Best graphics card overall
SPECIFICATIONS
Stream Processors: 4,864
Core Clock: 1.41 GHz (1.67 GHz boost)
Memory: 8 GB GDDR6
Memory Clock: 14Gbps
Outputs: HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Power Connectors: 1x PCIe 8-pin (adapter to 1x 12-pin included)
Price: 740 USD
REASONS TO BUY
+Excellent 1080p performance
+Ray tracing performance is solid
+Stays cool
REASONS TO AVOID
-Only entry-level 4K performance
-Annoying 12-pin power connector
Is AMD no longer the king of great value GPUs? The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti threatens that claim with its price-to-performance ratio. One of the newer arrivals in the RTX 3000 line, this graphics card punches way above its weight class, delivering a performance that could rival the RTX 2080 Super while keeping its price tag incredibly affordable for most people. That’s with impressive ray tracing included. We've never seen 1080p gaming to be this good or this affordable.
And, if you plan on gaming in 4K, you can even do that, if just barely. You’ll have to make some compromises on settings and skip the ray tracing. That said, there’s little else to fault with the 3060 Ti. It stays cool as a cucumber and, for those who like to display their PC’s innards, is quite stylish. This is, indeed, the best graphics card for most people.
Best graphics card for those with a bigger budget
SPECIFICATIONS
Stream Processors: 8,704
Core Clock: 1.44 GHz (1,71 GHz boost)
Memory: 10 GB GDDR6X
Memory Clock: 19Gbps
Power Connectors: 2x PCIe 8-pin
Outputs: HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Price : 1,300 USD
REASONS TO BUY
+Excellent 4K gaming performance
+Low temperatures
REASONS TO AVOID
-Still kind of expensive
With the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, 4K gaming became much more accessible. Before, you had to shell out more than $1,000/£1,000 for the RTX 2080 Ti to get playable frame rates. However, with this new generation of Nvidia graphics cards, the price of 4K gaming has dropped nearly half, thanks to the RTX 3080.
When it comes to sheer power, the RTX 3080 boasts one of the largest generational leaps in GPU history, delivering a 50-80% performance boost over the RTX 2080 and a 20-30% boost over the RTX 2080 Ti, all while keeping the same price point as the RTX 2080. And, while it still comes at a premium compared to other GPUs of this generation, it’s still both an absolute powerhouse of a graphics card and a great value. We wouldn't recommend it, however, if you tend to play games at a lower resolution.
The best of Nvidia’s Ampere line
SPECIFICATIONS
Stream Processors: 10,240
Core Clock: 1.37 GHz (1.67 GHz boost)
Memory: 12 GB GDDR6X
Memory Clock: 14Gbps
Outputs: HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
Power Connectors: 2x PCIe 8-p
Price : 1,372 USD
REASONS TO BUY
+Excellent performance
+Beautiful graphics card
+Same size as RTX 3080
REASONS TO AVOID
-Very expensive
-Power-hungry
There’s a new Nvidia champion in town, and it takes power and performance to an even more accessible price point. The long-awaited RTX 3080 Ti delivered the same level of performance as the RTX 3090 during our tests – an impressive feat in its own right – while dropping the price by a few hundred dollars, making all that sheer power more accessible than ever.
It continues what the RTX 3080 has started – to take 4K gaming into the mainstream arena – with its breathtaking 4K at 60fps performance. It also stays cool under pressure. And, like many of the other 3000 series GPUs, it's quite a stunning-looking card to boot. Of course, it’s still among the more expensive of Nvidia’s offerings and requires a good amount of power to function properly. But, this is still the best graphics card on the market right now, especially if you care about ray tracing.
Best graphics card for creatives
SPECIFICATIONS
Stream Processors: 10,496
Core Clock: 1.40 GHz (1,70 GHz boost)
Memory: 24 GB GDDR6X
Memory Clock: 19.5Gbps
Power Connectors: 2x PCIe 8-pin
Outputs: HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Price : 1,549
REASONS TO BUY
+GPU performance to beat
+Up to 8k performance
REASONS TO AVOID
-Extremely expensive
-Very large
You can’t beat the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 when it comes to performance. With a whopping 24GB of RAM, no game or, more importantly, heavy graphics project will suffer performance issues. We were even able to get some 8K performance at 60 fps out of the 3090. It is an incredibly expensive unit, and quite large too, so it will probably be too much GPU for most users.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 is, in essence, a replacement for the Titan so it’s meant more for the creative user tackling intensive 3D and video rendering than for the avid gamer. Even so, it comes with a massive price reduction compared to the Titan, making it a bargain for creative professionals who used to shell out a lot of money for the tools of their trade.
A 1080p powerhouse
SPECIFICATIONS
Stream processors: 2,048
Core clock: 1,968
Memory: 8GB GDDR6
Memory clock: 16Gbps
Power connectors: 1 x 8-pin
Outputs: 1.4 with DSC DisplayPort, HDMI 2.1 VRR, and FRL
Price: 539 USD
REASONS TO BUY
+Strong 1080p performance
+Great thermal efficiency
+Low power consumption
REASONS TO AVOID
-Should be cheaper
-Only slightly better than the RTX 3060
For rock-solid 1080p gaming, you can’t go wrong with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT. Not only is the card a great performer, but it doesn’t use a lot of power so you can install it in a system with a smaller power supply. Because of its great thermal efficiency, you also don’t need a super-expensive water cooling system built into your PC.
Surprisingly and unfortunately though, it is a bit pricier than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, its direct competition, and doesn’t come with ray tracing. However, during testing, we found it to be about 10% more powerful as well, so you do get a little more performance for that slight bump in price. AMD also has its software tricks up its sleeve including FidelityFX Super Resolution, Smart Access Memory, and, for the competitive gamers out there, Radeon Boost.
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