Updated on August 14, 2022
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
You need the best graphics cards in order to play the best games on your PC. While there is no one-size-fits-all answer, we’re here to separate the must-haves from the wish-list items. Some people are seeking for the quickest graphics card, while others are looking for the best overall value. The graphics card has the greatest impact on your gaming experience of any other component, so finding the right balance between performance, affordability, features, and efficiency is critical.
Comparatively, our list of the best graphics cards looks at more than just raw performance when ranking all of the available graphics cards. The weighing of factors such as cost, availability, performance, functionality, and efficiency becomes more subjective as time goes on. In the absence of lower-cost graphics cards, cryptocurrency and Ethereum miners appear to be able to hold onto their GPUs despite ongoing supply chain difficulties.
Unless, of course, you want to wait for the Radeon RX 6500 XT, GeForce RTX 3050, or Intel Arc Alchemist to be announced. AMD and Nvidia have theoretical MSRPs of $199 and $249, respectively, but the first two are already available (and sold out). GPU prices have continued to fall as bitcoin mining revenues have decreased, but there is still a long way to go before they return to their pre-pandemic pricing. Although we haven’t gotten there yet, we are at least making progress in the right path
Graphics Card Deals
GPU pricing has been affected by supply shortages, price gouging, and scalping for more than a year now. You can save money on a new graphics card by checking out our pages for RTX 3080 deals, RTX 3070 discounts, and pre-built systems that include the graphics card, which can save you money on either the graphics card or a pre-built system. For the most part, you’ll pay no more than 25–50% more than the suggested retail price (MSRP). If you’re searching for a whole system upgrade, you may want to consider purchasing a pre-built PC, which frequently has lower costs on the GPU.
| GPU | Performance Rank | DXR Rank | Value Rank – eBay (MSRP) |
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| Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 | 2 – 124.6 fps) | 1 – 75.7 fps | 13 – $2,341 ($1,499) |
| AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT | 1 – 128.4 fps | 4 – 49.5 fps | 11 – $1,421 ($999) |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT | 3 – 122.9 fps | 5 – 45.8 fps | 10 – $1,176 ($649) |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 | 4 – 114.5 fps | 2 – 66.6 fps | 12 – $1,440 ($699) |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 | 5 – 110.1 fps | 7 – 39.1 fps | 9 – $1,033 ($579) |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 | 6 – 98.4 fps | 3 – 49.7 fps | 8 – $988 ($499) |
| AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT | 7 – 95.0 fps | 9 – 30.5 fps | 6 – $783 ($489) |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti | 8 – 90.3 fps | 6 – 43.3 fps | 7 – $847 ($399) |
| AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT | 9 – 84.0 fps | 10 – 24.1 fps | 4 – $568 ($379) |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 12GB | 10 – 69.4 fps | 8 – 31.9 fps | 5 – $636 ($329) |
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super | 11 – 44.3 fps | N/A | 3 – $422 ($229) |
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Super | 12 – 33.1 fps | N/A | 1 – $265 ($159) |
| AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 4GB | 13 – 36.2 fps | N/A | 2 – $277 ($169)
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It’s worth noting that the prices of most graphics cards are still messed up. As a guide, we’ve listed the most recent average eBay prices, which is what we would anticipate to spend right now, along with the official launch MSRP costs. At the very least, these cards cost at least 50% more than their official MSRPs, and in some cases more than double the suggested retail price.
However, we’ve ranked the following cards based not only on their performance, but also on our own subjective opinions, which we’ve taken into account while sorting the cards. That subjective view encompasses performance, price, power, and characteristics that have been influenced by our personal thoughts. Moreover, it’s difficult to rank anything given the current market conditions.
Best Graphics Cards for Gaming 2022
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The updated and upgraded Ampere architecture is included on Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3080. The new 2080 Ti is faster by over 30% and reportedly costs $500 less than the previous generation. RTX 3080 Ti’s much higher price tag prevented it from overtaking the incumbent. It’s overkill for 1080p gaming unless you enable all ray tracing effects in games that support it, but 1080p is still reasonable if you’re serious about maxing out all of your graphics settings.
The RTX 30-series GPUs may be your ticket to ray tracing if you missed the first generation of RTX GPUs. The RTX 3080 is your best bet if you want to experience ray tracing in all its glory without breaking the budget, thanks to titles like Cyberpunk 2077, which use even more ray tracing effects.
DLSS, which doesn’t require in-game training by a supercomputer any longer thanks to Ampere’s enhanced tensor cores, will likely appear in more games in the future. Many more games are being released that use DLSS 2.0, thanks to its simple implementation in Unreal Engine and Unity. Additionally, Nvidia’s RT and DLSS performance is far faster than AMD’s new RX 6000 cards, which is a good thing because Nvidia may occasionally lag behind in traditional rasterization speed (which is what our raw numbers are based on).
In terms of RTX 3080, finding one in stock at a reasonable price is going to be the biggest challenge. In the last month, the average eBay price was almost $1,440. This is still our top selection for a high-performance GPU, despite the increased pricing of the 3080 Ti and 3090.
Read: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Review
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Team Red’s greatest card is AMD’s Radeon RX 6800 XT. It’s true that the RX Radeon 6900 XT is up to 7 percent quicker, but it’s also 54% more expensive. The fact that you don’t get any additional VRAM or other bonuses makes this a bad value. Comparing the RX 6800 XT to the RX 5700 XT of the previous generation, there is a clear improvement in terms of both performance and functionality. On average, it’s a whopping 70-90 percent quicker, plus it supports ray tracing (through DirectX Raytracing or VulkanRT).
Before its release, the GPU was called “Big Navi” by the enthusiast community because of its impressive performance. Navi 21 has twice as many shader cores and RAM as Navi 10, making it more than twice as large. The highest clock speeds we’ve ever seen from a standard GPU (by roughly 300 MHz) are now in the 2.1-2.3 GHz range (depending on the card model). As a result, AMD’s RX 6800 XT has a TDP of 300W, which is somewhat lower than that of the RTX 3080’s 320W TDP.
The 128MB Infinity Cache is a major factor in AMD’s performance. The effective bandwidth is increased by 119% as a result of this (according to AMD). Because we believe that very few games will require more than 16GB of RAM in the near future, the 6800 XT is a strong contender in this category.
Is there anything not to like about this? The ray tracing performance isn’t fantastic, but it’s not terrible either. It’s possible that contemporary games are better suited to Nvidia’s RTX GPUs because of this, but the 6800 XT is just marginally faster than the RTX 3070 when it comes to ray tracing, and it lags behind in some games by up to 25%. And that’s without using DLSS, which can boost RTX card performance by 20-40 percent even in Quality mode (sometimes more). However, AMD hasn’t yet released its FidelityFX Super Resolution to compete with DLSS, and it is urgently required.
As with all current GPUs, the price and availability are still awful. Last month, an RX 6800 XT was selling for about $1,200 on eBay. Technically, it’s better than the RTX 3080, but the MSRP is still almost twice as high as the AMD equivalent.
Read: AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT Review
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As far as some people are concerned, speed is the most important factor when it comes to choosing a credit card. An Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 is designed for this group of gamers. Performance is only somewhat better (10-15 percent) than the RTX 3080, which costs more than twice as much. It’s essentially a replacement for the Titan RTX, but at a much higher price. That’s OK if you’re looking for a deal, but the 12GB RTX 3080 Ti doesn’t make a significant dent in the pricing.
For the time being, the RTX 3090 is expected to be Nvidia’s most powerful GPU. The Ampere architecture GA102 chip is nearly ready, therefore a new Titan card is out of the question. According to Nvidia, the 3090 offers Titan-class performance and features to the GeForce brand (particularly the 24GB VRAM). The RTX 3090 is the fastest graphics card currently on the market. As of this writing, the average price on eBay was more than $2,300, so expect to pay a lot for the privilege of owning one.
Of course, it’s not just about games. This is the only GeForce Ampere with NVLink capability, which is more beneficial for professional applications and GPU computation than SLI. Content-creation apps benefit from the GDDR6X’s 24GB of memory. When comparing the 3080 to the Titan RTX, for example, Blender frequently reported a 30% increase in performance. Watch out for lower than expected performance in some SPECviewperf 13 programmes, as Titan RTX has additional features enabled in its drivers that aren’t enabled for GeForce GPUs.
If you’re looking for a graphics card that can compete with Nvidia’s RTX 3090 in classic rasterization, go no further than AMD’s RX 6900XT. In several SPECviewperf tests, it also comes out on top. But if you’re looking for the fastest graphics card on the market right now, Nvidia is the clear winner. As of late this month, though, the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is expected to take the performance crown, thanks to faster clock speeds and more GPU cores.
Read: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Review
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Nvidia’s Ampere march continues with the finest of the best. With a starting price of $399, the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti has all the same features as the other GPUs in the 30-series. As a matter of fact, as all the other new graphics cards sold out rapidly. The typical eBay price is currently $850, which is more than double the nominal MSRP. <Sigh>
In the end, the 3060 Ti outperforms the 2080 Super from the previous generation, taking first place in each of our benchmarks. The 3070 is only 9% slower than the 3070, but it costs 20% less. As long as you’re still using a GTX series or equivalent GPU, such as a GT 1070 or RX Vega 56, the 3060 Ti is up to twice as fast as the 3060.
That VRAM isn’t present is the only major issue. For the time being, 8GB is enough, although some games are starting to test the limit. You can, of course, lower the quality of the texture, but deep down you’ll feel remorse for doing so. (It’s not really a difference, because high and ultra settings are typically indistinguishable in appearance.)
However, Nvidia’s 3060 Ti remains faster than AMD’s RX 6600 and RX 6600 XT, especially in ray-tracing games. For what it’s worth, you can get an RX 6600 XT for over $250 less than an RX 3060 Ti right now. At $399, the 3060 Ti is the only option that comes close to competing. All at the same low price. It’s 35-45 percent faster than the 2060 Super and 25-30% quicker than RX 5700 XT.
Right now, the most pressing worry is locating a card like this for sale. The 3070 (at least for non-LHR variants) and AMD’s newest gen cards are comparable in terms of mining performance, which means pricing are still outrageous. It also feels a little stingy that the GTX 1070 had 8GB of memory five years ago.
Read: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Review
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Next-generation architectures and Ampere’s ambush continue with GeForce’s RTX 3070. Compared to the 3080, it’s a significant step down, as it only has half the VRAM of the AMD RX 6800 series cards. AMD’s new cards, on the other hand, are significantly more expensive than the 3070, but the 3070 still boasts greater ray-tracing performance, as well as DirectX 12 support. All of the 3070 cards have sold out at or near the suggested retail price. However, as the new RTX 3070 Ti consumes 30 percent more power than the non-Ti model, we don’t advocate upgrading just yet.
The $400 price tag on the 3060 Ti detracts from the 3070’s allure. In principle, it’s 10-12 percent faster, but it costs 25% more. Last month, the 3070 Ti sold for an average of $1,050 on eBay, $150 more than the 3060 Ti. With the rest of your gaming PC, the extra $100–$175 shouldn’t be an issue, but that much money would ordinarily be spent on the fastest non-Titan graphics card…. When purchasing a new gaming PC, stay away from anything costing more than $300 unless it has an Ampere or Big Navi GPU. Although we have certain concerns, overall we are pleased.
Despite the fact that 1440p and 4K gaming are both viable, 4K at its highest quality often slips below 60 fps. If a game supports DLSS, it can be fixed, although ray tracing even with DLSS often results in a frame rate of 40 to 50 fps at 4k. Our main worry is the 8GB of GDDR6. That’s not only less memory on a smaller bus, but it’s also clocked a lot lower than the 3080. A few games have already shown that 8GB isn’t enough to run at full resolution, and it’s just going to grow worse in the future. To make things even worse for Nvidia, AMD has decided to put 16GB of RAM on its Navi 21 GPU’s, whereas Nvidia put 12GB of RAM on its RTX 3060.
The 3060 Ti is the best option if you’re looking for a low-cost, high-performance Nvidia GPU. After spending an additional $100 on the 3070 (and another $100 on the 3070 Ti), upgrading to the 3080 seems like a no-brainer. After all, it’s the ‘greatest’ overall card. Looking at expensive cards and the law of diminishing returns is a big issue. It’s now possible to get into an RTX 2080 Ti for a fraction of the price you’d previously had to pay.
Read: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Review
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AMD’s Navi 22 and the RX 6700 XT are the result of starting with the Navi 21 GPU and reducing the numerous functional parts in order to make a smaller die that can be sold for a lower price. RX 570XT features the same number of GPU cores but slightly faster clock rates and greater cache give it around a 25% performance gain over the previous model RX 5700 XT (at higher settings and resolutions, at least).
The reference card for AMD’s RX 6700 XT clocks in at stock at 2.5GHz, which is among the highest clock speeds we’ve ever seen on a GPU. We were able to get speeds of 2.7-2.8GHz with a little tweaking and overclocking without damaging the GPU. Even while it only has 2,560 GPU cores, that’s still quite powerful.
Our performance tests show that the RTX 3070 Ti and the RTX 3060 Ti are neck-and-neck. The launch price of $479 seems reasonable given that it’s a touch quicker than the latter and a bit slower than the former. Unless, of course, we add games that use DLSS or ray tracing, in which case the 6700 XT seems more like a 3060 Ti rival.
In the end, it boils down to the same thing as any other problem. Even at astronomically inflated rates, the RX 6700 XT quickly sells out. On eBay, the card is currently selling for approximately $775. Compared to both the 3060 Ti and 3070, it’s a step up, but not enough to justify the price of a $500 high-end product.
Read: AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT review
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This is essentially the same GPU that powers the Radeon RX 6800 XT, but it’s been shaved down to a more manageable form factor. Only 96 ROPs and somewhat lower clock speeds are provided, however the 16GB GDDR6 and 128MB Infinity Cache remain fully functional. Although it’s an acceptable compromise, we believe the 6800 XT is the superior choice in the end (unless pricing eventually drops a bit more on the vanilla cards).
According to eBay’s current price of $1,033, the RX 6800 sells for $140 less than the 6800 XT and somewhat more than the 3070 Ti. It’s not even necessary to point out the absurdity of the costs. Nvidia’s RTX 3070 is outperformed by the RX 6800 by 12 percent, and the 3070 Ti is outperformed by 5 percent, both without ray tracing or DLSS.
In terms of ray tracing performance, it appears to be on par with the RTX 2080 Super from Nvidia’s previous generation. As an alternative to DLSS, AMD’s FSR is an option, although it isn’t widely utilised and can’t match DLSS image quality. DLSS Quality setting raises the margin to more than 50% when comparing ray tracing performance between the 3070 and the 6800. The 3070 already outperforms the 6800 by 12 percent in native rendering.
Even though AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) is now available, Nvidia GPUs can also take use of it, thanks to AMD’s FidelityFX. We’d rather have the rasterization power of the RX 6800 than the ray tracing of the RTX 2080 Ti. When it comes down to it, we’d rather wait until the price of this particular card falls below $600. RDNA 3 and Lovelace are more likely to come first, hopefully by the end of 2022.
Read: AMD Radeon RX 6800 review
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With Nvidia’s desktop Ampere series, we’re getting closer to the bottom of the price and performance ladder, and the power cuts may have gone too far. It has a 192-bit memory interface and 12GB of VRAM, which is a significant improvement over the RTX 3050 but a significant drop from the GA104. The 3060 Ti has 26% fewer GPU cores and 26% less memory bandwidth than the RTX 2070, resulting in a lower overall performance. As a result, two and a half years later, a $330 graphics card can now compete with a $500 graphics card.
Theoretically at least. We’re seeing RTX 3060 12GB cards selling on eBay for over $625 because demand has once again outstripped availability. Despite the fact that Nvidia took measures to reduce Ethereum mining performance by half, which were rendered useless when Nvidia hacked its own driver software (on accident). It is apparent that miners are still utilising the cards even after the firmware was upgraded to “fix” the mining lock.
In terms of VRAM, the 3060 12GB isn’t a problem, and there are a few occasions when it comes close to the 3060 Ti in performance. If you can get one for a fair price, the 3060 Ti is still the best option if you can afford it.
Despite having the same amount of VRAM, AMD’s Radeon RX 6700 XT performs significantly better thanks to its 96MB Infinity Cache. It is possible to save money by purchasing AMD’s RX 6600 XT instead, which has slightly superior non-ray tracing performance and costs roughly $5 less (on eBay).
AMD’s RX 5700 XT and Nvidia’s RTX 3060 are nearly the same performance 18 months after the RX 3060 was released. Typical of mainstream parts, this isn’t going to set the world on fire. We can only hope that supply and pricing return to their normal levels as soon as possible.
Read: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Review
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The Navi 23 architecture is AMD’s (kind of) response to the RTX 3060. For the RX 6700 non-XT, AMD lowered CU counts, memory interface width, and Infinity Cache sizes in order to make it smaller and less expensive while still delivering excellent performance.
Even with the memory bus halved to only 128 bits, the RX 5700 XT manages to outperform its predecessor in terms of performance. Even though 8GB of VRAM is an issue, the RTX 3060 is still a superior option in some circumstances because to its lower price. In terms of memory bandwidth, even a 32MB Infinity Cache appears to improve performance quite a little. As the name suggests, this is a smaller version of Navi 10 that utilises the same TSMC N7 node to produce 10–15% higher frames per second in 1080p.
Ray tracing, for example, is one area where it falters. At 1080p, some of the games that we tested didn’t even manage 20 frames per second with DXR (DirectX Raytracing). Without DLSS, the RTX 3060 from Nvidia was nearly two times as quick (where available). Even if you’re using an Nvidia or AMD GPU, you’ll get the same performance increase with FSR as you would from using an Intel GPU. The RX 6600 XT feels like a disappointment in comparison to the other Big Navi processors.
It’s also disappointing to see a $379 price point for an RX 5600 XT replacement that was launched for $279 in the first place. In addition, the RX 6600 XT is now completely out of stock in retail locations, and the price on eBay is at least 50% higher than it was when it first went on sale.
Read: AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT Review
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To put it another way, this is the polar opposite of the Navi 21. The RX 6900 XT raises performance slightly while increasing the (theoretical) price by nearly 50% compared to the 6800. Such a large increase in price is unnecessary given the lack of additional features like extra VRAM (the one saving grace of the RTX 3090). It’s also unlikely that you’ll be able to find one for that price right now.
With the RX 6900 XT, AMD went all out. Its rarity can be explained in part by the fact that it has a fully functional Navi 21 GPU. As a result, AMD may be better suited creating more Zen 3 CPUs or console processors rather than attempting to produce Big Navi in large quantities. However, even as an Ethereum mining solution, the RX 6800 matches it in terms of hashing power.
Red flags such as poor raytracing performance and lack of an immediate replacement for DLSS are still present. However, DLSS only works on Nvidia and has had a three-year head start on getting game developers to implement it. If you’re looking for the best current RT experience, Nvidia still has the edge (not that you need RT to enjoy games).
The 6900 XT is still a good choice for those who just want the fastest AMD GPU. When it comes to mining performance, the old Radeon VII is still more than 30 percent quicker than the new one. Is it still available? (It is, although it’s going for a lot of money these days).
Read: AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT review
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The RX 5500 XT 8GB, the RX 6500 XT, and the GeForce GTX 1660 Super are all available for less than $200 (again, sort of). Aside from the GTX 1660 Super, which is 15% quicker than the ordinary version, we’ve tested all of them and found that they’re all viable options, but our findings show that the GTX 1660 Super outperforms them all. For the most part, we recommend that you pay the extra money to have a better performance. You could get one for under $230, or we would. While this may be true, shelling out more than $400 on a GTX 1660 Super is not a fantastic deal.
Aside from our conclusion that Nvidia’s GeForce 1660 is superior than the Radeon 5500 xt, we also think the GTX 1660 Super is superior. These cards used to be great, but their rising prices have made them less appealing to us these days. In addition, the RX 6500 XT and RTX 3050 are on the way, and they are expected to outperform the 1660 Super. Maybe. To discover out, tune in at the end of the month.
AMD’s Navi 14 chips built with TSMC’s 7nm FinFET are nearly identical in power consumption to TSMC’s new 12nm FinFET Navi 14 chips. Even though Nvidia is employing an earlier manufacturing node, they are faster and use the same amount of electricity. You get the same level of performance as the GTX 1070 for $230 with the GTX 1660 Super, although in a more economical design. Streaming video is a breeze with the improved Turing NVENC included.
GTX 1660 Super’s biggest disadvantage is that Ampere and RDNA 2 cards are now in the $250 price bracket. Depending on how long the shortages last, they at least make an effort. It’s possible to get a GTX 1660 Super for less money than a GTX 1070, but the current market conditions make it difficult to make a decision.
Read: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super Review
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We’re now a generation behind the latest and greatest in graphics cards because of the arrival of Ampere and RDNA 2. The RX 570 4GB, which has been selling for $120-$130 for what felt like an eternity, has finally been replaced by the GTX 1650 Super. The 1650 Super is 30 percent more powerful while consuming significantly less power than the standard 1650. Aside from that, it’s also more expensive than a comparable AMD card, or at least what the 570 used to cost.
If cost is your primary priority, you’ll have to settle with a more expensive GPU. The 1650 Super used to sell for $150-$160, but today it’s nearly impossible to locate one for less than $250. There has been a price increase in the RX 5500 XT 8GB and other GPUs (such as the GTX 1660 Super) that are now threatening the GTX 1660. We’d be wary of purchasing a pre-owned RX 570 4GB card, which sells for around $190 on eBay.
Nvidia’s inclusion of the latest NVENC hardware on the 1650 Super is greatly appreciated. As a result, if you’re looking for a low-cost PC capable of streaming games like CSGO or League of Legends, this will do the job just fine. Even in our COVID-infected environment, video conferencing apps are becoming increasingly popular. Just keep in mind that the 1650 Super requires a 6-pin power adapter, as opposed to the 4-pin one found on the GTX 1050 Ti.
Read: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Super review
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There is no difference between the GTX 1650 Super and the Radeon RX 5500 XT 4GB when it comes to overall performance. In terms of performance and power, they’re all about the same here, and the prices are just as messed up. It’s possible to save money by purchasing a used GTX 970, but you’ll be receiving a really old GPU and who knows what it has gone through? In terms of budget, the RX 6500 XT is also available, however the Navi 14 GPU actually performs better at high quality settings than the newer RX 6500.
In 1080p and medium to high resolution, the RX 5500 XT can handle most games, though not always at 60 frames per second. Waiting for costs to drop before upgrading is a good idea. This truly should be a $150 card. If you’re impatient, the 5500 XT averaged over 60 fps in our testing at 1080p medium, so you have some leeway to play around with the settings to enhance visual fidelity.
Since they should have rendered previous-generation cards “obsolete,” Nvidia’s RTX 3050 and RX 6500 XT are still too expensive to be considered a “affordable” option.
Read our review of the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 4GB.
How We Test the Best Graphics Cards
It’s best to eliminate as many bottlenecks as possible before trying to figure out a graphics card’s raw performance. As of this writing, our 2022 graphics card testbed consists of a Core i9-12900K processor; MSI Z690 motherboard; 32GB Corsair DDR4-3600 CL16 memory; Crucial P5 Plus 2TB SSD; Cooler Master PSU; case; and CPU cooler. ”
For the three most common gaming resolutions, 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, we used “medium” and “extreme” settings to assess the performance. For all of these tests, we use’reference’ cards, such as Nvidia Founders Edition models and AMD reference designs, if possible. In some circumstances, we only have factory overclocked cards available for testing for mid-range and lower GPUs. Aiming for cards that are almost identical in specification, we select them whenever possible.
We use the same set of tests for all of the graphics cards in our lab. In order to get the GPU “warmed up” before running the tests, we run through each benchmark at least twice, once for each combination of settings and resolution. Where there is just a 5% difference in the two runs’ times, the quicker one is used. At a minimum, we repeat the test at least twice if the difference is more than a few percentage points.
This means that RTX 3070 Ti is around 5% faster than 3070 Ti, which is about 5% faster than RTX 3060 Ti. However, we also look at all the data and look for abnormalities, so these three cards will all normally perform within a limited performance range. As a rule of thumb, we’ll retest any cards that appear to be outliers (i.e., performance is more than 10% higher for the cards previously listed) if we notice any anomalies.
Since it takes so long to evaluate each GPU, it’s inevitable that new drivers and game patches will be released that affect performance. If our findings haven’t held up over time, we’ll go back and retest the game(s) and GPU that were previously tested (s). Our test suite may also include games in the following year if one is popular and amenable to testing – read our selection criteria for what constitutes a good game benchmark.
Choosing Among the Best Graphics Cards
For the top graphics cards, we’ve included a dozen possibilities, knowing that there is a lot of overlap. In the most recent GPU generation, Nvidia’s Ampere architecture cards and AMD’s RDNA2 architecture cards are the two most prominent options for graphics processing units. In addition to Nvidia and AMD, you can check out our launch reviews of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti and GeForce RTX 3070, along with AMD’s Radeon RX 6900 XT and RX 6800, Radeon RX 6700 xT, Radeon 6600 xT, and Radeon Rx 6500 xT.
As of this writing, we have a dozen new GPUs to look forward to, including the forthcoming RTX 3090 Ti and Intel Arc Alchemist. The launch window for Arc is now set for “Q1-2022,” but it could arrive later. Arc Alchemist, RDNA2, and Ampere all support DirectX 12 Ultimate and ray tracing, while Arc and RTX GPUs include additional tensor core technology.
We’ve compiled a list of the top graphics cards currently available on the speculative market, along with a rough estimate of their actual cost. There are two examples of this problem: the GeForce RTX 3060 12GB and the Radeon RX 6700 XT are being sold on eBay for much more than the retail price of $635 and $780, respectively (SEP). It’s possible to justify paying 25% more for a new GPU than the MSRP, but double or triple that amount is simply too much. Our recommendation is to check into pre-built gaming PCs instead if you’re in the market for a new system. However, prices may not return to normal until late 2022 at the earliest (if then).
In theory, GPUs like the RTX 3070 and RX 6800 cost half as much as the RTX 2080 Ti of the previous generation while offering performance that is on par with or better than that of the previous generation. RTX 3080 and RX 6800 XT are 30% to 35% faster than the 2080 Ti while costing less, while the RTX 3090 is 10%-20% faster than the 3080 despite costing more than twice as much. Meanwhile, If you’d like, you may examine how the RTX 3080 performs on a variety of CPUs. To be on the safe side, look for a recent model that has at least six cores and twelve threads, and anything with eight or more cores will give you a speed boost of a few percent.
Unfortunately, this is only possible in principle, as GPU prices have skyrocketed as a result of cryptocurrency mining and a restricted supply. The best advise we can give you is to avoid paying more for old technology. In the long run, patience will pay off and you’ll be able to pick up an RTX 30-series or RX 6000-series graphics card at a reasonable price. The best course of action is to hold onto your current GPU till costs fall down if you currently own one that’s up to snuff (assuming you have a spare you can live with in the interim). Or, you could just wait for Lovelace and RDNA3, which are expected to come in late 2022 and have better availability (but don’t bank on it just yet!).
In order to have a successful gaming experience, you cannot ignore the importance of the CPU. If your CPU is underpowered and/or out of date, even the best gaming GPU won’t assist you much. Because of this, you should take a look at the best processors for gaming and our CPU Benchmark hierarchy to see if your system is up to snuff.
All of these factors have been taken into account while developing our current GPU recommendations. Most of the time, the GPUs are rated according to performance, but price, features, and efficiency are also taken into consideration, thus a slower card may be ranked higher in some situations. There’s been a lot of movement at the top of the performance rankings, and these are the greatest graphics cards available right now, assuming you can find them.
Additional Shopping Tips
Consider the following while shopping for a graphics card:
There is a direct correlation between the number of pixels you are pushing and the amount of performance you require. To play at 1080p, you don’t need the latest and greatest graphics card.
Please double-check that you have the correct 6- or 8-pin connector on your power supply (PSU) (s). At least an 8-pin PEG connector and potentially an additional 6-pin connector are required for the RTX 3060, according to Nvidia’s recommendations.
As of right now, you’ll need at least a 4GB video card, but 6GB versions are preferable, and 8GB is strongly suggested. A select few games can now take advantage of the additional 12GB of VRAM, but this is still something of an anomaly.
• G-Sync or FreeSync? • Either method of adjusting the refresh rate will bring your GPU’s frame rate into line with the refresh rate of your monitor. AMD’s FreeSync works with Radeon cards, whereas Nvidia’s G-Sync works with G-Sync Compatible displays (for recommendations, see our Best Gaming Monitors list).
It’s possible to improve visuals with ray tracing, which is supported by new graphics cards. Only Nvidia RTX cards have DLSS, which delivers intelligent upscaling and anti-aliasing to enhance performance while maintaining similar image quality. A different selection of games benefit from AMD’s FSR, which works on any GPU and provides upscaling and improvement.
Graphics Cards Performance Results
There are now eight games in our test suite. Several months of testing have yielded the results shown in the accompanying graphs. Aside with 1440p and 4K, we try to test all cards in 1080p medium and high resolution.
Even though AMD’s FSR, FidelityFX Super Resolution, and Nvidia’s DLSS have been available for several months and years, respectively, none of the titles in our main set of benchmarks support either technology. This signifies that all of these tests are being performed at their native resolution. If you’re interested in learning more about how DLSS and FSR differ in terms of performance and image quality, you can check out our dedicated article on the subject.
There are charts for RTX 30-series and RX 6000-series GPUs from the current generation, and we are testing GPUs from the previous three generations as well. If you notice a GPU is missing, such as the RTX 2070, don’t worry, we’re planning to test it. Results from the 2020-2021 test system with a Core i9-9900K are included in our GPU benchmarks hierarchy. With AMD in red/grey and Nvidia in blue/black color-coding, the charts are easier to read.
As of March 4, 2022, the following graphs were accurate. All GPUs from the current generation are covered, and we’ll be upgrading GPUs from past generations over the next few weeks.
Best Graphics Cards — 1080p Medium
Best Graphics Cards — 1080p Ultra
Best Graphics Cards — 1440p Ultra
Best Graphics Cards — 4K Ultra
Besides performance, we also test graphics card power consumption. We tested all current GPUs using Powenetics equipment and software, and while Nvidia generally had an efficiency lead on previous generation parts, AMD’s RDNA2 GPUs now rate as the most efficient options in most cases. Here are the main power charts from our testing, along with clock speeds, temperatures, and fan speeds — and we’ve retested the GTX 1650 Super to get correct data now.
Best Graphics Cards — Power Consumption
All GPUs Ranked
Our full GPU Benchmarks hierarchy ranks all current in previous generation GPUs by performance, using aggregate data from the gaming test suite. Below is the abbreviated hierarchy with all the cards you can still buy (plus a few extras) ranked in order of performance, from best to worst. The score represents aggregate performance, scaled relative to the RTX 3090.
| Graphics Card | 1080p Ultra | 1080p Medium | 1440p Ultra | 4K Ultra | Specifications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radeon RX 6900 XT | 100.0% (129.2fps) | 100.0% (182.0fps) | 100.0% (105.8fps) | 100.0% (63.0fps) | Navi 21, 5120 shaders, 2250MHz, 16GB GDDR6 16Gbps, 300W |
| GeForce RTX 3090 | 96.5% (124.6fps) | 95.4% (173.7fps) | 99.2% (105.0fps) | 107.2% (67.6fps) | GA102, 10496 shaders, 1695MHz, 24GB GDDR6X 19.5Gbps, 350W |
| GeForce RTX 3080 12GB | 95.2% (123.0fps) | 95.9% (174.5fps) | 96.9% (102.5fps) | 103.3% (65.1fps) | GA102, 8960 shaders, 1845MHz, 12GB GDDR6X 19Gbps, 400W |
| Radeon RX 6800 XT | 95.1% (122.9fps) | 96.9% (176.3fps) | 94.6% (100.1fps) | 92.8% (58.5fps) | Navi 21, 4608 shaders, 2250MHz, 16GB GDDR6 16Gbps, 300W |
| GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | 94.2% (121.7fps) | 94.5% (172.0fps) | 96.5% (102.1fps) | 104.0% (65.6fps) | GA102, 10240 shaders, 1665MHz, 12GB GDDR6X 19Gbps, 350W |
| GeForce RTX 3080 | 88.6% (114.5fps) | 93.5% (170.1fps) | 88.8% (94.0fps) | 93.6% (59.0fps) | GA102, 8704 shaders, 1710MHz, 10GB GDDR6X 19Gbps, 320W |
| Radeon RX 6800 | 85.3% (110.1fps) | 93.9% (170.9fps) | 82.8% (87.6fps) | 80.0% (50.4fps) | Navi 21, 3840 shaders, 2105MHz, 16GB GDDR6 16Gbps, 250W |
| GeForce RTX 3070 Ti | 79.6% (102.8fps) | 87.6% (159.4fps) | 76.9% (81.4fps) | 73.3% (46.2fps) | GA104, 6144 shaders, 1770MHz, 8GB GDDR6X 19Gbps, 290W |
| GeForce RTX 3070 | 76.2% (98.4fps) | 84.8% (154.4fps) | 72.1% (76.3fps) | 67.5% (42.5fps) | GA104, 5888 shaders, 1725MHz, 8GB GDDR6 14Gbps, 220W |
| GeForce RTX 2080 Ti | 74.3% (96.0fps) | 83.3% (151.6fps) | 71.2% (75.3fps) | 70.8% (44.6fps) | TU102, 4352 shaders, 1545MHz, 11GB GDDR6 14Gbps, 250W |
| Radeon RX 6700 XT | 73.6% (95.0fps) | 87.0% (158.4fps) | 66.6% (70.5fps) | 61.2% (38.5fps) | Navi 22, 2560 shaders, 2581MHz, 12GB GDDR6 16Gbps, 230W |
| GeForce RTX 3060 Ti | 69.9% (90.3fps) | 80.4% (146.4fps) | 65.2% (69.0fps) | GA104, 4864 shaders, 1665MHz, 8GB GDDR6 14Gbps, 200W | |
| Radeon RX 6600 XT | 60.6% (78.3fps) | 75.1% (136.6fps) | 52.2% (55.2fps) | Navi 23, 2048 shaders, 2589MHz, 8GB GDDR6 16Gbps, 160W | |
| Radeon RX 5700 XT | 57.1% (73.7fps) | 69.1% (125.8fps) | 50.4% (53.3fps) | 46.4% (29.3fps) | Navi 10, 2560 shaders, 1905MHz, 8GB GDDR6 14Gbps, 225W |
| GeForce RTX 3060 | 53.7% (69.4fps) | 64.2% (116.8fps) | 49.0% (51.9fps) | GA106, 3584 shaders, 1777MHz, 12GB GDDR6 15Gbps, 170W | |
| Radeon RX 6600 | 51.9% (67.0fps) | 64.8% (117.9fps) | 44.0% (46.5fps) | Navi 23, 1792 shaders, 2491MHz, 8GB GDDR6 14Gbps, 132W | |
| Radeon RX 5600 XT | 45.0% (58.1fps) | 55.3% (100.6fps) | 39.7% (42.0fps) | Navi 10, 2304 shaders, 1750MHz, 8GB GDDR6 14Gbps, 160W | |
| GeForce RTX 2060 | 42.7% (55.2fps) | 53.2% (96.8fps) | 36.6% (38.7fps) | TU106, 1920 shaders, 1680MHz, 6GB GDDR6 14Gbps, 160W | |
| GeForce RTX 3050 | 39.5% (51.0fps) | 48.1% (87.6fps) | 35.2% (37.3fps) | GA106, 2560 shaders, 1777MHz, 8GB GDDR6 14Gbps, 130W | |
| GeForce GTX 1660 Super | 34.3% (44.3fps) | 45.5% (82.8fps) | 29.7% (31.5fps) | TU116, 1408 shaders, 1785MHz, 6GB GDDR6 14Gbps, 125W | |
| GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | 34.0% (43.9fps) | 45.0% (81.9fps) | 29.8% (31.6fps) | TU116, 1536 shaders, 1770MHz, 6GB GDDR6 12Gbps, 120W | |
| GeForce GTX 1660 | 30.9% (39.9fps) | 41.2% (75.1fps) | 27.0% (28.5fps) | TU116, 1408 shaders, 1785MHz, 6GB GDDR5 8Gbps, 120W | |
| Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB | 30.7% (39.6fps) | 39.8% (72.4fps) | 26.9% (28.5fps) | Navi 14, 1408 shaders, 1845MHz, 8GB GDDR6 14Gbps, 130W | |
| Radeon RX 5500 XT 4GB | 25.9% (33.5fps) | 36.8% (66.9fps) | Navi 14, 1408 shaders, 1845MHz, 4GB GDDR6 14Gbps, 130W | ||
| GeForce GTX 1650 Super | 25.7% (33.1fps) | 37.3% (67.9fps) | 21.7% (23.0fps) | TU116, 1280 shaders, 1725MHz, 4GB GDDR6 12Gbps, 100W | |
| GeForce GTX 1060 6GB | 24.8% (32.1fps) | 31.5% (57.3fps) | 21.5% (22.8fps) | GP106, 1280 shaders, 1708MHz, 6GB GDDR5 8Gbps, 120W | |
| Radeon RX 570 4GB | 23.8% (30.8fps) | 36.2% (65.9fps) | 16.8% (17.7fps) | Polaris 20, 2048 shaders, 1244MHz, 4GB GDDR5 7Gbps, 150W | |
| Radeon RX 6500 XT | 21.9% (28.3fps) | 29.5% (53.6fps) | 18.9% (20.0fps) | Navi 24, 1024 shaders, 2815MHz, 4GB GDDR6 18Gbps, 107W | |
| GeForce GTX 1650 | 20.6% (26.6fps) | 28.1% (51.1fps) | TU117, 896 shaders, 1665MHz, 4GB GDDR5 8Gbps, 75W |
Finding Discounts on the Best Graphics Cards
There won’t be many graphics card sales these days due to the GPU shortages, but you can save money by using the latest Newegg, Best Buy, and Micro Center discount codes.
Do you have anything to add to our list of the best gaming graphics cards? The Tom’s Hardware Forums are a great place to express your opinions.
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