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Best Budget GPU/CPU Combos for Survival Games in 2025

By / Tech / June 10, 2025

Discover the best CPU/GPU combos for Survival games in 2025 that will provide you with smooth 60FPS gameplay.

Best Budget GPU/CPU Combos for Survival Games in 2025
The Core i5 12400F and B580 GPU (Image via Amazon)

Survival games, especially open-world ones, attract a large number of fans, typically due to their sandbox nature, which offers endless possibilities for exploration. Now hold on, Minecraft is also one of the biggest hits, but it runs on almost anything. Yes, unless you are modding it with a lot of shaders, it does.

However, Minecraft isn’t the only title that is essentially a survival game; there are also Rust, Ark Survival Evolved, Valheim, and the newly released Runescape, which are pretty demanding for entry-level hardware. Thanks to today’s technological advancements, there are budget GPUs that can play these games at nearly 60 FPS without issues, and this guide covers the GPU and CPU combinations that deliver the best value for your money.

Top Budget CPU/GPU Combos: Intel Core i5-12400F + B580 / RX 9060 XT($400-600 Range)

The Intel Arc B580 GPU (Image via Amazon)
The Intel Arc B580 GPU (Image via Amazon)

At this price segment, although it’s pretty high for the budget category, thanks to game optimizations, you cannot go below this price unless you opt for second-hand options for a seamless gaming experience. That said, at $109, the 12400F is an incredible value-for-money option.

As of 2025, this processor is quite capable, and when paired with either the Intel B580 GPU or the RX 9060 XT, it can efficiently run almost any open-world survival game. Just don’t try Ark Ascended; that game is fundamentally broken. Even the mighty RTX 5090 cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K.

The B580 is the one recommended here the most, as the price-to-performance ratio of that GPU is just unreal. For under $249, you can easily obtain a 12 GB GPU, which is quite capable in terms of ray tracing and rasterization and can achieve reasonable frame rates in games. Only if you want FSR or DLSS, then opt for the Nvidia or AMD counterparts within your price bracket.

AMD Alternative: Ryzen 5 5600 + RX 9070 ($350-550 Range)

Ryzen 5 5600 and AMD RX 9070. (Image via Amazon)
Ryzen 5 5600 and AMD RX 9070. (Image via Amazon)

AMD’s option has significantly stronger GPU performance and an equally capable CPU compared to the Intel lineup. This is possible because AM4 motherboards are incredibly affordable, and DDR4 memory pricing is also very competitive. The GPU, on the other hand, is priced around $449. The performance tier of the 9070 is significantly higher than any 60-class card or even the Intel B580 GPU.

If you choose to go this route, in the future, you can easily pair a second-hand 5950X for stronger multicore performance. X3D chips aren’t exactly recommended for survival games, as they do provide high FPS and averages, but the 1% lows and 0.1% lows are all over the place.

Platform Compatibility

The AMD AM4 build benefits more from the availability of more mature motherboards, meaning you can easily purchase affordable B450 boards. On the other hand, Intel boards are also notably affordable, offering support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Suppose you are choosing the 9070 build but want an Intel CPU. You can do that too; just price-match a motherboard and memory sticks, and you’re all set.

Speaking of games, they will work seamlessly with any of the builds mentioned here. Just remember this: the higher the VRAM, the more visually stunning your games can look.

Performance Expectations

Selecting the 9070 build will yield the highest FPS among all the options mentioned here. That said, in terms of figures, expect 80–100 FPS at 1440p with the 9070 build. While others are capable too, they are more suited for 1080p resolution. The B580 or the 9060 XT can achieve 1440p, but 1080p with high settings and 60+ FPS is their sweet spot. Budget builds were irrelevant a decade ago, but GPUs like the GTX 760, within this price point, offered 2 GB VRAM and created significant problems for survival games such as Ark Survival Evolved.

Now, time and tech have drastically changed things. The 9070 build provided here can easily achieve 60 FPS with tweaked settings at 1080p or even 1440p in Ark Survival Ascended. It just goes to show how budget hardware has evolved in such a brief period.

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