8 Best Graphics Cards for Ryzen 9 3900X & 3950X Builds

Best GPU for Productivity/Workstation

We recommend a low-cost graphics card to folks who want to use their new computer mostly for business, and not for gaming or other entertainment purposes. There are still some productivity jobs that can benefit from a good graphics card, such as some sorts of rendering. Even if you don’t consider yourself a gamer at the moment, you never know when you could feel the need to give a new title a try.. As a result, we recommend the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super or AMD Radeon RX 5600XT for nearly exclusively productivity-oriented users.

1660 Super is a superior value for money in terms of price-to-performance ratio as of today. Nvidia was able to develop this ultra-efficient GPU, which performs like a 1660 Ti but costs the same as a 1660, because to the increase in GDDR6 RAM. When it comes to gaming, this will fall short of a 3900X/3950X in terms of performance, but it will still deliver an enjoyable experience. We also like the ASUS TUF GTX 1660 Super’s combination of excellent cooling, strong build quality, and pricing at $230.

If you’re a fan of Team Red, the RX 5600XT will provide you 5% more performance, but at a 20% price premium. Our preferred PowerColor RX 5600 XT model costs $50 more at $280 than the 5600XT, which has the advantage of being a newer card with more potential for overclocking. This means that if you don’t need an AMD GPU, we recommend the 1660 Super above the 1660.

Best GPU for Light Gaming

Even if you don’t plan to play games on a daily basis, you still want to be able to run your favourite titles at a steady 100+ frames per second at Full HD. You’re searching for a workhorse, but you’ll occasionally play games on it, and you want it to look good and run smoothly. To describe yourself as a light gamer, we suggest the Radeon RX 5700 from Team Red or Radeon 2060 Super from Team Green.

A new generation of RTX cards from Nvidia, the 2060 Super, features hardware raytracing and a significant performance gain thanks to the Turing architecture. Most games can run at 1080p at 144hz on the 2060 Super, which is both incredibly efficient and very powerful. When it comes to future-proofing your PC, the 2060 Super’s 8GB of GDDR6 RAM is a big step forward from the 1660 Ti/Super and the vanilla 2060, and should ensure that you can run even next-generation titles, though perhaps at somewhat lower settings. The MSI Ventus 2060 Super OC is our top pick for the 2060 Super because of its excellent cooling, straightforward design, and the usual high quality of MSI products. It costs $410 at the time of writing.

AMD’s proposal in this area, in contrast to the one above, has a much better chance of beating out the Green Machine. At under $100, the Radeon RX 5700 is a capable graphics card. As a result of the lack of hardware accelerated ray tracing, the 2060 Super may be a better option than 2060 if you’re looking to keep up with the latest and greatest in technology. Alternatively, the RX 5700’s comparable performance at a cheaper price may make it more tempting given the absence of titles that utilise ray tracing.

If you decide to go with Team Red, the XFX RADEON RX 5700 DD Ultra is an excellent deal. The dual-fan cooling system isn’t the best of the AIB versions, but the insane value at $300 is tough to top. To put it in context: That card is $50-$60 cheaper than the next dual-fan AIB card, and $100 cheaper than the 2060 Super.

Best GPU for Enthusiast Gamer

Those who intend to play video games on a regular basis fall into either this category or the one after it. For 1440p 144hz gaming, the 3900X and the 3950X are both more than capable of keeping up. A newer generation card that can keep up with the 3900X/3950X, even if it doesn’t let it achieve its full potential, is what we recommend for a mixed user that wants to balance their GPU with this powerful CPU while also gaming on a regular basis. We recommend the Nvidia RTX 2070 Super or AMD RADEON RX 5700XT for enthusiast-level gamers who plan to play recent games at 1440p when their system isn’t being used for productivity tasks.

The 2070 Super is a stunning piece of technology. It boasts a lot of muscle, allowing it to run 1440p games at 100+ frames per second, as well as hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which could become increasingly relevant in the future. In terms of power and performance, Nvidia hit a sweet spot in the middle of the high-end market with this card. Even if it’s more expensive than the Team Red option below, you’re getting a lot more bang for your buck with this one. It should come as no surprise that our pick for the best 2070 Super companion card is the MSI VENTUS RTX 2070 Super. Even while the MSI VENTUS is presently $490, or less than the reference price of the 2070 Super’s dual-fan cooling, it’s still a wonderful purchase.

Beautiful card, the 2070 Super. Aside from being able to play 1440p games at 100+ frames per second, it boasts hardware accelerated ray tracing, which should prove valuable in the future, and optimised drivers that allow it to function without issue. With this card, Nvidia has struck a sweet spot in the middle of the high-end market, giving enough power and performance at a reasonable price. Compared to the Team Red product below, it’s still pricey, but you get a lot of bang for your buck with this one. The MSI VENTUS RTX 2070 Super is our top pick for the 2070 Super companion card. It’s worth noting that the MSI VENTUS is now $490 (or less) cheaper than the 2070 Super’s reference cooling solution, making it an excellent value.

Best GPU for Hardcore Gamer

There’s just one choice for gamers who want to get the most out of their 3900X/3950X, and that’s to go with Team Green. At the very top, the sole consideration is how much money you’re prepared to pay. The Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti is the finest consumer GPU if you have an infinite budget, but it’s expensive! The RTX 2080 Super will offer you enough power to let the 3900X/3950X run for a while even if you can’t afford the top-of-the-line RTX 2080.