4 Best Cheap Graphics Cards For Fortnite (September, 2023)

Updated on August 6, 2023

Main Specifications:

Clock Speed 1607 MHz
6GB GDDR5 Memory
DirectX 12
192-bit Memory Interface
1x DVD-D, 3 x DP, 1x HDMI 2.0 ports
Max Resolution 7680×4320
400W PSU Requirement

It’s a good balance between price and performance with the GeForce GTX 1060 SC. Despite the fact that it cannot compete with Nvidia’s RTX lineup, this graphics card performs admirably in games like Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. The GTX 1060 SC’s 1607 MHz GDDR5 RAM makes it possible to break the 60fps barrier without having to adjust your in-game settings.

Having a tiny form and dimensions that allow it to fit inside tight PC cases, this GPU impressed us greatly. On top of that, it consumes less power than other mid-range gaming cards available on the market.

A radial fan sits on top of the graphics card to remove the additional heat. The ACX cooling system from Nvidia has fan blades that have been designed to increase airflow while using less power. Additionally, the fan’s quiet operation is aided by a double bear bearing arrangement.

Now, let’s see how well the GTX 1060 SC performs in Fortnite on 1080p.. We didn’t overclock this GPU, yet our fps were consistently above average and free of lags for the majority of the time. Most of the time we were able to play Fortnite on a 1080p 144Hz monitor and get more than 100 fps.

Keep in mind, however, that we were utilising a Core i9 9900K at a stock clock speed of 3.6 GHz when testing this GPU with Fortnite. So if you have an earlier generation CPU and a GTX 1060 SC, your average fps may be different.

Even in games like Fortnite where there are no lags or graphical flaws, this is an excellent mid-range chip.

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Table of Contents

2. XFX Radeon RX 580 GTS Black Edition

Main Specifications:

Overclocked at 1405 MHz
8GB GDDR5 Video Memory
256-bit Memory Interface
XFX Double Dissipation Cooling Technology
3xDP, 1xHDMI, 1xDVI Video Output
PCIe 3.0
7680 x 4320 Max Resolution
400W PSU Requirement

Undoubtedly, Radeon RX 580 GTS Black Edition remains the first choice of many budget gamers throughout the world. This GPU has given a tough time to Nvidia’s most promised gaming cards like the GTX 1060 and GTX 1070 in many games. And the reason for that is its high-end specs and performance in AAA game titles.

Now where GDDR6 type graphics cards are raging the market, GPUs like RX 580 still hold someplace when it comes to playing famous games like Fortnite, PUBG, and Overwatch. First of all, it is because this video card is factory overclocked at 1405 MHz, good enough to deliver stable frame rates at 1080p resolution.

Radeon RX 580 GTS Black Edition is a phenomenal graphics card with 2,304 stream processors, 8GB of GDDR5 video memory, and a 256-bit memory interface. We at GPURepublic, are fans of 256-bit graphics cards due to their powerful gaming capabilities, and this card keeps up to our expectations in this case.

And if we head over to the cooling solution on this graphics card, it leaves us with no words at all. Like, this GPU is designed keeping in mind all the work that a gamer can take from it.

Furthermore, it features AMD’s XFX double dissipation cooling technology which gives it a little edge over Nvidia’s GTX 1660 SC. On top of that, two powerful fans improve thermal efficiency and make this GPU an ideal choice for overclockers.

Now let’s talk about the Fortnite gameplay on this GPU. Just like the Nvidia GTX 1660 SC, we set the resolution of the game to FHD. The RX 580 GTS Black Edition showed impressive performance in Fortnite at 1080p resolution with frame rates over 60fps most of the time.

However, keep in mind that the RX 580 GTS draws more power as compared to the Nvidia GTX 1660 SC. So if you have made your mind to this graphics card, make sure you have a high-wattage PSU on other hand to avoid any issues.

All in all, this graphics card is a worthy investment for playing modern games without breaking your bank for high-end flagship cards. All you need is a good processor and enough ram that keeps up with the capabilities of this GPU.

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3. Geforce GTX 1050 Ti

Main Specifications:

Boost Clock 1430 MHz
4GB GDDR5 Memory
128-bit Memory Interface
DirectX 12
300 PSU Recommended
8K Resolution Output

GTX 1050 Ti is an old friend, and while it cannot compete with today’s GPUs, it can still satiate your Fortnite cravings. When it comes to price and performance, this graphics card falls somewhere on the lower end of the spectrum. If you’re looking to save money on other gaming accessories, this graphics card is an excellent choice.

Many AAA titles have awarded the GTX 1050 Ti their best performer. Only the 4GB GDDR5 memory and the boost clock speed of 1430 MHz have allowed this GPU to get thus far. Playing Batman: Arkham Origins at its highest settings is possible on this card. Additionally, even with a low-end graphics card, it would be easy to play Fortnite.

In addition, this graphics card consumes very little power. Because this card doesn’t require any external power connector, there is no need to purchase an expensive aftermarket power supply to power it up. The GTX 1050 Ti’s mid-range gaming characteristics, despite its entry-level price, is what we’re most impressed with.

Taking a look at the GTX 1050 Ti’s gaming performance in Fortnite. It was a surprise to us that this GPU performed well even at its highest settings. However, when playing Fortnite at high settings, the average frame rate was approximately 55-85 fps, which is lower than the RX 580 GTS Black Edition and the GTX 1660 SC. But at least for the low price and lower specs, we can put up with a few fps less.

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4. ZOTAC GeForce GT 1030

Main Specifications:

1227 MHz Base Clock
2GB DDR3 Video Memory
PCIe 3.0
64-bit Interface
1x VGA, 1xHDMI 2.0b
Low Profile Bracket
300W PSU Requirment

Zotac’s GeForce GT 1030 is a low-profile graphics card designed for tiny form factor computers. In addition, this video card is perfect for gamers on a tight budget, as it costs no more than $150. You can play Fortnite on your PC at medium settings with this budget-friendly GPU.

Nvidia’s Pascal architecture helps this low-profile graphics card give a lot of power in gaming.. Gaming at 1080p with a GeForce GT 1030 is doomed to stutters and crashes due to its 2GB of DDR3 and 64-bit interface.

This card’s low-profile size are a plus. This GPU is small enough to fit inside even the tiniest of PC cases. This GPU is a good choice for a PC that requires a low-power and compact GPU. It’s more energy efficient and stays cool for the most part. The Zotac GeForce GT 1030 isn’t designed for high fps gaming, but for light gaming, this might be an ideal pick.

On this cheapest GPU, we were pleased with its performance, which is typical of low-cost cards that go under $150 in price range. Average frame rates at 720p were between 55 and 65. However, the game was playable and the lags were barely discernible. If you have a powerful CPU and a good graphics card, you can expect to get more than 70 fps.

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Performance Comparison Table

Graphics Cards	Average Frame Rates in Fortnite (1080p)
EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 SC	147fps
XFX Radeon RX 580 GTS Black Edition	195fps
Geforce GTX 1050 Ti	85fps
ZOTAC GeForce GT 1030	55fps

Game Settings When We Tested These GPUs

In-game settings also affect the performance of the GPU. Here are the settings that we made while testing Fortnite.

Post-Processing & Anti-Aliasing: Off
Shadows: Medium/Off (In case of Zotac GT 1030)
Render Distance: Epic
Resolution: 1080p
Display Resolution: 100%
Effects: Medium
V-Sync: Off
Motion Blurr: Off

Buying Budget-Friendly Graphics Card for Fortnite

The following pointers can be helpful if you’re a beginner gamer who’s not sure how to pick the optimal GPU for playing Fortnite.

VRAM (Video Memory)

If you have a graphics card with at least 2 GB of VRAM, you can play Fortnite without any additional hardware. This is all you need to play the game at the lowest settings. If you want to play Fortnite in 1080p, you’ll need a GPU with at least 6GB of VRAM.

TDP

Thermal design power, or TDP, refers to the maximum wattage a GPU can consume. Certain cards have a lower TDP than others, and some require a high-end power supply to function correctly.. The TDP rating of a particular GPU should be taken into consideration before purchasing a graphics card.

You should also make sure your computer has a solid power source in order to power your graphics card. Your PSU’s wattage requirements are determined by the sort of GPU you’ve selected. A 550W power supply is sufficient to power all of the GPUs on this list.

Dimensions

In some cases, a motherboard’s slot width is nearly doubled when a larger GPU is swapped in for a smaller one. It’s difficult to fit a GPU with more than one fan into a tiny form factor PC chassis. If you plan on using a large graphics card, you’ll need a large PC case to accommodate it.

Connectivity

If you want to play Fortnite in 4K, make sure the GPU you purchase has at least one HDMI port. You should avoid using an old VGA adapter in favour of a graphics card that can support a more advanced display interface, as contemporary displays are no longer compatible with older VGA adapters.

Currently, graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD may be purchased with HDMI and DisplayPort inputs. In order to keep up with the 240Hz refresh rate of your monitor when playing Fortnite at 240 frames per second, you’ll need a display port or an HDMI port.

For faster refresh rate displays, modern graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD use technologies like G-Sync and FreeSync.

Benchmarks

Nowadays, the easiest approach to check out a graphics card’s performance without purchasing it is to look for benchmarks. It provides you a sense of how many frames per second a certain game will run at depending on the graphics card you choose. Benchmarking

However, don’t be fooled by the benchmark results. The benchmark score is also affected by other parameters, such as the CPU, RAM, and so on.

Desktop Used to Test These GPUs

Processors: Core i9 9900K Clocked at 3.8 GHz
RAM: 16GB DDR4 Corsair 3200 MHz
Motherboard: ASUS Z390
Storage: Samsung EVO 1TB SSD
PSU: Cooler Master 750W
Monitor: Acer Nitro XZ342CK Pbmiiphx 144Hz

Recommendation

That concludes our list of the top budget graphics cards for Fortnite. For games like Fortnite and PUBG, the RX580 GTS Black Edition is a better choice, in our opinion. These features, together with their low price, are why this is the case. The GTX 1050 Ti is the best card if you’re looking to save money and don’t care about framerate. If you have a high-end CPU and 8GB of RAM, you can play Fortnite at higher settings with this card.

FAQs

Can a GT 1030 low profile run Fornite?

Despite being a budget graphics card, the GT 1030 can run Fortnite at medium-low settings. On our GT 1030, we were able to play Fortnite on the 1080p setting and get an average of 55 fps. If you reduce the resolution to 720p, the frame rate will still be higher than 60fps.

What GPU can run Fortnite at 60fps?

60 frames per second can be achieved by using a graphics card with at least 4GB of DDR4 RAM connected to a GDDR5 memory interface. The GTX 1050 Ti is the most budget-friendly graphics card on our list, delivering up to 85fps in Fortnite at 1080p settings.

What graphics card can run Fortnite at 240fps?

Higher-end graphics cards, such as those in the Nvidia RTX or AMD RX 6000 series, are recommended in order to achieve this significantly higher frame rate. Additionally, you’ll need a display with a faster refresh rate in order to meet this goal. You can only get 144 frames per second with a high-end graphics card if your monitor is set to 60Hz or 144Hz.

Can you run Fortnite without a graphics card?

If you don’t have a dedicated graphics card, it’s tough to play games such as Fortnite on a motherboard. In order to play Fortnite without a GPU, you must limit your resolution to 720p. Lags and delays are present even at the 720p resolution.

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