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The Intel i5-6400 is a modest 4-core/4-thread Skylake chip, so the smart play is a value GPU that maxes out 1080p without overspending on power the CPU can’t feed. Anything beyond the mid-range tier is wasted on this processor. Here are the cards that hit the sweet spot for a 1080p build around the i5-6400.
| # | Product | Price | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMD Radeon RX 6600 | $190–$230 | Amazon · eBay |
| 2 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super | $160–$210 | Amazon · eBay |
| 3 | Intel Arc A580 / A750 | $170–$220 | Amazon · eBay |
| 4 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB (Budget/Used) | $70–$110 (used) | Amazon · eBay |
1. AMD Radeon RX 6600
The best all-round 1080p value card for this CPU — strong frame rates, low power draw, and no meaningful bottleneck on the i5-6400.
- 8GB GDDR6
- Excellent 1080p performance
- Low ~132W power draw
- PCIe 4.0 (works fine on PCIe 3.0 boards)
- Ideal performance match for the i5-6400
- Runs cool and quiet
- Modern features and drivers
- The i5-6400 will cap it in CPU-heavy games
- No ray-tracing muscle to speak of
Price: $190–$230
2. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super
A proven 1080p workhorse and a frequent recommendation for older i5 builds — plenty of power without overshooting the CPU.
- 6GB GDDR6
- Strong 1080p 60fps+ performance
- ~125W power draw
- Great driver maturity
- Well-balanced with the i5-6400
- Modest power needs
- Widely available new and used
- 6GB VRAM is tight for newest titles
- No DLSS support
Price: $160–$210
3. Intel Arc A580 / A750
The value disruptor — strong 1080p performance per dollar, ideal if your board supports Resizable BAR (most B250/Z270 do via BIOS update).
- 8GB GDDR6
- Hardware ray tracing + XeSS
- Good 1080p/1440p value
- Resizable BAR recommended
- Lots of performance for the money
- 8GB VRAM headroom
- Modern feature set
- Needs Resizable BAR to perform — older boards may lack it
- Driver quirks in some older games
Price: $170–$220
4. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB (Budget/Used)
The rock-bottom budget option — a used 1060 6GB still handles 1080p in most games and pairs cleanly with the i5-6400.
- 6GB GDDR6/GDDR5
- Solid 1080p performance
- ~120W power draw
- Cheap on the used market
- Lowest cost to get gaming
- No bottleneck with this CPU
- Easy to find used
- Aging architecture, no new features
- Used-only at this point — verify condition
Price: $70–$110 (used)
Buying tips
- Don’t overspend: the i5-6400 will bottleneck anything much above an RX 6600 / GTX 1660 Super, so a stronger card is wasted money.
- Check your power supply has the right PCIe connectors (most of these need a single 6- or 8-pin).
- For Intel Arc, enable Resizable BAR in BIOS — without it, performance drops sharply on these cards.
- Pair with 16GB of RAM if you can; on this platform RAM helps 1% lows more than a pricier GPU would.
- If you plan to upgrade the whole PC soon, buy the GPU that can move to the new build (RX 6600 or Arc).
As an Amazon Associate and eBay Partner, toptenpick.com earns from qualifying purchases. Prices and availability are subject to change.