Most people who find themselves available in the market for a brand new graphics card have one main query in thoughts: Which card will give me essentially the most bang for my buck? Obviously, the reply will range relying in your funds. Beyond that, there are a variety of things to take into account: Raw efficiency is necessary, however so are issues like noise, the driving force expertise, and supplemental software program. And do you need to pay a premium to get in on the bleeding fringe of real-time ray tracing?
Let us make it straightforward for you. We’ve examined almost each main GPU that’s hit the streets over the previous couple of years, from $100 funds playing cards to $1,800 luxurious fashions. Our data has been distilled into this text—a shopping for information with suggestions on which graphics card to purchase, it doesn’t matter what type of expertise you’re on the lookout for.
Note: There are personalized variations of each graphics card from a bunch of distributors. For instance, you should buy completely different GeForce GTX 3080 fashions from EVGA, Asus, MSI, and Zotac, amongst others.
We’ve linked to our full overview for every advice, however the shopping for hyperlinks result in fashions that hew carefully to every graphics card’s MSRP. Spending additional can get you hefty out-of-the-box overclocks, beefier cooling programs, and extra. Check out our “What to look for in a custom card” part under for tips about how to decide on a personalized card that’s best for you.
Graphics card information
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It’s all however unimaginable to search out graphics playing cards proper now, particularly at sane costs. Our explainer of the perfect GPU storm reveals why. The GeForce RTX 30-series and Radeon RX 6000-series bought out immediately and stay scarce within the face of overwhelming demand, with scalpers and bots snatching them up simply as greedily as fans. Demand is so excessive that even older-generation graphics playing cards are promoting for greater than they price new, years in the past, normally. If you’re caught with no graphics card, take into account trying Nvidia’s free GeForce Now cloud streaming or a next-gen gaming console instead to tide you over. Nvidia simply launched a new RTX 3080 tier for GeForce Now that not solely provides you unique entry to mentioned {hardware}, but additionally provides nifty options like longer 8 hour play periods and 1440p, 120Hz streams, in addition to 4K HDR streams on Nvidia’s Shield TV console. It prices $100 for six months—steep, to make sure, however so much cheaper than the $1,500 to $2,000 you’d drop on a brand new RTX 3080 on Ebay nowadays.
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More inexpensive graphics playing cards might begin to fill out this era quickly. Nvidia lately launched the GeForce RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti for mainstream laptops—the primary time in latest reminiscence a brand new GeForce GPU debuted in laptops relatively than desktops. AMD additionally simply launched its non-XT Radeon RX 6600, the primary true 1080p graphics card of this era—although at $329, it’s not precisely priced for the plenty.
- More aid shall be on the best way quickly (although not too quickly) within the type of a 3rd contender. Intel lately took the wraps off its hotly anticipated “Arc Alchemist” GPUs, constructed on the corporate’s Xe structure. These gamer-focused graphics playing cards—Intel’s first stab at discrete client GPUs—someday within the first quarter of 2022, full with hardware-based ray tracing help and XeSS, an AI-based image upsampling tool constructed to rival Nvidia’s DLSS tech.
- If you’re fortunate sufficient to discover a fairly priced Radeon graphics card, AMD will now toss in a free month of Xbox Game Pass for PC.
- Want to dive even deeper into your {hardware}? We’ve lately printed guides explaining how to benchmark your graphics card and how to turn on AMD’s Smart Access Memory for sooner gaming efficiency, in addition to an explainer on Nvidia’s “Lite Hash Rate” anti-mining technology.
Best funds graphics card
Editor’s notice: Demand is thru the roof for graphics playing cards proper now. Newer fashions promote out immediately and infrequently price a whole bunch of {dollars} greater than MSRP. Even older-generation graphics playing cards are promoting for greater than what they price new, years in the past. We can’t suggest folks purchase graphics playing cards at these markups, however should you’re fortunate sufficient to search out inventory at MSRP, this information ought to assist. Note that costs under talk about MSRP, because it’s unimaginable to remain present with as we speak’s unstable pricing.
The next-gen Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series and AMD Radeon RX 6000-series have but to trickle all the way down to funds markets, an comprehensible twist given how much graphics cards currently sell for. And with even historical used graphics playing cards promoting for a whole bunch of {dollars}, it’s nearly unimaginable to snag a graphics card on a funds proper now. Consider trying Nvidia’s free GeForce Now cloud streaming or a next-gen gaming console instead to tide you over. The new RTX 3080 tier of GeForce Now delivers a top-shelf gaming expertise in case your Internet connection can sustain, however prices $100 for six months, so it is probably not the perfect funds choice. Fortunately, the Priority tier with RTX 2080-class efficiency prices half that, and there’s additionally a free tier that runs on roughly RTX 2060-grade {hardware}.
If you want a neighborhood PC gaming resolution these clearly received’t minimize it although. Your greatest guess is to select up considered one of AMD’s game-ready Ryzen 5000G APUs, which stay in inventory in both DIY form and inside numerous prebuilt systems. “You can build a Ryzen 5 5700G machine today and get outstanding CPU performance along with OK gaming performance,” we mentioned in our review. Yes, you’ll must dial down some graphics choices for the perfect efficiency, however you’ll have the ability to play esports video games and even triple-A titles at a good clip at 720p or 1080p decision. At $259 for the Ryzen 5 5600G and $369 for the Ryzen 7 5700G, they aren’t precisely low cost, particularly because you’ll additionally want a motherboard to plop them into, however keep in mind that you’re getting each a CPU and a doable GPU stand-in for the worth. And hey, they’re really in inventory.
Best 1080p graphics card
Editor’s notice: Demand is thru the roof for graphics playing cards proper now. Newer fashions promote out immediately and infrequently price a whole bunch of {dollars} greater than MSRP. Even older-generation graphics playing cards are promoting for greater than what they price new, years in the past. We can’t suggest folks purchase graphics playing cards at these markups, however should you’re fortunate sufficient to search out inventory at MSRP, this information ought to assist. Note that costs under talk about MSRP, because it’s unimaginable to remain present with as we speak’s unstable pricing.
The next-gen Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series and AMD Radeon RX 6000-series have but to trickle all the way down to extra mainstream worth factors, an comprehensible twist given how much graphics cards currently sell for. That mentioned, the Radeon RX 6600 is an efficient choice for wonderful 1080p gaming at 60 frames per second or larger, assuming you’re prepared to spend $330 or extra for 1080p gaming, a worth that will be thought of completely outrageous pre-pandemic. (You is perhaps higher off shopping for a console or turning to cloud gaming as a substitute.) AMD’s GPU is the primary true 1080p/60 graphics card of this era, and it boasts excessive energy effectivity that helps preserve it working cool and quiet in your system, although it isn’t the most suitable choice should you’re hoping to flip on ray tracing.
The (ostensibly) $330 GeForce RTX 3060 is a good choice for top refresh fee 1080p gaming if you will get your fingers on one, whereas the $379 Radeon RX 6600 XT is even sooner but. They’re overkill should you’re gaming on a regular 60Hz show, nevertheless, and going for $500 to $800 on the streets, so you might have a greater time discovering a Radeon RX 6600 or an older, much less highly effective GPU should you’re missing a excessive refresh fee show. Both would even be uninspiring on account of their excessive sticker costs if the GPU market wasn’t completely bonkers proper now. If yow will discover an RTX 3060 at MSRP, it’s a greater choice than the identically priced Radeon RX 6600—it’s sooner, has 4GB extra VRAM, and handles ray tracing higher—however in the true world you’re in all probability going to should spend $675 or extra to get one. Gross.
The GeForce RTX 1660, 1660 Super, and 1660 Ti are all good 1080p gaming choices for 60Hz panels, as is AMD’s older Radeon RX 5600 XT and 5700. The GeForce RTX 2060 can be value contemplating in order for you ray tracing and DLSS capabilities. Even older choices just like the Radeon RX 580 and 590 or Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1060 can do in a pinch, although you’ll must make some visible compromises as they’re actually beginning to present their age.
Best 1440p graphics card
Editor’s notice: Demand is thru the roof for graphics playing cards proper now. Newer fashions promote out immediately and infrequently price a whole bunch of {dollars} greater than MSRP. Even older-generation graphics playing cards are promoting for greater than what they price new, years in the past. We can’t suggest folks purchase graphics playing cards at these markups, however should you’re fortunate sufficient to search out inventory at MSRP, this information ought to assist. Note that costs under talk about MSRP, because it’s unimaginable to remain present with as we speak’s unstable pricing.
If you’re trying to drive a 1440p show at 60-plus frames per second (and infrequently a lot larger) with no graphical compromises, Nvidia’s $400 GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is a “virtually flawless” choice. It’s sooner than final era’s $800 RTX 2080 Super—the second strongest GPU on the planet till a couple of months in the past. “That performance paired with 8GB of GDDR6 memory makes the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti a fantastic 1440p gaming option,” we mentioned in our overview. “It exceeds the hallowed 60-frames-per-second mark in every game tested at that resolution, even with the most strenuous visual settings enabled. It flies well beyond that mark in several games, and it should have no problem holding 90 fps+ at 1440p in most titles if you don’t mind performing minor tuning on graphics options.”
The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti performs ray tracing higher than AMD’s most costly GPUs, thanks in no small half to Nvidia’s unbelievable DLSS 2.0 know-how. It’s additionally able to effective 4K gaming, however the 8GB of reminiscence might maintain it again future 4K video games.
If you have got a 120Hz+ 1440p monitor, the $500 GeForce RTX 3070 can be value contemplating, nevertheless it’s solely 9 p.c to 15 p.c sooner than the RTX 3060 Ti at 1440p relying on the sport for 25 p.c more money. That makes the RTX 3060 Ti a greater choice for most individuals, although the RTX 3070’s efficiency increase could also be worthwhile should you maintain onto your graphics playing cards for an particularly very long time earlier than upgrading once more.
The $600 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti could be very barely sooner than that, though it comes with a lot sooner GDDR6X reminiscence. Most folks ought to get the 3060 Ti if they will discover one at a semi-reasonable worth.
The GeForce RTX 3070 (and 3060 Ti) solely has 8GB of GDDR6 reminiscence. That won’t be sufficient for 4K gaming going ahead, nevertheless it’s effective for 1440p in most eventualities—however not all. Watch Dogs Legion, for instance, makes use of greater than 8GB of VRAM at 1440p should you crank up the graphics settings and activate real-time ray tracing. If you’re leery, take into account shopping for the $580 Radeon RX 6800 instead. You pay a bit extra for a bit sooner efficiency, however extra importantly, AMD loaded the Radeon RX 6800 with an ample 16GB of GDDR6 reminiscence. Nvidia’s RTX 30-series playing cards are a lot, a lot higher at ray tracing, nevertheless—and $80 cheaper.
The step-down AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT comes with 12GB of VRAM. It delivers nice 1440p gaming efficiency that’s a little bit bit sooner than the RTX 3060 Ti, however at $479 and up, it’s priced extra in-tune with the RTX 3070, and that comparability does it no favors.
Turning again to Nvidia, the $330 GeForce RTX 3060 additionally presents an ample 12GB of reminiscence (thanks for the market strain, AMD!) together with a very good entry-level 1440p expertise. You may have to show down the graphics settings a bit in particularly intense video games to hit 60fps, however this should not have any downside surpassing that hallowed goal in each title.
If you’re trying to max out a excessive refresh-rate 1440p monitor, or drive a 3440×1440 ultrawide monitor, Nvidia’s $700 GeForce RTX 3080 and AMD’s $650 Radeon RX 6800 XT are stellar choices that commerce blows in uncooked efficiency. Even with all of the visible settings cranked to Ultra, these monstrous playing cards ship above 100fps at 1440p decision throughout the 10+ video games we examined, and infrequently effectively above. The RTX 3080 and Radeon RX 6800 XT ship over 50 p.c extra efficiency than the RTX 2080 as a baseline throughout the board and beat even the RTX 2080 Ti by a wholesome margin.
All of those choices are additionally quick sufficient to play ray traced video games at a easy clip at 1440p—one thing you couldn’t say with older RTX 20-series playing cards. You might must tweak some visible choices again when enabling ray tracing on AMD’s playing cards, nevertheless, whereas sooner RT cores and DLSS know-how imply you received’t must make the identical sacrifices with Nvidia’s GPU. AMD holds the reminiscence capability edge as soon as once more, nevertheless, at 16GB of GDDR6 versus 10GB of GDDR6X within the RTX 3080, however that shouldn’t matter an excessive amount of at 1440p decision.
Don’t purchase the RTX 3080 or Radeon RX 6800 should you solely have a 60Hz 1440p monitor. They’re costly overkill until you have got a 120Hz-plus 1440p monitor that may put it ludicrous speeds to good use. They’re a effective pairing with a 60Hz 3440×1440 ultrawide show, although, as that larger decision is extra demanding.
Best 4K graphics card
The similar considerations we listed about last-gen playing cards in our 1440p part proceed right here. The arrival of the brand new era of Radeon and GeForce GPUs instantly turned most high-end cards from before into horrible values, and prices for all graphics cards are crazy proper now, however you have got extra choices amongst premium GPUs should you’re fortunate sufficient to get your fingers on one.
The greatest concerns between AMD and Nvidia up right here within the excessive finish? Ray tracing and reminiscence capability. AMD’s Radeon 6000-series GPUs include huge 16GB reminiscence swimming pools that ought to deal with every thing video games throw at them for the foreseeable future. By distinction, Nvidia wasn’t fairly as beneficiant with the reminiscence in its RTX lineup, and a few uncommon, particularly strenuous video games are already pushing GeForce VRAM limits. But the RTX 30-series supply vastly superior ray tracing efficiency, each in uncooked horsepower and with the large uplift supplied by DLSS 2.0 supersampling, which AMD at present has no reply for. Ray tracing is choosing up steam now that it’s within the next-gen consoles however stays comparatively uncommon in as we speak’s video games, nevertheless.
Pick your poison; these are all nice graphics playing cards.
If you’re on a $500 funds, or attempting to energy a 60Hz 4K monitor, the $500 GeForce RTX 3070 is value contemplating. It’s simply as quick as the previous $1,200 RTX 2080 Ti flagship and exceeds or flirts with the 60fps mark in most—however not all—video games at 4K decision with graphics settings maxed out. Be warned that you simply’ll must dial the visuals in some video games again to hit 60fps, although, and the cardboard can battle should you activate ray tracing in video games that help it.
The RTX 3070’s modest 8GB reminiscence buffer isn’t more likely to be very future-proof both, as some video games already exceed that capability at 4K, so we take into account Nvidia’s $500 card higher for top refresh fee 1440p gaming, or 4K gaming with some small potential high quality compromises. High graphics settings nonetheless look nice at 4K, although the 8GB of VRAM would make me leery about shopping for the RTX 3070 as a long-term 4K gaming resolution.
The $600 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti has sooner GDDR6X reminiscence and barely extra horsepower so it handles 4K a bit higher than its non-Ti namesake, although all the identical caveats typically exist for that card as effectively.
If you don’t need to make these occasional graphics high quality tweaks or fear about whether or not 8GB of reminiscence shall be sufficient for 4K gaming in a yr or two, take into account AMD’s $580 Radeon RX 6800 as a substitute. It’s a bit sooner than the RTX 3070 and comes with a beneficiant 16GB of GDDR6 reminiscence. AMD’s Smart Access Memory know-how additionally provides Radeon RX 6000-series graphics playing cards an extra velocity increase when paired with a Ryzen 5000 processor in an X570 motherboard.
If you need even sooner efficiency, or have a excessive refresh fee 4K monitor, step as much as the $650 Radeon RX 6800 XT or $700 GeForce RTX 3080. They kick ass, take names, and commerce efficiency blows. There aren’t any video games in our check suite that fail to clear a 60-frames-per-second common at 4K decision with all doable visuals results enabled on these playing cards, they usually usually exceeds that mark by far.
The GeForce RTX 3080 and Radeon RX 6800 XT spit out frames as much as 80 p.c sooner than the RTX 2080 in a number of video games at 4K, and 60 p.c larger within the others. They’re roughly 30 p.c sooner than the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, the $1,200 previous-gen flagship, and a ridonkulous 100 to 160 p.c sooner than the older GeForce GTX 1080. The overwhelming horsepower makes these wonderful choices for 3440×1440 ultrawide gaming, too.
The characteristic variations are particularly key right here. The Radeon RX 6800 XT packs a future-proof 16GB of GDDR6 reminiscence, versus 10GB of sooner GDDR6X reminiscence within the RTX 3080. But Nvidia’s ray tracing benefit shines even brighter on the high-end, as its second-gen RT cores and DLSS know-how allow 4K gaming with ray tracing enabled. AMD’s playing cards merely can’t play ray traced video games past 1440p with out body charges slowing to a crawl.
Moving up but larger, the much more monstrous GeForce RTX 3090 “BFGPU” wields 10,496 CUDA cores, SLI connectors, and an enormous 24GB of that speedy GDDR6X reminiscence. It’s a shocking worth for creators who can faucet into all that VRAM, and may obtain 60fps gaming at a daft 8K decision in a handful of video games, nevertheless it’s solely about 10 to 15 p.c sooner than the RTX 3080 at 4K for over twice the worth. Most folks ought to get the RTX 3080 as a substitute for a still-superb 4K expertise, however there’s no denying the GeForce RTX 3090 is the quickest gaming card on the planet—although AMD’s $999 Radeon RX 6900 XT hopes to problem that declare when it releases on December 8.
In a shock twist, Nvidia’s personal Founders Edition cooler is phenomenal, which makes it a greater purchase than custom cards because the FE mannequin sells on the card’s $1,499 MSRP, relatively than coming with a steep premium. We’ve bought 3440×1440 ultrawide benchmarks for the RTX 3090, too.
If you’re prepared to spend 4 figures on a graphics card although, your greatest guess is the $1200 GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. It’s simply as quick because the 3090 primarily, however knocks $300 off the worth tag by dropping the GDDR6X reminiscence capability from a daft 24GB all the way down to a still-great-for-4K 12GB.
For the primary time in a very long time, AMD presents a rival to Nvidia’s flagship GeForce GPU, nevertheless it’s arduous to suggest the $1,000 Radeon RX 6900 XT regardless of its steep low cost towards the RTX 3090. It’s solely two p.c slower than the RTX 3090 at 1440p gaming, so it could possibly be value contemplating for a high-refresh fee 1440p monitor, or for powering a 3440×1440 ultrawide experience, the place it performs very effectively. It is also a stable choice for Linux customers, since AMD drivers carry out with a lot much less headache there. And this card additionally presents far more overclocking headroom than rival GeForce GPUs should you’re into hardcore tweaking.
But the Radeon RX 6900 XT loses to the RTX 3090 by over 9 p.c at 4K gaming, and since AMD doesn’t supply a DLSS rival, ray traced video games are restricted to 1440p decision—a bummer in a four-figure graphics card. And the $650 Radeon RX 6800 XT is sort of as quick for $350 much less, whereas the $700 RTX 3080 is basically as quick at 4K with significantly better ray tracing efficiency. This is a unbelievable graphics card, and it’s great to see AMD competing towards Nvidia on the excessive finish after an extended absence, however the Radeon RX 6900 XT doesn’t carve out a robust area of interest for itself. Hot-rodded customized variations of this GPU might maintain a variety of potential after they hit the streets, although.
What to search for in a customized card
If you need to store past the scope of our picks, know that discovering the fitting graphics card might be difficult. Various distributors supply personalized variations of each GPU. For instance, you should buy completely different Radeon RX 6700 XT fashions from Sapphire, XFX, Asus, MSI, and PowerColor.
To assist slender down the choices and discover the fitting card for you, it is best to take into account the next issues when doing all your analysis:
Overclocks: Higher-priced customized fashions are sometimes overclocked out-of-the-box to various levels, which may result in larger efficiency. Most fashionable customized playing cards supply the identical important stage of efficiency,nevertheless.
Cooling options: Many graphics playing cards can be found with customized coolers that decrease temperatures and fan noise. The overwhelming majority carry out effectively. Liquid-cooled graphics playing cards run even cooler, however require additional room inside your case for the tubing and radiator. Avoid graphics playing cards with single-fan, blower-style cooling programs should you will help it, until you have got a small-form-factor PC or plan on utilizing customized water-cooling blocks.
Size: Many graphics playing cards are of an identical measurement, however longer and shorter fashions of many GPUs exist. High-end graphics playing cards are beginning to sport particularly huge customized cooling options to tame their enthusiast-class GPUs. Double-check that your chosen graphics card will slot in your case before you purchase.
Compatibility: Not all {hardware} helps a variety of connectivity choices. Higher-end graphics playing cards might lack DVI ports, whereas lower-end displays might lack DisplayPorts. Only essentially the most fashionable Radeon and GeForce graphics playing cards help HDMI 2.1 outputs. Ensure your graphics card and monitor can join to one another. Likewise, ensure that your energy provide meets the beneficial wattage for the graphics card you select.
Real-time ray tracing and DLSS: AMD’s Radeon RX 6000-sereis graphics playing cards and all of Nvidia’s RTX choices can play video games with real-time ray tracing results lively. Nvidia’s RTX 30-series GPUs maintain an enormous benefit over every thing else although, propelled even additional by devoted tensor cores for processing machine studying duties comparable to Deep Learning Super Sampling, which makes use of AI to hurry up the efficiency of your video games with minimal hit to visible constancy. GeForce RTX 20-series GPUs additionally help DLSS, however AMD has no reply for it but, although the corporate is teasing a extra open “FidelityFX Super Resolution” characteristic to rival it within the coming months.
Check out our latest opinions
Below is an inventory of our most up-to-date opinions for particular person graphics playing cards. We’ve saved it to essentially the most present GPUs.
Radeon RX 6800 XT
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Founders Edition
Radeon RX 5700 XT
GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition
