If gaming is at the top of your list of priorities for PC use, you should invest in the best gaming graphics cards. The first good news is that there are plenty of options available because consumer graphics cards or GPUs are naturally built with gaming in mind. After all, some of the best graphics cards for gaming are also among the best overall.
On the other hand, with so many cards available, it can be difficult to navigate the market and choose the best graphics card for your needs. Fear not though, because that's where we come in. From high-end powerhouses to low-cost workhorses, we know what makes a good graphics card for gaming. And we know enough to understand the key distinctions between the best graphics cards for video editing and those primarily for gaming. If you're looking for professional cards, you should visit the section of the guide specifically for this purpose.
You can trust our gaming graphics card picks on this list because our team of editors and writers are equally passionate about gaming and creative design. There's probably a card here for you, and no doubt, whatever the focus of your individual pursuit - financial, gaming or power - there's some useful information to help guide your decision and purchase.
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
The best AMD graphics card for gaming, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is for you, whether you're a Team Red fan or you just want to save as much money as possible while choosing a top-of-the-line card.
It competes directly with Nvidia's RTX 4080, and while it's not as reliable as the Team Green card, it offers performance on par with it, all the benefits of a high-end, latest-gen AMD card, and does it all for noticeably less money. Yes, it still has a high price, but we're dealing with high-end cards here; no more expensive than its predecessor and cheaper than its primary competitors. At this price point, it also delivers great, top-notch performance for the money.
Highlights include a multi-chip design with a significant performance increase over the previous generation, 24GB of GDDR6 memory, 6,144 stream processors and excellent ray tracing performance on RDNA 3 architecture. Together, these features make for a serious, premium AMD package that delivers on Team Red's promise to provide gamers with extremely affordable cards.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090
It may come as no surprise, but if you want to make sure your card can handle anything, the RTX 4090 is the best graphics card available for gaming right now.
It can handle anything at any resolution, and with 24 GB of video memory and 16,384 CUDA cores, it can chew through even the most demanding games to give you high-quality detail and smooth frames. It's for you if you want the sharpest gaming graphics possible at 4K, and it's also for you if you want to game at 1440p or even 1080p but with blazingly fast frames.
Of course this performance comes at a high cost. In fact, because it's so expensive, it will certainly cost as much as many people's entire PC. However, for this price you get flawless performance, gorgeous 4K, high frame rate gaming and all the benefits of a brand new, new Nvidia card (DLSS 3, Fram Generation, etc.).
Because of the power of the 4090, it is currently the best Nvidia card, the best 4K gaming GPU and the best GPU for gaming in general. It's really incredible if you can afford it.
Intel Arc A750
If you know a bit about video cards, this might come as a bit of a surprise to you. If so, feel free to raise your eyebrows. The Arc A750 is a great option if you're looking for a really affordable graphics card for gaming in 2023 and won't just offer you the bare minimum at 1080p.
It will serve you well in 1080p and perform admirably in 1440p games with the latest hardware, and most importantly, it achieves all this at a very attractive price. In terms of graphics cards, the price point is generally attractive - the Arc A750 is currently available for an incredible $250 or £230. But it also offers incredible value for that money. For that low price you get a card with 3,584 shading cores, 8GB of reliable GDDR6 VRAM and decent ray rendering performance. It's an extremely good and cheap card.
Of course, because it uses so much power, there are some limitations. One of these limitations was spotted by our friends at PC Gamer: you need to have the Resize BAR software installed to maximize its potential. Additionally, to provide some background, if you're considering cheaper options in addition to this card, but still want one of the traditional two, AMD's 6500 XT or 7600 (if you can stretch your budget a bit) and Nvidia's RTX 3050 are excellent options.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070
In 2023, the RTX 4070 is the graphics card that strikes the right mix between price and performance. To get the best gaming graphics card that offers real value for money, it's often necessary to look at the mid-range.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 is considered one of the best cards in the entire portfolio of Nvidia's current generation, even after later cards like the 4070 Ti and the newer 4060 cards have filled in the gaps around it.
This is mostly because the 4070 offers something even better than the previous generation RTX 3080 - but for less money. This card will undoubtedly deliver games at 1080p, 1440p and even a reasonable 4K trial, giving you a 4K gaming experience comparable to the 3080. But in addition to giving you more or less the same performance as the RTX 3080, it will also give you all the benefits of a brand new Nvidia card. So, in addition to having 5,888 CUDA cores and 12GB of GDDR6X VRAM, it also features DLSS 3, Frame Generation and advanced ray tracing.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
However, if you're looking for something that will fully own 1080p resolution, do so with some bells and whistles, and maximize your investment in the process, you'll (still) be hard-pressed to beat the RTX 3060 Ti. Yes, there are many competent 1080p performers from the latest generation of graphics cards for gaming.
Probably the most powerful graphics card for its price among previous generation GPUs, the 3060 Ti is still available in 2023. If you prefer to play your games at Full HD resolutions and high frame rates, the 3060 Ti and its powerful features are waiting for you. With 8GB of GDDR6 memory and 4,864 CUDA cores, this card may not be as powerful as the latest GPUS, but it's still tight, violent and punchy.
To be honest, if you're interested in the 3060 Ti right now (mid-2023), it might be worth watching the 4060 and 4060 Ti cards as well. If they get price cuts or see a drop in sales, it will be harder to continue using the 3060 Ti. Until then, though, the 3060 Ti is still a great option for 1080p gaming.
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
At the moment, there are several cards that offer excellent value for money, but if we had to pick one to get 'the most graphics card' for your money - and using 1440p as the sweet spot - then the RX 6700 XT takes the cake.
With 12GB of GDDR6 RAM under the hood and the powerful supporting action of 2,048 stream processors, you get something that will not only let you game at 1080p, but also at 1440p to crunch through all the latest demanding titles. It offers an excellent performance leap from generation to generation. In addition, you get a product from AMD's latest lineup that gives you access to all the benefits of the RDNA 2 architecture, including FSR 2.0, which further boosts the card's performance.
For those looking for a gaming graphics card for around $500, the RX 6700 XT is an exceptional deal, given that it typically sells for around $330 / £350 right now.
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