Best graphics cards for PC gaming 2022
Updated
We’ll help you find the best graphics card to fit your needs.
By Brad Chacos
Executive editor, PCWorld
Rob Schultz/IDG
Most people who are in the market for a new graphics card have one primary question in mind: Which card will give me the most bang for my buck? Obviously, the answer will vary depending on your budget. Beyond that, there are a number of factors to consider: Raw performance is important, but so are things like noise, the driver experience, and supplemental software. And do you want to pay a premium to get in on the bleeding edge of real-time ray tracing?
Let us make it easy for you. We’ve tested nearly every major GPU that’s hit the streets over the past couple of years, from $100 budget cards to $1,800 luxury models. Our knowledge has been distilled into this article—a buying guide with recommendations on which graphics card to buy, no matter what sort of experience you’re looking for.
And yes, you can finally buy a GPU again. After over two years of an insane graphics card crunch spurred by chip shortages and an insane cryptocurrency surge, the dam has finally burst. End result? GPU prices are finally plummeting across the board, with higher-end graphics cards seeing especially steep sales. While you can buy a used GPU for less cash, picking up a new model with a full warranty and no risk is a lot more enticing with prices finally approaching sanity.
We’re also just starting to see a new breed of graphics cards arrive. Nvidia’s ferocious GeForce RTX 4090 is here, unlocking new 4K high-refresh gaming experiences like we’ve never seen before—but AMD’s rival “RDNA 3” graphics cards are right around the corner, too, with lower prices and a radical new GPU design in tow. And Intel’s debut Arc A7 graphics cards finally arrived this fall as well, albeit with plenty of rough edges obfuscating some of its enticing promise. But if you need a new graphics card today, here are your best options.
Street pricing for these cards still fluctuates wildly, and these rankings take real-world costs into account—which currently give AMD’s Radeon GPUs an edge.
Note: There are customized versions of every graphics card from a host of vendors. For example, you can buy different GeForce GTX 3080 models from EVGA, Asus, MSI, and Zotac, among others.
We’ve linked to our complete review for each recommendation, but the buying links lead to models that hew closely to each graphics card’s MSRP. Spending extra can get you hefty out-of-the-box overclocks, beefier cooling systems, and more. Check out our “What to look for in a custom card” section below for tips on how to choose a customized card that’s right for you.
The best graphics cards for PC gaming
AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT – Best budget graphics card
Prices may be relaxing, but currently, the much-maligned Radeon RX 6500 XT is still the only semi-reasonable sub-$250 option around.
If you can find it for a good price, Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3050 is a much more capable modern graphics card, but its pricing is typically inflated at around $300. The Radeon RX 6500 XT is less appealing thanks to its nerfed memory, PCIe lanes, and limited ports, not to mention lower performance, but you can often find them going for around $200 on the streets these days. Those hardware limitations mean you’ll need to stick to Medium or High graphics settings at 1080p resolution in modern games in order to achieve playable frame rates, but if you do that, you’ll enjoy the experience.
Read our full
Radeon RX 6500 XT review
AMD Radeon RX 6600 – Best 1080p graphics card
AMD’s Radeon RX 6600 and Nvidia’s rival GeForce RTX 3060 both ostensibly carry the same $329 MSRP, but on the streets, there’s a much wider gap. You can find the 6600 going for prices starting around $300, while the cheapest RTX 3060 begins at $400.
Those are both steep entry costs for 1080p gaming—at least compared to the GPUs of yesteryear—but with 8GB of fast GDDR6 memory, insanely good power efficiency, and AMD’s Radeon Super Resolution in tow, the Radeon RX 6600 is a great graphics card for people looking to game at 1080p resolution at 60fps or higher without compromising on visual fidelity. (Or breaking the bank.)
Read our full
Radeon RX 6600 Swft 210 review
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 – Best 1080p graphics card for ray tracing
Nvidia is on its second-generation of dedicated ray tracing hardware, and its killer DLSS upsampling feature is in hundreds of games to claw back the performance lost to turning on ray tracing (which carries a steep performance penalty). At $330-plus, it ain’t cheap, but if enabling those cutting-edge lighting effects is a priority, you’ll want to go with GeForce. The RTX 3060 is another solid option, but it’s $400 on the streets and delivers performance on par with the $300 Radeon RX 6600 in games that don’t use ray tracing.
If you mostly play newer games running on DirectX 12 or Vulkan APIs, Intel’s Arc A770 delivers excellent performance there, along with ray tracing chops on par with the RTX 30-series. It struggles with older DirectX 11 titles, however, and this first generation product also comes with a fair share of bugs in its early days.
Read our full
GeForce RTX 3050 review
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT – Best 1440p graphics card
In a sane world, Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3060 Ti would dominate 1440p gaming at its $400 MSRP. It’s that good, and it offers superior ray tracing performance to AMD’s Radeon rivals. But we still aren’t living in a sane world, and the RTX 3060 Ti is going for $500+ on the streets, and often $550 to $600. Nvidia’s RTX 3070, ostensibly $500, goes for $650 to $700 online. Get AMD’s Radeon RX 6700 XT instead. It’s plenty fast for 1440p gaming at 60fps+ without compromise, while its beefy 12GB of GDDR6 memory provides plenty of headroom for flipping on all the most intense graphical features.
The one downside? AMD’s card is only capable of playing ray-traced games at 1080p resolution unless you activate Radeon Super Resolution, or FSR 1 or 2 in games that support it. One the flip side, the Radeon RX 6700 XT can take advantage of AMD’s awesome performance-boosting Smart Access Memory feature if you’re running a modern Ryzen system that supports it.
Read our full
Radeon RX 6700 XT review
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti – Best 1440p graphics card for ray tracing
Yes, the RTX 3060 Ti remains overpriced compared to its MSRP, going for $500+ rather than the expected $400—but that’s because it’s that good. If you want a killer 1440p gaming experience with top-notch ray tracing as the cherry on top, this is the card to buy even at an inflated price. The step-down GeForce RTX 3060 is also worth considering, though you may need to turn down some graphics settings when you enable ray tracing, while the step-up RTX 3070 doesn’t deliver enough of a performance boost to justify spending yet more.
Read our full
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti review
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 – Best high-end 4K graphics card
Graphics cards that cost $1,000 didn’t used to exist, but now they’re commonplace. All of them offer a compelling 4K gaming experience. But if you want peak performance no matter the price, you’ll be spectacularly pleased with the GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition. This is the first graphics card capable of maxing out a 120Hz 4K monitor in many modern games—a monumental achievement. Its rivals can kept a 60Hz 4K monitor fed, but not a high refresh rate display. The GeForce RTX 4090 embarrasses all previous GPU contenders in all games, full stop—it’s so fast that games can become CPU bottlenecked even at 4K/Ultra when using this GPU. You’ll want a new Radeon 9 7950X or Intel Core i9-13900K to truly take advantage of it.
Beyond the raw speed, the RTX 4090 also offers an ample 24GB of GDDR6 memory for content creators, best-in-class ray tracing chops, and new DLSS 3 technology that uses AI to improve frame rates substantially—think twofold or even more, though responsiveness can take a hit in some games.
It remains to be seen if AMD’s $999 Radeon RX 7900 XTX will be able to dethrone Nvidia’s new champion, but either way, the RTX 4090 is an absolutely sublime GPU for peak-performance gaming.
Read our full
GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition review
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition – Best 4K graphics card
If you’ve got a 4K/60Hz monitor and want to put all those pixels to work, the RTX 3070, 3070 Ti and AMD’s Radeon RX 6750 XT and RX 6800 are all decent cheaper options. But if you want the best possible experience without any visual compromises, spend $800 and pick up the 10GB version of the RTX 3080. (The $1,000 12GB model isn’t worth the upcharge despite being slightly more future-proof.) The GeForce RTX 3080 packs enough power to blow through games even at 4K resolution with eye candy cranked, including ray traced games thanks to Nvidia’s killer combo of second-gen ray tracing hardware and DLSS.
The one problem? This is an insanely popular GPU, and it can still be difficult to find models around the 3080’s $800 MSRP (though they’re definitely popping up). AMD’s rival Radeon RX 6800 XT is easier to find, just as fast, and packs a whopping 16GB of GDDR6 memory, but Nvidia’s superior ray tracing and DLSS chops earn it the nod for this price point if you’re able to find one around MSRP.
All that said, new GPU generations from both Nvidia and AMD are landing in the closing months of 2022, so you may want to see what the RTX 4080 and Radeon RX 7900 XT bring to the table before splurging on a last-gen flagship. But if you see an RTX 3080 on a hot deal, don’t hesitate to pick it up.
Read our full
GeForce RTX 3080 review
How we test graphics cards
We test graphics cards on a dedicated test system used only for this purpose, with minimal extra software involved. That ensures that any performance changes we see are generated solely by the graphics card being tested and new GPU drivers, without the variability of other hardware or software changes.
Here is the configuration of our current testbed:
- AMD Ryzen 5900X, stock settings
- AMD Wraith Max cooler
- MSI Godlike X570 motherboard
- 32GB G.Skill Trident Z Neo DDR4 3800 memory
- EVGA 1200W SuperNova P2 power supply
- 2x 1TB SK Hynix Gold S31 SSD
As far as games go, we use a fixed set of games to test every graphics card that comes out in a given generation, and update the suite when a new generation of GPUs is introduced. We test a variety of games spanning most major game types (tactics, racing, FPS, etc.), engines (Unreal Engine, Unity, Anvil, etc.) and underlying graphics APIs (DirectX 11, DX12, Vulkan). We use the built-in benchmarks for each game, but only after validating the accuracy of the results by running the benchmarks and comparing the results to performance witnessed by third-party GPU measurement tools like OCAT. Each game is tested at least three times per resolution, generating an average from those runs, with additional tests run if we encounter any hiccups.
We may also perform additional testing with tools like OCAT if any performance oddities are noticed. Power draw is measured on a whole-system basis, listing both idle and fully stressed states as measured via a Watts Up meter that the system is plugged into.
What to look for in a custom graphics card
If you want to shop beyond the scope of our picks, know that finding the right graphics card can be tricky. Various vendors offer customized versions of every GPU. For example, you can buy different Radeon RX 6700 XT models from Sapphire, XFX, Asus, MSI, and PowerColor.
To help narrow down the options and find the right card for you, you should consider the following things when doing your research:
Overclocks: Higher-priced custom models are often overclocked out-of-the-box to varying degrees, which can lead to higher performance. Most modern custom cards offer the same essential level of performance,however.
Cooling solutions: Many graphics cards are available with custom coolers that lower temperatures and fan noise.
The vast majority perform well. Liquid-cooled graphics cards run even cooler, but require extra room inside your case for the tubing and radiator. Avoid graphics cards with single-fan, blower-style cooling systems if you can help it, unless you have a small-form-factor PC or plan on using custom water-cooling blocks.
Size: Many graphics cards are of a similar size, but longer and shorter models of many GPUs exist. High-end graphics cards are starting to sport especially massive custom cooling solutions to tame their enthusiast-class GPUs. Double-check that your chosen graphics card will fit in your case before you buy.
Compatibility: Not all hardware supports a wide range of connectivity options. Higher-end graphics cards may lack DVI ports, while lower-end monitors may lack DisplayPorts. Only the most modern Radeon and GeForce graphics cards support HDMI 2.1 outputs. Ensure your graphics card and monitor can connect to each other. Likewise, make sure your power supply meets the recommended wattage for the graphics card you choose.
Real-time ray tracing, FSR, and DLSS: AMD’s Radeon RX 6000-series graphics cards and all of Nvidia’s RTX offerings can play games with real-time ray tracing effects active. Nvidia’s RTX 30-series GPUs hold a massive advantage over everything else though, propelled even further by dedicated tensor cores for processing machine learning tasks such as Deep Learning Super Sampling, which uses AI to speed up the performance of your games with minimal hit to visual fidelity. GeForce RTX 20-series GPUs also support DLSS, while AMD’s rival FSR 2.0 and Radeon Super Resolution technologies are gaining traction by the day.
Author: Brad Chacos, Executive editor
Brad Chacos spends his days digging through desktop PCs and tweeting too much. He specializes in graphics cards and gaming, but covers everything from security to Windows tips and all manner of PC hardware.
Best graphics cards 2022: finding the best GPU for gaming
For PC gamers, there isn’t a more important component than your graphics card, but it can be tough to find the best graphics card for you.
GPU reviews don’t always tell the full story and tracking down the graphics card that offers the best value between cost and performance isn’t as simple as shopping online.
We dug through our graphics card reviews to bring you a definitive ranking of the best GPUs for gaming. The competitiveness between AMD and Nvidia is hotter than it has been in years, and we have several options from both brands regardless of if you’re looking for a great value GPU or a 4K gaming behemoth.
If you’re new to building PCs, make sure to read our answers to common GPU questions. We also have a full guide on how to install a graphics card so you can upgrade your PC.
Contents
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
- AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
- AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090
- AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
- Intel Arc Alchemist A750
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 mobile
- Frequently Asked Questions
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
The best GPU for gaming
Jump to details
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
The best midrange graphics card
Jump to details
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT
The best GPU for 4K gaming
Jump to details
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
The best 1440p graphics card
Jump to details
AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT
The best 1080p graphics card
Jump to details
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090
The best graphics card for enthusiasts
Jump to details
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
The best AMD graphics card
Jump to details
Intel Arc Alchemist A750
The best value graphics card
Jump to details
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 mobile
The best graphics card for laptops
Jump to details
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
The best GPU for gaming
Pros
- Smooth 4K gaming performance
- Nvidia DLSS makes ray tracing possible
- A massive number of great third-party options
Cons
- Very expensive at the moment
Why should you buy this: Although almost half the price of the 3090, Nvidia’s 3080 delivers near-comparable performance at 4K.
Who’s it for: Gamers with a 4K display who want to play the latest AAA games at high frame rates.
What we thought of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080:
The RTX 3080 is best suited for the 4K gamer who doesn’t want to compromise. It outpaces last gen’s RTX 2080 Ti by a significant margin while launching at about half of the price. It can maintain above 60 frames per second for 4K gaming in titles like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, offering smooth gameplay in even the most demanding games.
Its features shouldn’t go unnoticed, either. This Nvidia graphics card comes packed with the latest ray-tracing cores for accurate gaming lighting, and you can leverage the Tensor cores for dynamic upscaling through Nvidia Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS). The RTX 3080 offers enough performance to warrant a purchase, and these two features push it over the edge.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 is the best graphics card for 4K gaming. It hits a sweet spot in the high-end market, delivering enough power to handle the most demanding AAA titles without bogging down the card with extra memory that isn’t useful for the majority of gamers. Just try to save some money by avoiding the 12GB RTX 3080.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
The best GPU for gaming
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
The best midrange graphics card
Pros
- Cheaper than the RTX 3080, but still great
- Fantastic for 1440p and suitable for some 4K gaming
- Maintains 60 fps in AAA titles
Cons
- May struggle in some games at 4K
Why should you buy this: The RTX 3070 Ti is the sweet spot in Nvidia’s current line-up, offering up enough power to push some games to 4K without the price of an RTX 3080.
Who’s it for: The mainstream PC gamer that wants a lot of power at a reasonable price.
What we thought of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti:
The RTX 3070 is a great graphics card, but we’d recommend the upgraded RTX 3070 Ti for most people. It’s only slightly faster than the RTX 3070; about 8% based on our testing. But you’ll typically find the Ti and non-Ti models in stock for around the same price, making the Ti model effectively a free upgrade.
Although the RTX 3070 Ti is a 1440p graphics card, it can manage 4K in a lot of titles. The extra boost over the base model allows you to play games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla at 60 fps if you tweak a few graphics settings. With DLSS on offer, you can even play games like Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K.
The RTX 3070 Ti is for the reasonable gamer. It might not last as long as the RTX 3080, and you might have to turn down a few graphics settings, but the RTX 3070 Ti balances price and performance unlike any graphics card you can buy right now.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
The best midrange graphics card
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT
The best GPU for 4K gaming
Pros
- Relatively low power draw
- Outperforms the RTX 3090
- Inexpensive compared to Nvidia competition
Cons
- Almost identical performance to RX 6900 XT
- $100 more expensive than RX 6900 XT
- Poor ray tracing performance
Why should you buy this: The RX 6950 XT has come down in price, and it’s the fastest 4K gaming GPU you can buy.
Who’s it for: 4K gamers who don’t care too much about ray tracing.
What we thought of the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT:
We were hard on AMD’s Radeon RX 6950 XT when we first reviewed it.
The card didn’t offer a big boost in performance and it was $100 more expensive than the RX 6900 XT. That’s changed now that both cards selling for around the same price, easily making the RX 6950 XT the best 4K gaming GPU you can buy.
It’s almost the best video card on the market, only losing to Nvidia’s offerings when it comes to ray tracing. It’s a high-end graphics card, and our review shows that it can beat the RTX 3090 in 4K gaming. Factoring in the price, it’s actually a great value GPU, as well. $1,000 is expensive for any graphics card, but that’s a lot less than Nvidia is charging for similar performance.
If you want uncompromising 4K gaming performance and you aren’t too concerned with ray tracing, this is the graphics card to buy. It’s one of the fastest video cards around, so features like Nvidia’s DLSS aren’t as important.
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT
The best GPU for 4K gaming
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
The best 1440p graphics card
Pros
- Fantastic cost-to-performance ratio at MSRP
- Great for 1440p gaming
- Close to the RTX 3070, but cheaper
Cons
- Not the best option for 4K
Why should you buy this: The RTX 3060 Ti punches well above its weight class.
Who’s it for: 1440p gamers who want all of the visual bells and whistles.
What we thought of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti:
The RTX 3060 Ti is an extremely powerful graphics card, considering its spot in Nvidia’s Ampere gaming lineup. Below the RTX 3070, the 3060 Ti still delivers 8GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus and features only a slight reduction in clock speed — 1.67GHz on the 3060 Ti versus 1.72GHz on the 3070. It’s best suited for 1440p gamers that want high frame rates without the high price.
In benchmarks, the RTX 3060 Ti scores above last gen’s GeForce RTX 2080 Super. The card can deliver above 70 fps in demanding titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 with Ultra settings at 1440p. In games like Control, you can take advantage of features like DLSS to boost your performance, too.
The RTX 3060 Ti shines as the best graphics card for 1440p. It’s incredibly capable, offering frame rates north of 60 fps in demanding AAA titles, even with all the sliders turned up.
Ray tracing would normally be a problem for a card like this, but thanks to DLSS, you can still hit performance marks with all the visual bells and whistles.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
The best 1440p graphics card
AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT
The best 1080p graphics card
Pros
- Smooth gaming at 1080p
- Doesn’t require a lot of power
- Capable of 1440p gaming
- Support for FidelityFX Super Resolution
Cons
- A little too expensive
- Lackluster content creation performance
- Poor ray tracing performance
Why should you buy this: It’s the best 1080p gaming graphics card around, and secondhand models are cheaper than the Nvidia RTX 3060.
Who’s it for: The 1080p gamer with a high refresh rate display.
What we thought of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT:
The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT isn’t great value — but in a time when GPU options are so overpriced, that hardly matters. What matters for the RX 6600 XT is that it outperforms Nvidia’s RTX 3060 by a decent margin, and on the secondhand market, it’s as much as $150 cheaper.
In an average of five gaming benchmarks, the RX 6600 XT offered about an 11% improvement over the RTX 3060 at 1080p. Across our benchmarks, it averaged 117.6 fps, making it an ideal option for 1080p gamers with a high refresh rate display. It’s simply one of the best 1080p graphics cards you buy right now.
Even in a game as demanding as Cyberpunk 2077, the Radeon RX 6600 XT can put up above 60 fps with all of the sliders turned up. Except for ray tracing, of course, which remains one of the most demanding gaming tasks for a graphics card. The RX 6600 XT doesn’t handle ray tracing as well as its Nvidia counterpart, but neither card is really cut out for it.
AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT
The best 1080p graphics card
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090
The best graphics card for enthusiasts
Pros
- Huge leaps in 4K gaming performance
- Excellent ray tracing performance
- High power and thermals, but manageable
- DLSS 3 performance is off the charts
Cons
- Very expensive
- DLSS 3 image quality needs some work
Why should you buy this: It’s the most powerful graphics card you can buy today, hands down.
Who’s it for: High-end enthusiasts that want the best of the best regardless of price.
What we thought of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090:
The RTX 4090 is a nonsense graphics card, and we mean that in the best way possible.
It’s $1,600, which is hard to justify spending on any graphics card. But if you want the best of the best, the RTX 4090 is it, and by a significant margin.
The previous GPU champion, the RTX 3090 Ti, looks puny by comparison. Based on our testing, the RTX 4090 is nearly 70% faster than the RTX 3090 Ti, and almost 90% faster than the RTX 3090. It’s a 4K graphics card that enables features like ray tracing in the most demanding games available today.
It’s overkill for most people, and it comes with some high demands. You’ll need a power supply with a lot of wattage, and you’ll need a case to accommodate the card’s massive size. It’s a reasonable trade-off for high-end enthusiasts, though, especially with features like DLSS 3 on offer.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090
The best graphics card for enthusiasts
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
The best AMD graphics card
Pros
- Comparable to the RTX 3080
- Great overclocking capabilities
- Suited for 4K gaming
Cons
- Best used without ray tracing
Why should you buy this: The RX 6800 XT is as powerful as the RTX 3080, and even more powerful if you overclock it.
Who’s it for: AMD fans who are interested in overclocking.
What we thought of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT:
The Radeon RX 6800 XT is AMD’s answer to the RTX 3080, and it’s the best AMD GPU you can buy right now. It’s positioned to compete directly with Nvidia’s flagship card, but it’s packed with wildly different specs. The most interesting spec is 16GB of GDDR6 memory. Nvidia’s card uses faster memory, but AMD’s card offers more. You should buy this card if you want to play in 4K but don’t want the price tag of an Nvidia GPU.
For performance, the Radeon RX 6800 XT matches the RTX 3080 in most titles with ray tracing turned off. If you’re willing to overclock your graphics card, the 6800 XT actually edges ahead. AMD’s Infinity Cache that shows up on the RX 6800 XT allows the card to hit very high clock speeds, resulting in serious performance gains. It’s best suited for gamers who don’t care about ray tracing, though.
Ray tracing changes things a bit, as DLSS adds a huge boost in performance to Nvidia cards.
That said, AMD introduced the Super Resolution feature as part of the FidelityFX suite, which is similar to DLSS. The suite also includes a variety of other visual enhancements, such as Contrast Adaptive Sharpening, which restores sharpness to an image after temporal anti-aliasing is applied. The Radeon RX 6800 XT can take advantage of all the FidelityFX features.
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
The best AMD graphics card
Intel Arc Alchemist A750
The best value graphics card
Pros
- Great 1080p and 1440p gaming performance
- Competitive ray tracing performance
- Relatively inexpensive
Cons
- Resizable BAR is necessary
- XeSS needs some work
Why should you buy this: It’s a great graphics card for the price, minus a few bugs.
Who’s it for: Gamers looking for a great deal that don’t mind dealing with a few bugs.
What we thought of the Intel Arc Alchemist A750:
Intel’s Arc A750 isn’t a perfect graphics card. It has some problems with older games, and Intel still needs to further optimize its drivers. But it still offers a fantastic value. For around $290, it’s competitive with Nvidia’s RTX 3060, which runs around $400.
AMD usually is the budget alternative to Nvidia, and although that’s still true, Nvidia has been the way to go if you want to turn on ray tracing. The Arc A750 has competitive ray tracing, unlike its AMD counterparts, meaning it can truly go toe-to-toe with the RTX 3060.
On top of that, the card also supports Intel’s XeSS upscaling feature, which uses AI to upscale your games and improve performance. It’s not available in a ton of games, but Intel should add support in more titles over the coming months.
Intel Arc Alchemist A750
The best value graphics card
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 mobile
The best graphics card for laptops
Pros
- Available in a ton of laptops
- Adequate for 1080p gaming
- Huge improvement over previous gens
Cons
- Not ideal for hardcore gamers
Why should you buy this: It offers great performance without adding undue bulk to modern laptops.
Who’s it for: Power gamers on the move.
What we thought of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 mobile:
Nvidia’s RTX 3060 is one of the latest iterations of its leaner mobile gaming solutions, but that doesn’t mean it lacks power. It offers a greater number of CUDA cores than previous generations of Nvidia graphics card mobile chips and delivers a sizable performance improvement over the past generation.
Although the GeForce RTX 3060 falls behind its full-scale desktop and mobile counterparts, its real strength lies in not outputting anywhere near the level of heat generated by big-scale GPUs. That means you’ll still find the RTX 3060 in laptops that are sleek and thin and don’t weigh too much. You can see the results in this older Razer Blade that we previously used in testing that weighs just 4.5 pounds and offers performance that in years gone by you’d only find in chunky gaming machines that weigh close to double that.
There are some solid alternatives in this space, with both AMD and Nvidia offering mobile options with greater and lesser performance depending on your needs.
In our opinion, RTX 2070 Max-Q offers all the performance most users could want, all in a low-profile chipset. It’s a great solution for those who want optimal video performance from a smaller laptop. If you’re a gamer or just want some enhanced graphics on your small form factor laptop, this is a great choice.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 mobile
The best graphics card for laptops
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you know which graphics card will best suit your needs?
Finding the graphics card that will best suit your needs comes down to the resolution of your display and the kinds of games you play. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 is great for 4K, for example, but it’s overkill for 1080p where the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT shines. The lower your display’s resolution, the less you need to spend on a graphics card.
Beyond that, consider the games you want to play and at what frame rates. You can use the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super for everything from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to Borderlands 3, but you might need to step up to the GeForce RTX 3070 to play games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
How much should you spend on a graphics card?
As a rule of thumb, you should dedicate about 30% of your budget to a graphics card for a gaming PC. For 1080p, you should spend around $300 to $400; for 1440p, around $400 to $500; and for 4K, $600 or above. The Radeon RX 6600 XT targets 1080p at $379, the GeForce RTX 3070 is great for 1440p at $500, and the GeForce RTX 3080 is the perfect video card for 4K at $700.
Graphics cards are vastly overpriced in 2022, though. As it stands now, you can expect to pay double what you should for each resolution. Hopefully, that will change in the coming months.
How can you find the right power supply for a graphics card?
Nvidia and AMD recommend power supply wattage for their most recent graphics card. The Radeon RX 6800 XT, for example, draws 300W of power and AMD recommends a 750W PSU at least. Similarly, the GeForce RTX 3080 video card draws 320W and Nvidia recommends a 750W PSU. These recommendations aren’t always perfect, though, so we recommend using a PSU calculator.
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Select the optimal graphics card for the game. Summer-Autumn 2022 GECID.com.
::>Video cards
>2022
> Choosing the optimal video card for the game. Summer-Autumn 2022
20-08-2022
The topic of choosing a video card is one of the most interesting ever, and even now at the end of the summer of 2022. Therefore, we have prepared this guide for you, which will help you navigate the variety of new and not so new models on the market.
But we will not cling to the used segment, we will only talk about what is in the store with a full guarantee.
By the way, this video appeared with the support of MSI, so we will make all examples on popular products of this brand, which are usually optimal in terms of features, quality and price. In addition, now it is easy and profitable to purchase their video card thanks to promotions: you can pay for the purchase in installments, and when ordering top models in partner stores, each of them will receive an excellent branded gaming mouse CLUTCH GM41 LIGHTWEIGHT as a gift. All links are in the description below the video.
So, of course, you can somehow live on the video card built into the processor (we are not afraid of this word) and even play something: it is less comfortable on Intel solutions, but on different AMD Radeon Vega everything will run much more fun, maybe even some of the heavy new products will be able to pass at the minimum settings.
A discrete graphics card will definitely provide a more comfortable gameplay. Of course, now you can even find the GeForce GT 730 and GeForce GT 1030 at retail. However, it makes sense to consider the first models only when the processor does not have integrated graphics and you need something the cheapest to display the image, besides, cards on these chips are no longer supported by its manufacturer, that is, the driver is not updated. As for the GeForce GT 1030, the models are really faster than the integrated Intel graphics and successfully compete with the Radeon Vega Graphics, that’s all. Especially if they are faster versions with GDDR5 memory, because DDR4 video cards are not worth your attention at all. An alternative for the GeForce GT 1030 on AMD chips can be different modifications of the 550s «radions». But they are not for high comfort in games. Compared to integrated graphics, they are almost always slightly faster and do not eat up RAM for their needs. Definitely more productive will be solutions based on not the latest GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, in which 4 GB of video memory is also guaranteed, and this is how much more often you need in new games even at minimum settings.
It will already be possible to play more or less on these cards, but we do not recommend them for purchase, perhaps only for some kind of promotion or sale.
The fact is that they were replaced this year by the budget new GeForce GTX 1630 and Radeon RX 6400. These are newer and more energy efficient, which means colder and quieter solutions. And in terms of performance, these video cards are approximately at the level of the previously mentioned models of the previous series. Yes, somewhere they are a little inferior, but sometimes they are faster, especially in new APIs and projects. When choosing between them, you need to know one thing — the Radeon RX 6400 is very dependent on the speed of the PCI Express interface. On systems where only 3.0 is supported, the slightly more expensive Radeon RX 6400 model is not always noticeably faster than the GTX 1630. But on new systems, overpaying for the 6400 will be appropriate. However, these video cards are also compromise options that require reducing the settings to such a level that all data and textures are exactly in the video memory.
In the same price range as the RX 6400, there are video cards based on the GeForce GTX 1650, which have almost the same performance. Compared to the GTX 1630, there are almost twice as many CUDA cores, and the memory bus is twice as wide, so the GeForce GTX 1650 is much more productive and also does not depend much on the PCI Express revision. But be careful, these cards were originally with GDDR5 memory, and newer modifications are equipped with GDDR6, despite the fact that the price of the cards is generally the same. That is, for the same money it is better to take newer versions that will be about 10% faster.
If you add about 1000 UAH, then you can look at the Radeon RX 6500 XT. Yes, it has all the same drawbacks as the 6400, but it has 256 more stream processors, and even at a higher frequency, plus faster video memory. All this provides a 30% greater performance, that is, we recommend finding an opportunity to pay extra.
The green alternative to the 6500 XT would be the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER, maybe.
The fact is that it is almost impossible to find them on sale, and even for an adequate price. But if you succeed, then 1650 SUPER does not depend on the bandwidth of the interface, so it is better suited for not the most recent systems.
Slightly more likely to find GeForce GTX 1660s that cost about 1.5 times as much as the 6500 XT and are slightly faster. What is the matter here? Compared to the GTX 1650 SUPER, there are only 10% more CUDA cores at about the same operating frequency, and the video memory here is the old GDDR5. It is worth noting that the video buffer itself is now 6 GB, and the memory bus is 192-bit versus 128 bits for the 1650 model and only 64 bits for the 6500 video card model. Therefore, the map will allow the use of more detailed textures, and in general it is not so fettering when choosing settings.
Much more often you will see the GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER at retail, and at almost the same price as a simple GTX 1660, and sometimes even cheaper.
The difference between these video cards is only in the type of video memory — 1660 SUPER is equipped with GDDR6. This model is faster by 10-15%, that is, everything is obvious here with the choice. It seems… More recently it was… GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER. Therefore, the performance increase is not very large, somewhere at the level of 5%. And everything would be fine if there were no new items. Therefore, these options, we are talking about all modifications of 1660, are relevant only when the price is reduced by the stock or when there is absolutely no way to add a little more to the video card.
Although why look for some extra money? Now the GeForce RTX 3050 has replaced the 1660 family, the cheapest modifications of which are at the level of the GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER and Ti video cards, or even cheaper. It remains only to recall what is so interesting about the GeForce RTX 3050 model? This is so far the youngest video card from the current 3000th line, which means it provides support for all current technologies, of course, including ray tracing and DLSS.
In addition, there is already 8 GB of video memory, which will allow you to choose the best textures and generally improve the quality of the picture, or try to feel at least a little bit more free on a Quad HD monitor. If you look at the number of CUDA cores, which the GeForce RTX 3050 has 1024 more, that is, 66%, it would seem that the card is also more powerful. Unfortunately, this is not entirely true. Due to the architecture and narrower memory bus, this card is noticeably faster in only a few games, in most cases it has about the same performance, and therefore is not much more expensive.
Let’s move on. The reds in this price range suggest paying attention to the Radeon RX 6600, which is a little more expensive and generally noticeably performs better than the RTX 3050 in almost all scenarios. Only ray tracing on the RX 6600 is not as efficient, which cannot be considered a significant drawback, since few games really run in this mode on cards of this level.
If you want to see ray tracing in most games, and also guaranteed to have a reserve of video memory for heavy projects or high resolutions, then you should find at least a couple of thousand hryvnia more to get an indisputable hit GeForce RTX 3060. This GPU has noticeably more blocks, and even communicates with accelerated video memory through a one and a half times wider bus. All this takes performance to a new level, and even for heavy e-sports, it guarantees the use of high-hertz monitors.
Almost forgot, now you can still sometimes find the GeForce RTX 2060 and the enhanced version of the GeForce RTX 2060 12G. What should you know about them, besides the fact that this is a solution from the previous series? The simple RTX 2060 is even slightly faster overall than the RTX 3050 and inferior to the RX 6600, meaning it sits somewhere in between these cards but only has 6GB of VRAM and is hotter.
Worthy of attention only if it is sold much cheaper than 3050. In turn, the RTX 2060 12G video card differs not only in the video buffer doubled, but also in additional cores and blocks. However, all this does not help her gain an advantage over the RX 6600 model, and even more so the RTX 3060, but she has more power consumption than all these cards. You can consider it as an option only when the price tag is less than the RX 6600, and not the current one — almost like the cheapest RTX 3060.
Almost for the same money that the latter costs, depending on the modification, you can buy something on the Radeon RX 6600 XT. Is it worth it? Nominally, these video cards are more powerful, but in practice it all depends on the level of cooperation between the game developer and AMD, as well as driver optimization: in some projects, the difference will be noticeable, while in others it is only a couple of FPS. It can also be a consequence of using the same 128-bit memory bus, albeit with an attempt to smooth it out thanks to Infinity Cache.
In addition, the card is not as strong as a competitor in ray tracing. Well, in the future, 8 GB of the video buffer may not be enough. In addition, there is enough power for any modern games in 1080 and even 1440.
In addition, the 6600 XT was replaced by an accelerated version of the Radeon RX 6650 XT, and in some places they even cost almost the same. Everything is simple here: on the updated version, the chip and video memory work a little faster, due to which the power consumption increased by 15 watts. All. Thanks to such manipulations, sometimes there can be an increase in FPS by 10%, but on average only by 5%. Therefore, if the cost of the cards is the same, there is nothing to think about. And when the RX 6650 XT costs 5-10% more, then the surcharge will be approximately proportional to the increase in performance.
To purchase a GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, you will have to add about $ 100 for the simplest modification. It would seem that it only has 8 GB of VRAM compared to a simple GeForce RTX 3060, but thanks to a noticeably larger number of CUDA cores and other blocks along with a 256-bit video memory bus, this is a significant jump in performance levels.
Therefore, these video cards provide high comfort at maximum Full HD settings, even with beams; without problems they pull everything in Quad HD; and even in 4K you can run around if you choose the settings in combination with DLSS or FSR.
In the same price range, there is something to see from the «reds». This is the Radeon RX 6700XT. In a sense, these are better and more promising solutions. Here, the memory bus is no longer so narrow, and the video buffer itself is 12 GB, which is good for the future. And in terms of performance, the 6700 XT is 5-9% faster on average, especially in those projects that were created with the support of AMD. Traditionally, only when ray tracing is enabled is usually NVIDIA’s solution better.
There is also a slightly accelerated offer — the Radeon RX 6750 XT. As with the younger card, factory overclocking is done here: the graphics processor is slightly accelerated and the video memory is more significantly, and the payoff will be an increase in power consumption by 20 W.
Such manipulations allow the card to be 5% more productive. Accordingly, if the surcharge does not exceed this figure, then it is worth it.
In the higher price range, you can pay attention to the GeForce RTX 3070, which are usually more expensive than about a hundred evergreens. Why? For most games, these cards will be a little faster, especially after turning on ray tracing, and with the support of high-quality DLSS presets, they will also allow you to play in 4K. At the same time, the video card requires less energy than the red competitors. Even the video memory here works through a 256-bit bus, but it is only 8 GB, which is not very promising.
For those who have 4-5 thousand UAH more, an accelerated version is offered — GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. But here it’s not just different frequencies, but much more differences: the GPU has more CUDA cores and other blocks, and the video memory is now GDDR6X. Therefore, the graphics accelerator is more powerful approximately in proportion to the increase in cost.
The RTX 3070 Ti is rivaled by Radeon RX 6800 graphics cards if you can find it. With the same price tag, they already have 16 GB of video memory for future use, which communicates with the chip via a 256-bit bus. Thanks to this, in most games the card is more powerful than its competitor, more future-proof and for higher resolution monitors. The traditional weak point is the not so effective acceleration of ray tracing.
Solutions based on the Radeon RX 6800 XT are of course noticeably more powerful, especially in the most difficult conditions and with ray tracing, as well as at resolutions of 1440p and higher. In such circumstances, they will be 15-20, and sometimes more, faster. However, they will also hit the wallet harder, because on average they cost almost $ 100 more. Is it worth paying so much? Everything will depend on the availability and price of the next card.
Regular GeForce RTX 3080s with 10 GB of VRAM can still be found with the same price tag as the RX 6800 XT.
In some well-optimized games for red cards, they can be inferior, but on average they are a little faster, and in ray-traced mode they are usually noticeably faster. Of the shortcomings, only a smaller amount of video memory and a little more power consumption, although the recommended PSUs for these video cards are the same — 750 watts.
But with the prices and the availability of the newer GeForce RTX 3080 12G, «not everything is so simple.» In general, this card not only has 2 GB more video memory, which uses a wider bus, but also a more powerful graphics processor. All this provides 5-6% more FPS, and additional confidence in the future, especially for games in 4K. The video cards themselves are not available everywhere, and the price tag is sometimes slightly lower than the simple GeForce RTX 3080 model, and sometimes almost 200 greens more expensive. So watch carefully!
Based on price alone, the alternative is the Radeon RX 6900 XT, which is asking for 10,000 more.
Of the obvious bonuses, this card definitely has a larger video buffer — 16 versus 12 GB. Everything else is plus and minus. In well-optimized games for AMD, it is faster, but there are also those where it loses; where sometimes, even with ray tracing, it outperforms the competitor on an NVIDIA chip, but still quite often a bit behind. Yes, and FSR support both cards, and DLSS only «green». That is, here the choice will depend on belonging to any camp or price tag specifically here and now.
For the 6900 XT there is also a newer boosted version, the Radeon RX 6950 XT. Here, as for all 50s, the GPU itself was slightly accelerated and the effective frequency of the video memory was noticeably added, which led to higher power consumption. However, such manipulations made it possible to obtain a noticeable increase in productivity and a price tag of 10 thousand! Here the question arises: is it worth it?
The fact is that the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti can be found at the price of regular 6900 XT.
In this case, it will be an ideal choice, because it is the accelerated RX 6950 XT competes with it, especially in games made with the support of AMD, and even has more video memory. But in other projects, the RTX 3080 Ti is still ahead, and even works better with ray tracing almost everywhere. But, nevertheless, much will depend on the commitment to a particular manufacturer, as well as the price tag at the time of purchase.
Today, the GeForce RTX 3090 has become ambiguous, much more powerful than anything previously described in terms of all characteristics, especially in terms of video memory size — here it is definitely with a margin, all 24 GB. Of course, everything costs much more. Here are just a few places where you can notice the increase in productivity proportional to the price tag.
In addition, if you have a lot of money and a desire to have exactly the top video card, then you should look at the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti.
They are no longer more expensive than regular RTX 3090s, but have additional work units with increased frequency and accelerated video memory. And even this does not allow running all games at ultras with 60+ fps in 4K. But for work, especially for heavy projects, both models of 3090 video cards are interesting.
This is the assortment of video cards now. It became clearer what to take? Then you like, subscribe, bell, comment. And if not, then look at the conclusions and then thank you.
So, in the end, briefly about the trends with the choice of video card today, although tomorrow everything may be different due to price changes and due to availability.
Entry level, to more or less run and be really better than on the integrated graphics, we take at least the GeForce GTX 1650, especially for platforms that only support PCI-E 3.0, and for newer systems, the Radeon RX 6500 XT will be a good solution .
For a beautiful Full HD picture and new technologies, look to the Radeon RX 6600 or GeForce RTX 3050, depending on preference and availability in your favorite store.
Under the maximum or close to them settings, and also so that it doesn’t slow down at 1440p, Radeon RX 6600 XT or GeForce RTX 3060 will be interesting options. and its updated version 6750 XT, or already the GeForce RTX 3070, especially when it is interesting to wind up ray tracing.
On the other hand, the same RTX 3070, especially in combination with DLSS or FSR and for a 4K monitor, will be a good choice, although it will play much better with an RTX 3070 Ti or Radeon RX 6800.
As for playing 4K on ultras, in general, some games and top-end video cards do not pull out at 60 FPS, but if you want to try, you should ask the price of a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti or Radeon RX 6900 XT.
But the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti makes sense to consider only for those who don’t peck money at all, and even have a desire to try to display an image on an 8K TV, or the need to deal with heavy work tasks.
Of course, no one will punish and the videocrat itself will not burn out if, for example, you buy an RTX 3080 for a Full HD monitor, especially a high-hertz one.
Or buy something for growth, such as there is no excess power — it will not be useful today, there will be a reserve for tomorrow. But these are special cases.
This is how the video card market looks like now. It is not necessary to thank the donation, this is optional, it is enough and just like with a meaningful comment for promotion, as well as a subscription and a bell. Good luck! Ukraine will win!
Author: Alexander Chernoivan
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TOP 10 best graphics cards for gaming in 2022 — which one to choose for a gaming PC
The personal computer is still the driving force behind the gaming industry. Yes, consoles are getting better and better, capturing more and more of the market and delighting with excellent exclusives. However, even some of them, after many years, go beyond the consoles and become available on the PC. Vivid examples: «Heavy Rain», «Detroit Become Human», «Death Stranding», «God of War» and many others.
This happens for a reason, the computer is still the best way to immerse yourself in your favorite games. It is more productive and has more functionality. But, of course, it costs many times more than consoles. It is not for nothing that in the gaming community owners of powerful computers are called PC-boyars, expressing in this word some respect for people who can run absolutely any game at maximum graphics settings in the highest resolution.
The main component of any personal computer is a video card. It is she who will be the most expensive component when assembling a PC, and it is she who should always be paid the most attention when choosing finished computers. It is very difficult for an unprepared person to understand which video card is needed for games. Therefore, today we have prepared for you the TOP gaming video cards that you can buy in 2022. And do not be afraid, the rating was compiled not only for PC-boyars, there was a place in it for budget gaming video cards.
GeForce GTX 1660 Super
A budget-friendly option for a good gaming graphics card that can play most modern games at high graphics settings. The GeForce GTX 1660 Super was released in 2019 and is an improved version of the standard 1660 model. The main difference of the new version, which makes it many times more attractive than its predecessor, is that it uses the sixth generation of memory — GDDR6. The amount of memory in a graphics card is responsible for how quickly graphics will load, and GDDR6 is the best option right now, running about twice as fast as the weaker model. All of this makes the GTX 1660 Super the best value for money gaming card in 2022.
GeForce RTX 3050
An excellent video card for games from the middle price segment. Geforce RTX 3050 is new this year and the youngest in the GeForce 30 series. 8GB of sixth generation memory will not only perform well in modern games at high texture settings, but also help your computer cope with future gaming industry projects.
And low power consumption and good cooling will allow the video card to last for many years. Perfect for those who want to prepare their computer for future projects.
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
You can safely buy a 4K monitor. The Geforce RTX 3060 Ti is perfectly prepared for this resolution and is capable of consistently delivering more than 30 FPS in all modern projects. To play at the reference 60 FPS, you will need to go down a step to QHD resolution. In both variants, the RTX 3060 does not lose performance and shows an excellent picture.
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
Expensive but incredibly powerful RTX 3070 Ti is an intermediate link among the GeForce 30 models. even the most demanding game. The GeForce RTX 3070 Ti graphics card is capable of consistently delivering over 60 FPS in QHD and 4K.
And support for ray tracing, with which the lighting in games will become even more believable, will make the gaming experience even more unforgettable.
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
Gaming graphics card for a computer that will run both modern games and future projects in the gaming industry. In terms of performance, the video card is not inferior to competitive GeForce 3070 models, but twelve gigabytes of video memory will greatly help your computer cope with future hits in the gaming industry. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is a compact, quiet and incredibly high-quality model with which you can safely look at the lists of the most anticipated games of next year.
AMD Radeon RX 6800
Quiet, cool and capable of everything — the AMD Radeon RX 6800. A graphics card for the most demanding games from AMD with 16 GB of memory. She is not afraid of novelties in the gaming industry, from the system requirements of which many grab their heads.
For any test, the RX 6800 has the same answer — 4K, 60 FPS. A huge amount of memory with a 256-bit bus make the RX 6800 not only a threat to all existing and most future video games, but also an excellent assistant in photo and video editors. It can rightfully be called the best gaming graphics card from AMD.
GeForce RTX 2060
A good early 2019 PC graphics card that can still do a lot. You can’t play with it in 4K, but it copes with 2K with maximum texture settings. The GeForce RTX 2060 has ray tracing support, six gigabytes of video memory and consumes and consumes only 160 watts for its performance level. For its price, the RTX 2060 is a model that you can rely on for the next couple of years. Unless, of course, you are aiming for 4K resolution in new games.
- Gets very hot
Games 2021-2022
- Elden Ring: max graphics settings + QHD resolution = 40 FPS
- Dying Light 2: max graphics settings + QHD resolution = 30 FPS
- God9 graphics + QHD resolution = 40 FPS
- Death Stranding: maximum graphics settings + QHD resolution = 60 FPS
- Assassin´s Creed Valhalla: maximum graphics settings + QHD resolution = 35 FPS
GeForce RTX 3090
The younger brother of the RTX 3090 Ti, released two years ago.
The video card is slightly weaker than its heir, but both of them are at the top of the rating of video cards for gaming PCs. Like the newer 2022 version, the GeForce RTX 3090 handles every possible game at the highest resolution with the highest settings. The FPS count is a bit lower than the RTX 3090 Ti, but it’s still at 60.
Key Features
GeForce RTX 3080
With the GeForce RTX 3080, a series of high-end gaming graphics cards begins. High price, high performance, high graphics settings in any game. Another important indicator of such high-end graphics cards is the temperature and noise during the game. However, for a high price, manufacturers take care of these aspects of their products as well. The RTX 3080 cooling system handles the load very well and does it as discreetly as possible. Therefore, you will not be annoyed by noisy spinning fans.
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti
Incredible 24 GB of GDDR X VRAM, 384-bit bus width, 2nd generation RT-core GPU and all together — the best graphics card for gaming in 2022, but also the most expensive.
You can’t talk about the capabilities of the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti in games for long, suffice it to say that everything will work, under any circumstances. Excellent image quality, speed and power, and in addition and almost silent speed.
How to choose a graphics card for gaming
Buying a graphics card is a big deal. Therefore, it is important to understand their features and what indicators to pay attention to before choosing. Gaming graphics cards have a lot of them, but there are a few of the most important ones that can help you understand how to buy a good gaming graphics card.
First you need to decide on the tasks that you set for her. In this article, we are talking about video cards for games. Yes, they are powerful, but not everyone will be able to handle 4K video processing or 3D modeling. In the case of games, it is also important to understand what kind of games you plan to run on your computer. Dota 2, Counter-Strike and many other esports disciplines can run on the weakest computers with budget graphics cards.
For demanding new products, you will need a more powerful card.
Next, let’s look at how to determine the performance of a video card. To do this, you should pay attention to several indicators: the manufacturing process, the amount and type of video memory and the bus width. The process technology is the size of transistors in nanometers. It is their number that is the basis of the performance of the video card. Accordingly, the smaller the size, there are more of them. The amount of video memory is responsible for the image displayed on the screen. The more memory, the better the picture will be. However, the amount of gigabytes of video memory does not equal high performance. This indicator must be considered together with the type of video memory and bus width. These two indicators are responsible for the bandwidth, that is, how much information the video card can process per unit of time. In most current video cards, the memory type is GDDR6, on top-level models — GDDR6X. The bus width in budget video cards can be up to 128 bits, in the middle price category up to 256 bits, and high-end gaming video cards from 256 bits.
Another thing to keep in mind when choosing a graphics card is what monitor you are going to play on. For a regular FullHD monitor, a powerful graphics card that can run games in 4K seems less suitable. Another important parameter for gaming graphics cards in 2022 is support for ray tracing. With this technology, lighting in games becomes more realistic.
What should be the cooling of the video card
The cooling of the gaming video card is an incredibly important thing. When playing games at high graphics settings, the graphics card may overheat, which will greatly affect its performance and service life. Now almost all models from AMD and Nvidia are equipped with two or three fans. They work differently on different models. The main advantage of this type of cooling is that it is already built into the video card and nothing needs to be invented. The downside is that the fans can be very noisy. If you want to stop at air cooling, but the graphics card fans can’t keep up, there are several ways to solve this problem. A simple option would be to choose a new computer case with improved airflow. If you do not want to change the case, then you can install an additional fan in the side cover of the case or remove it altogether. True, you will have to carefully monitor so that dust does not accumulate in the computer.
An alternative option for cooling video cards is CBO. The water cooling system is much quieter and more efficient than air cooling. However, a good water system is expensive. Moreover, it is difficult to install and you will have to follow it in both eyes. You understand what will happen if water gets on the components of the computer.
Which is better AMD or Nvidia
You can search for an answer to this question for a long time, but it takes just as long to answer what is better than Nike or Adidas. Of course, the issue of sneakers and sportswear is easier. There you can look and see what you like best. And then it will apply to specific two models. But do not despair, you can also answer that AMD or Nvidia is better, but for this you need to understand a few things, or rather, all the other components of your computer.
