RTS you throw at them.

Performance Expectations

Performance-wise, be assured, even the budget combo will provide at least 100 FPS in games, as long as you keep the settings sensible. As for the performance rigs, they are designed primarily for 1440p rather than 1080p. Expect the same amount of FPS with those combos too, but at a higher resolution. Ultimately, remember that strategy games benefit more from processor performance than GPU horsepower. Titles like Anno, Cities: Skylines 2, and the Civilization series paint this picture.

We provide the latest news and “How To’s” for Tech content. Meanwhile, you can check out the following articles related to PC GPUs, CPU and GPU comparisons, mobile phones, and more:

You may also like:

Start typing and press enter to search