How much GB graphics card is best for gaming?: You’ve probably spent more time (and money!) on your graphics card than any other desktop PC component. Your graphics card is more important than any other component of your desktop PC.
Graphics cards were originally created for gaming but are now used for program development, creative tasks, data analysis and many other tasks.
PC Mag has been testing graphics cards long before GPU (which stands for “graphics processor unit”) became a common term. Since the late 1990s, we’ve been testing samples of almost every card made by AMD, Intel and Nvidia.
Our team has been testing cards today using a variety of AAA games and synthetic tests to determine raw performance. AMD’s Radeon RX7600 and Nvidia GeForce GTX 4060 are our current top picks for the best graphics cards to play 1080p games.
We also have picks that are tailored to different budgets or resolutions. We’ll help you find the best graphics card for you, whether you’re upgrading or buying your first one.
When you look at a pre-built desktop PC, the emphasis is usually placed on other components, such as the CPU, RAM or storage, rather than the graphics card.
Sometimes, this is for good reasons; a low-cost PC may not even have a graphic card but instead rely on graphics-accelerated silicon that is built into the CPU (an “integrated GPU,” also known as an “IGP”)
Modern graphics solutions, whether they are discrete video cards or IGPs, handle the display of 2D, 3D, and desktop content as well as decoding and encoding videos in games and programs.
The discrete video cards available on the market today are all built around graphics processor chips from AMD, Intel or Nvidia. These processors, also known as “GPUs” for “graphics units,” are often confused with the graphics cards themselves.
7 powerful graphics cards are better for gaming
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 4070 Ti
- AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 3080 Ti
1. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
After seeing the price announcement, you probably already knew if the Nvidia GeForce RTX-4090 was something you wanted to purchase.
Here’s a quick version of our review: Yes, it is the top graphics card you can buy for 4K. Yes, DLSS 3 really is the best. No, the RTX-4090 is not a good deal, even if Nvidia’s newest upscaling technology is impressive.
And for your better part of two grand, you get a graphics card that may not even fit in your PC’s mid-tower case. The RTX 4090 Amp Extreme Airo is 355.5mm in length and 165.5mm in width. It was able to fit into the NZXT chassis of my test PC after I removed its AIO cooler.
The RTX-4090 has 16,384 CUDA Cores. That’s over 6,600 cores more than the RTX-4080 16GB. Zotac also increased the boost clock from 2520MHz on this model to 2580MHz.
It’s a small overclock, but remember that the RTX 3090 has 5,600 fewer CUDA Cores and is only boosted to 1860MHz. [How much GB graphics card is best for gaming?]
2. AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
Anyone who wants to buy a 4K graphics card will need to be able to afford it. The graphics card is the most expensive part of a desktop PC, even if AMD’s top model costs around 950 Euros ($1,033). It’s always a question of whether you should choose an AMD graphics card or an Nvidia one for your system.
The price and performance will be the deciding factors for those who do not have a preference. AMD has impressed us with its Radeon RX XTX, which provided excellent gaming performance during our recent tests.
The XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX7900 XFX Black Edition can compete with a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 super, which costs approximately 150 Euros ($163) more.
The XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX7900 XFX black edition is not known for its efficiency. Power consumption is high for those who want the best performance.
The test unit consumes a little more than 400 Watts while the competitor uses “only” 320 Watts. [How much GB graphics card is best for gaming?]
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3. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
You’ll understand why I’m explaining things if you visited this URL back in… November. The RTX-4080 review was originally going to be a review in progress until I had cleared up some other hardware gubbins.
But then the Radeon RX TX and RX XT appeared, and I thought, “Well, it would be good to also include benchmarks for those ”, so I pushed back until they were tested. After the RX 4070 Ti announcement, I thought it would be nice to include benchmarks for that as well.
So, I pushed it until this had been tested. It has, and here are my opinions, a bit late but still fully formed, on the RTX 4800.
It’s a good step up over the RTX 4700 Ti. The RTX 4080 was faster in all of the games except for Forza Horizon 5. It never dropped below 60fps.
It’s worth considering if you are set on buying a card that supports DLSS and will pay top dollar for 4K or ultrawide capability. [How much GB graphics card is best for gaming?]
4. AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
This will not be a top-down review, as there aren’t many changes. We’ll look at the games where performance has improved, those that haven’t and average 15-game data. We’ll then be able to recalculate the cost per frame to see how this GPU is doing.
We have some Radeon RX7900 XT graphics cards we haven’t tested before. In the last few weeks, some of these cards were available for as little as $750.
Sapphire Pulse is one such model, which has dropped to $720 as of mid-July and has been $100 off MSRP since March.
Asrock Phantom Gaming is also available, priced at $780. We saw this model selling at $720 last month, and it has been at a price of $800 or less since March.
Newegg has previously offered it for as low as $780. Newegg had previously sold it for $780. This MSI card isn’t as cheap as the Asrock or Sapphire models. MSI’s custom cards were released a few months late and likely affected pricing. [How much GB graphics card is best for gaming?]
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5. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 4070 Ti
I don’t understand why the 4070 Ti has been criticised so much. While some may see a graphics card that is overpriced and memory-deprived, I have only seen a GPU with a lot of features and a 12GB VRAM that’s more than enough for 99.99% of 4K games. It’s a better deal for this resolution than the 4080.
The RTX 4700 Ti Super is positioned in the middle of the three 40-series Super GPUs. This may be a good thing.
The RTX 4070 Super offers a similar degree of frame rate swell over its predecessor. However, the RTX 4080 Super struggles to improve 4K performance.
The RTX-4070 Ti Super’s performance (and pricing) puts it in competition with the Radeon RX7900 XTX. This card has an advantage over Nvidia for several games. When you add DLSS and ray tracing to the mix, it’s less of a competition.
Hitman 3 (which I know I should be calling Hitman World of Assassination) also shows off the RTX’s 4070 Ti Super superior handling of tough ray tracing.
The RX 7900 XTX is the winner without them. However, with a full suite of RT settings, that 171 fps drops to just 33fps. [How much GB graphics card is best for gaming?]
6. AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
AMD Radeon RX XT 6800 and Radeon RX XT 6800 are now available. They join the list of best graphics cards HTML1. Nvidia’s dominance of the GPU market has been evident since at least 2013 with the GTX 700 series.
AMD is left to compete mainly in the high-end GPU market, as well as mid-range and budget GPU markets. “No longer!” Team Red says, “No longer!”
Big Navi, also known as Navi 21 or RDNA2, is now available. It brings some impressive performance improvements. AMD has also joined the ray-tracing party with its PC desktop graphic cards as well as the next-gen PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series 8.
What are AMD’s GPUs like? Could this be AMD’s GPU equivalent to the Ryzen debut in 2017? We’re here today to find out.
We’ve already discussed many aspects of the launch today, including the RDNA2 Architecture, GPU specifications and features.
It’s now time to put all of the theory into practice. We’ll also cover the RDNA2 finer points. [How much GB graphics card is best for gaming?]
7. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 3080 Ti
You should be familiar with the Nvidia GeForce RTX RTX RTX3080 Ti story. Release a more powerful, higher-spec variant of an existing x80 series part at a price that makes it a compelling upgrade.
The GTX 1080 card was great back then, but the GTX 1080 Ti pushed the envelope and redefined what people expected from a mid-cycle update.
The top graphics cards are also in a poor state of availability and have exorbitant pricing on sites like eBay. The RTX 3080 Ti looks more like the GTX 2080 Ti and less like the GTX 1080 Ti.
The RTX 3080 is 3-4% slower than the RTX 3090 but 14-20% faster than the RTX 3080. Memory bandwidth is the most significant improvement, thanks to two additional memory channels.
However, the clocks on the GPU are slightly lower. [How much GB graphics card is best for gaming?]
Conclusion:
Your budget and needs will determine which graphics card is best for you. NVIDIA GeForce 4090 and Radeon 7900 XTX offer the best performance. AMD Radeon 7900 XT and NVIDIA GeForce RX 4080 are both excellent options for high-end gaming at a slightly lower price.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 3070 Ti and AMD Radeon 6700 XT are good choices for mid-range gamers. In comparison, budget gamers can find value in the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 3050 and AMD Radeon 6600 XT. [How much GB graphics card is best for gaming?]
How much GB graphics card is best for gaming?: FAQ
1. Is a 12GB graphics card enough for gaming?
Ans: The higher the resolution…, the more VRAM will be needed. There is no difference between 16 GB and 12 GB. The future gaming experience depends on the amount of time you project forward. In reality, most games include a VRAM metre that changes depending on the feature selected.
2. Is 12 GB enough for 4K?
Ans: My suggestion: get a 16 GB card. My 4k Vram is usually under 12GB, but I have seen this number go above it multiple times. You’ll probably want to use less, so the value will be lower. The 12 gb limit is likely to not be sufficient for many 4K Ultra games in the future.
3. Does 12 GB RAM increase FPS?
Ans: Faster RAM can improve frame rates and game performance. The performance improvements can vary depending on the game. Some games see a noticeable improvement, while others barely change.