When you’re in the market for a new graphics card, it can be hard to decide which one to buy! Should you get an AMD or Nvidia card? What do they mean by CUDA Cores and Stream Processors? The answers to these questions aren’t always straightforward, so let’s take a look at some of the best choices on the market right now. Here at Duck Blog, We’ll cover various budget ranges, and explain how you can tell if your GPU is right for your needs!
How we picked the best GPU
A graphic processing unit, or GPU, is a specialized processor that enables rendering of 3D images in gaming and other 3D applications. For gamers, GPUs are a staple part of any PC build, but they are also used in machine learning, deep learning and other complex computations. In order to help you find a GPU that’s right for your specific needs and budget, we’ve put together our list of top graphics cards across five categories: high-end gaming cards, midrange gaming cards for 1080p and 1440p displays; pro cards with powerful compute capabilities at maximum resolutions; budget options for 1080p or less; and finally ultra-budget picks if you’re looking to build an inexpensive system.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition Graphics Card
NVIDIA has officially unveiled its next-generation graphics cards and we’re impressed. While it’s now more expensive than some of its predecessors, if you have a compatible monitor (or are willing to invest in one), it seems like a worthy upgrade. It’ll take top honors for 4K gaming, for instance—but with support for DLSS and ray tracing, you can expect even better-looking games in 2019 and beyond. Plus, it has up to 6 GB GDDR6 VRAM that won’t bog down your system when using high-resolution displays or multiple monitors at once. All told, there are plenty of reasons to spend more than $500 on a graphics card right now. View On Amazon
Radeon RX 6800 XT
Currently, there are two leaders on AMD’s side of things: The new Radeon RX 6800 XT and an updated version of its previous top-of-the-line RX 580. I prefer a longer, more descriptive title. AMD’s newest card is a monster compared to Nvidia’s GTX 1080; it will run popular games at 4K resolution (with high visual settings) at 60 frames per second—and that’s with a 2560 x 1440 display attached as well. That said, the GTX 1080 isn’t exactly lagging behind in terms of power. View On Amazon
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
AMD’s current offering of Vega cards may be competitive with Nvidia in some niche markets, but Nvidia has managed to outdo its rival by a long shot when it comes to next-gen ray tracing. Some reviews have declared AMD’s latest Vega 64 cards as faster than the GTX 1080 for games, which isn’t too bad considering they’re also cheaper and use less power—but that just isn’t enough anymore. The GeForce RTX 2060 Ti is 30 percent faster than a GTX 1080 according to 3DMark benchmarks and produces almost double the frames per second on average across nine popular games. View On Amazon
AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT
The RX 6900 XT wins on performance and comes out ahead of Nvidia in almost every test. The only place it falls behind (besides power consumption) is price, but it’s not enough to bump Nvidia off our top slot. If you want top performance and don’t care about power, noise or price then go for AMD; if you’re more concerned with value and energy efficiency, though, stick with a Geforce card. View On Amazon
GeForce RTX 3070
The RTX 3070 offers some of the benefits of NVIDIA’s Turing architecture, but at a lower price point. The card can be found online for under $350, while our reviewed unit sells for around $400 (and doesn’t include a copy of Battlefield V). The RTX 2070 Super costs about 20 percent more than its predecessor and can be found for less than $500 on Amazon. We strongly recommend you check out our review for more information on its features. If you want to get into VR, an extra $50 will nab you an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift headset with motion controllers. However, if you’re going to play games at 1440p and don’t mind not playing with your friends in VR, save your money and buy an RTX 2060 instead. View On Amazon
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
Coming in at a price of $1,199 on Amazon (which may be a slight discount), it’s significantly more expensive than most graphics cards that are currently on sale. The RTX 2080 and RTX 2070, however, are both priced at under $700; and those might be your better options if you aren’t looking to spend more than $700. It isn’t clear how much Nvidia plans to charge for its next card after the RTX 3080 Ti. Rumors suggest that it will cost upwards of $500 less than what’s available now, making it an intriguing option for people who want to future-proof their gaming computer with high-end hardware. View On Amazon
MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio
The RTX 2080 Ti was a beast and so were its rivals, but that hasn’t stopped Nvidia from releasing a whole new generation of graphics cards. The top-of-the-line RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio is considered one of the most powerful consumer GPUs ever made, featuring advanced A.I. for real-time image capture and instant super-resolution upscaling. It also comes with an overclocking feature that can push it to render in 8K! This sucker isn’t cheap though, retailing at $3,000 at Best Buy stores nationwide. If you have money to burn, then go ahead and buy one—but be prepared to cough up an extra $400 if you want more memory! View On Amazon