When you’re getting down to construct or improve your gaming PC, the most effective graphics playing cards are sometimes the very first thing that involves thoughts. There’s a easy cause for that: When it involves PC video games, GPUs are probably the most impactful element in figuring out your rig’s uncooked body charges. Quite merely, more often than not, a greater graphics card instantly leads to higher efficiency – not less than up to some extent. With Nvidia’s RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 playing cards obtainable at present, listed below are the most effective graphics playing cards available on the market proper now.
TL;DR: These Are the Best Graphics Cards:
These days, GPUs have legitimately turn out to be a luxurious good. With graphics playing cards just like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 costing upwards of $1,999, you possibly can count on to pay high greenback for high efficiency. Prices are nonetheless approach greater than they had been when the GTX 970 blew my thoughts in 2014 – even when adjusted for inflation. However, if you happen to mood your expectations, you possibly can nonetheless get a stable gaming expertise for a fraction of that worth, particularly if you happen to’re okay with gaming at 1440p or 1080p.
I’ve been reviewing graphics playing cards for the final 4 generations, and I’ve personally benchmarked, constructed with, and performed video games utilizing each GPU on this record. However, if none of those strike your fancy, be at liberty to remark beneath what sort of gaming expertise you’re searching for, and I’d be completely satisfied that will help you discover the proper card in your construct.
What to Look for in a Graphics Card
While it might be simple to only inform you to get probably the most highly effective graphics card available on the market for the most effective gaming expertise, the reality is that choosing a GPU is one thing you’ll want to put a bit extra thought into. not all graphics playing cards are created equal, you see, and everybody goes to want one thing a bit completely different out of their PCI-E brick.
The decision you play video games at goes to be the very first thing you wish to determine. Whether you have already got a gaming monitor you’re keen on otherwise you’re seeking to construct up a whole gaming battlestation, determine in your decision first. This is as a result of a graphics card that is nice at 4K is not precisely going to translate to an incredible 1080p graphics card. Just check out the Nvidia RTX 5090. While the brand new flagship flies at 4K, it will possibly really be slower than less expensive graphics playing cards at 1080p, because of CPU bottlenecking. Instead, if you happen to’re enjoying at 1080p, one thing just like the Intel Arc B580 goes to be a a lot better match. You’re nonetheless going to get stable gaming efficiency, however at a a lot cheaper price, which you should use to, nicely, purchase extra video games. Likewise, 1440p avid gamers are in all probability greatest off shopping for one thing just like the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT or the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super.
Budget can also be an enormous concern, and graphics playing cards are solely getting costlier today. It can be superior if everybody may afford an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, however that is simply not the world we dwell in. These days, the ground sits round $200-$250. For that worth you will get a stable 1080p graphics card, with out having to return to a earlier era. If you’ve gotten a bit more money, one thing just like the Nvidia RTX 4060 will unlock all of Nvidia’s unique bells and whistles – although they are much much less essential on a lower-end GPU.
If you actually wish to go all-out, you will get an incredible graphics card for round $1,000. Both the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 will present an superior 4K gaming expertise, and the one you select ought to in the end rely on how a lot you care about ray tracing. For most individuals that simply need uncooked gaming efficiency, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX might be going to be a greater possibility, however you are going to wish to wait a minute for AMD’s next-generation providing. I do not know the way nicely the Radeon RX 9070 XT goes to carry out till I benchmark it, but it surely ought to show to be nice for 4K gaming, particularly with the upcoming FSR 4.
With costlier graphics playing cards, nevertheless, energy goes to be an enormous concern. You’re going to wish to be sure you examine which energy provide you’ve gotten, and examine it in opposition to the facility necessities for the graphics card you are . Something just like the Intel Arc B580 can get away with a 450W PSU, however you are going to wish to be sure you have one thing way more highly effective for the Radeon RX 7800 XT, as an illustration. You needn’t go overboard and fork over the money for an influence provide that gives twice the advisable energy, simply be sure you have sufficient juice to maintain your GPU going.
1. Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super
The Best Graphics Card for Most People
CUDA Cores/Stream Processors
7168
Memory Bandwidth
504.2GB/s
Power Connectors
1 x 16-pin
Outputs
1 x HDMI 2.1, 3 x DisplayPort 1.4
Size
10.5 x 4.4 x 1.7 inches (L x W x H)
Can break into 4K in some video games
Should have had 16GB of VRAM
While it form of hurts to name any GPU that prices $599 reasonably priced, that’s form of what the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super goes for. For a mid-range worth, you’re getting a particularly stable graphics card that may pump out 1440p-ready gaming efficiency, and may even stretch into 4K in sure video games. It’s not probably the most highly effective graphics card on the market proper now, however this may be Goldilocks’ alternative.
When I reviewed the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super, I discovered it to be a particularly robust contender, and possibly the most effective of the mid-generation refresh playing cards that Nvidia launched at CES 2024. While it nonetheless has the identical 12GB of VRAM that held the unique RTX 4070 again, the RTX 4070 Super is full of 7,168 CUDA cores, in comparison with 5,888 within the unique mannequin. That’s a 21% bounce in shading cores, and this distinction is mirrored in gaming efficiency.
Just a recreation like Cyberpunk 2077, which completely loves CUDA, you possibly can see a 12% bounce in efficiency over the RTX 4070 at 1440p. And, at 4K, the RTX 4070 Super is 13% sooner than its predecessor in CD Projekt Red’s demanding RPG. Likewise, when operating a recreation like Forza Horizon 5 at 4K, the RTX 4070 Super manages a powerful 123 fps, in comparison with the 94 fps of the unique RTX 4070. That’s a 30% improve in efficiency on the identical launch worth.
No matter which recreation you play at 1440p, you’re going to get extraordinarily good efficiency out of the RTX 4070 Super, and that’ll translate into 4K gaming most of the time. And with 1440p gaming rising in recognition, there’s by no means been a greater time to improve to a card that may actually soar at that decision.
2. Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090
The Best Nvidia Graphics Card
CUDA Cores/Stream Processors
21,760
Memory Bandwidth
1,792 GB/s
Power Connectors
1 x 16-pin
Outputs
1 x HDMI 2.1b, 3 x DisplayPort 2.1b
Size (Founders Edition)
11.9 x 5.39 x 1.9 inches (L x W x H) (Dual Slot)
The strongest client GPU on the market, interval.
DLSS 4 multi body gen will assist additional enhance body charges.
Generation-on-Generation enchancment not very thrilling
There’s no approach round it, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is probably the most highly effective graphics card available on the market proper now. Full cease. While it would not mark the identical form of generational progress that the RTX 4090 and even the RTX 3090 did, there isn’t any getting round the truth that it gives the most effective gaming efficiency you will get proper now – particularly once you take DLSS multi-frame era under consideration.
Not solely is the RTX 5090 greater than the 4090, now coming with 21,760 CUDA cores and 32GB of GDDR7 reminiscence, but it surely additionally has a a lot greater energy funds. When I reviewed the RTX 5090, I discovered the next-gen graphics flagship would peak at a staggering 578W, an enormous improve from the 448W of the RTX 4090. With all that further energy, Nvidia additionally needed to discover a higher solution to dissipate warmth, and launched a brand new cooler for its Founders Edition. Instead of doubling down on the triple-fan design of the final couple of generations, Team Green really discovered a solution to slim the design again all the way down to a twin slot cooler, one thing I have not seen in a flagship Nvidia graphics card for the reason that RTX 2080 Ti.
The firm was in a position to do that by shrinking down the circuit board the place the GPU is positioned, inserting it on the middle of the cardboard. Each facet of that PCB is bookended by pass-through heatsinks, the place followers pull cool air by means of the underside of the cardboard, and shoot it straight by means of to the highest of your PC case. The thermal engineering of all of it is a little more difficult than that, however even with all that further energy, I solely ever noticed the RTX 5090 attain as much as 87°C. That’s a excessive temperature, however its nonetheless low sufficient to recreation at full blast.
On common, I discovered the RTX 5090 to be about 26% sooner than the RTX 4090, when 4K video games and artificial 3DMark benchmarks. That quantity does diminish at decrease resolutions, after all, and you actually should not be forking over the $1,999 (or extra!) for this GPU if you happen to’re not going to play at 4K. Even at 4K, there have been sure video games that merely did not have a lot of a efficiency uplift as a result of limitations of the CPU – and I used the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. For higher or worse, then, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 shines within the precise form of workload it is designed for. No holds barred, the whole lot maxed out at 4K, and with minimal upscaling. Gone are the times the place DLSS on ‘Performance’ mode is important at 4K – not less than for this beastly GPU.
3. AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
The Best AMD Graphics Card
CUDA Cores/Stream Processors
6,144
Power Connectors
2 x 8-pin
Outputs
1 x HDMI 2.1a, 2 x DisplayPort 2.1, 1 x USB-C
Size
11.3 x 4.3 x 2 inches (L x W x H) (Dual Slot)
Competitive pricing with RTX 4080
Can lag behind in some video games with ray tracing
While AMD doesn’t actually have a GPU that may go blow-for-blow with the RTX 4090, it does have one that’s extraordinarily aggressive with the RTX 4080 Super, Nvidia’s next-best and extra attainable card: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. Our hands-on testing of the Radeon RX 7900 XTX made it clear that this GPU is an absolute beast at 4K that may sustain with Nvidia, even beating Team Green in some video games.
Even in video games which can be historically laborious on AMD graphics playing cards, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX can deal with at 4K. Just check out Cyberpunk 2077 – it’s in a position to handle a median of 58 fps at 4K with the ray tracing extremely preset, with FSR enabled. Obviously that’s not fairly nearly as good because the RTX 4080 in the identical take a look at, however frankly it was by no means going to be. However, in video games with lighter ray tracing hundreds, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX fares so much higher.
For occasion, in Forza Horizon 5 with the whole lot cranked, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX manages a powerful 158 fps at 4K, principally matching the RTX 4080 Super at 159 fps. Likewise, in Far Cry 6, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX can ship an unimaginable 154 fps common, beating out the RTX 4080 Super, which may do 151 fps.
Like with any graphics card, it’s essential to know what sort of video games you wish to play. But if you happen to’re enjoying plenty of video games with little to no ray tracing, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a particularly potent 4K graphics card. Plus with DisplayPort 2.1, it’s higher outfitted for greater decision ultrawide screens.
4. AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT
The Best GPU for 1440p
CUDA Cores/Stream Processors
3,456
Power Connectors
2 x 8-pin
Outputs
1 x HDMI 2.1a, 2 x DisplayPort 2.1, 1 x USB-C
Size
10.5 x 5.3 x 2 inches (L x W x H) (Dual Slot)
Excellent efficiency for the cash
Lags behind in ray tracing video games
When you consider the proper decision for video games, it’s simple to leap to 4K and say “extra pixels is healthier.” However, 1440p actually is the candy spot for PC gaming, and the Radeon RX 7700 XT is the star of the present, because of the efficiency you get for the cash. AMD has lowered the worth on the Radeon RX 7700 XT from its launch worth of $449 all the way down to $419, however you possibly can simply discover it for round $399 on Amazon. At this worth, it goes face to face in opposition to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, and that’s not a struggle that appears good for Nvidia. And whereas I did not do a standalone evaluation for the 7700 XT, I examined it alongside the Radeon RX 7800 XT, its huge sibling.
While the RTX 4060 Ti does beat out the 7700 XT in Cyberpunk 2077, it’s not by a lot. The RTX 4060 Ti will get 62 fps at 1440p, and the Radeon RX 7700 XT will get 49 fps. And that’s on the ray tracing extremely preset. Nvidia’s lead disappears in different video games, although.
For occasion, in Forza Horizon 5, maxed out at 1440p, the RX 7700 XT manages 118 fps, in comparison with 107 from the RTX 4060 Ti. Likewise, in Total War: Warhammer 3, which doesn’t have any fancy ray tracing tech, the RTX 4060 Ti will get smoked, with it scoring 68 fps to AMD’s 85. That’s a 20% lead at about the identical worth.
There is a catch, although. While the Radeon RX 7700 XT is extra highly effective than the RTX 4060 Ti, it’s additionally extra power-hungry, drawing as much as 312W from the wall in my testing. Compared to the 159W that the RTX 4060 Ti eats up, that’s a fairly large hole. However, when you have an influence provide that may deal with it – AMD recommends 550W – you get a way more highly effective card on the identical worth. Whether or not it impacts your energy invoice down the road is a future concern.
5. Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060
The Best GPU for 1080p
CUDA Cores/Stream Processors
3,072
Power Connectors
1 x 12-pin
Outputs
1 x HDMI 2.1, 3 x DisplayPort 1.4
Size
9.4 x 4.4 x 1.6 inches (L x W x H) (Dual Slot)
Solid 1080p efficiency with ray tracing
According to the Steam Hardware Survey, 1080p gaming shows are nonetheless the most well-liked screens on the market, and it is not shut. So, regardless of how overestimated 4K shows are, if you happen to’re comfy with 1080p, you don’t want a particularly highly effective graphics card to play even probably the most demanding video games. That’s the place the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 actually shines.
The RTX 4060 can energy any recreation at 1080p, even with all the flamboyant ray tracing settings which can be popping out today. And because of DLSS, it will possibly even stretch to greater resolutions in sure video games. And for a current-generation graphics card that you’ll find underneath $300, that’s not a nasty deal.
When I reviewed the RTX 4060, I discovered that it was in a position to run most video games extraordinarily nicely at 1080p with all of the settings cranked at greater than 60 fps, even when it simply barely bought there in some video games. For occasion, in Cyberpunk 2077 on the ray tracing extremely preset, the RTX 4060 scored simply 62 fps at 1080p. That is the golden body price, however you’re not going to be doing a lot high-refresh gaming on this card.
The RTX 4060 does have a weak facet, although, and that’s the way it compares to the RTX 3060 Ti that got here out earlier than it. You can nonetheless discover the RTX 3060 Ti at most retailers, and for a comparable worth, however but it manages to beat out the RTX 4060 in most of my assessments. There are some options you’d be giving up by going with a last-generation card, DLSS 3.0 being chief amongst them, however which may be price it for the slight edge in efficiency you will get. However, at this worth vary, a function like DLSS 3.0 that may stretch efficiency out in supported video games is price it, and may actually stretch out the worth of the cardboard.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 isn’t good, however if you’d like a current-generation graphics card for underneath $300 that runs any PC recreation above 60 fps, I’d have a tough time developing with an alternate – definitely not the Radeon RX 7600.
Upcoming GPUs
Now that the most recent era of Nvidia graphics playing cards is out, beginning with the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, 2025 appears to be a packed yr for graphics playing cards. Team Green is about to observe up its two high-end Blackwell graphics playing cards with the RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti someday in February, which will likely be excellent news for anybody that desires to improve for underneath a thousand bucks.
Nvidia is not alone in new graphics playing cards although. AMD’s Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT are proper across the nook, launching in March 2025. I bought an opportunity to sneak in a benchmark of the 9070 at AMD’s CES 2025 sales space, and whereas these are preliminary outcomes it is best to take with a heaping of salt, it appears to be like like it will give the Radeon RX 7900 XT and RTX 4080 a run for his or her cash.
Best Graphics Cards FAQ
AMD or Nvidia? Or Intel?
When it involves which model of graphics card it is best to get, it in the end comes all the way down to your private choice – even when every model has its personal distinctive benefits. Intel graphics playing cards are probably the most reasonably priced possibility available on the market proper now, however its graphics playing cards aren’t precisely the quickest within the land. On the opposite hand, Nvidia makes probably the most highly effective GPUs round, however you’re going to should pay out the nostril for that efficiency.
AMD graphics playing cards strike a fairly good stability between the 2, however whereas the corporate loves to make use of open-source graphics APIs, it means you don’t get entry to among the unique options that Nvidia homeowners get pleasure from – options like DLSS. AMD has alternate options for actually each Nvidia software program function, however a few of them merely aren’t nearly as good. See our information to AMD vs. Nvidia GPUs for more information.
What energy provide ought to I get?
Graphics playing cards, particularly high-end ones, are sucking up extra electrical energy with each passing yr. If you’re seeking to construct a brand new gaming PC, and even improve from an older graphics card, it is best to actually think about upgrading to probably the greatest energy provides.
Some of the graphics playing cards on the market proper now can take upwards of 450W of energy by themselves, so you could wish to think about a 1,000W energy provide – particularly if you happen to’re going for the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090.
GTX vs. RTX
Nvidia has each an RTX, or Ray Tracing Texel eXtreme, and GTX, Giga Texel Shader eXtreme graphics playing cards collection, with the RTX choices being newer, extra highly effective, and costlier.
That boosted efficiency is because of the structure of RTX playing cards, which provide each Tensor and RT cores alongside CUDA cores for higher graphics and rendering. Tensor cores allow AI and high-performance computing duties bringing assist for DLSS tech to assist with upscaling and sharpening. RT cores are devoted to ray tracing, permitting for extra sensible lighting and shadows in scenes. Nvidia’s GTX graphics playing cards have a a lot less complicated structure and don’t provide Tensor or RT cores. Though they nonetheless work for funds builds, GTX playing cards will quickly be out of date.
Where to Get the Best Graphics Cards within the UK
There aren’t too many variations in terms of the graphics playing cards you possibly can decide up within the UK, however the principle takeaway is the place you should purchase them. All of the next hyperlinks have been up to date with UK distributors, saving you some money and time if you happen to’re taken with choosing up any of the graphics playing cards we have talked about.
Jacqueline Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN. When she’s not serving to her family and friends purchase computer systems, you possibly can often discover her tinkering together with her personal PC.