The best graphics card in 2022 Nvidia AMD budget GPUs - Dexerto
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about the authorJoel LoyndsDexerto's Hardware and Deals writer. A lover of bad games and beige PCs, he has found himself writing about these things for over a decade. You can get in touch with him over email: [email protected] articles
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Joel Loynds Published: 2022-10-14T12:19:54 Updated: 2022-10-14T12:20:20Dexerto With brand new graphics cards on the horizon, what are the best GPUs you can get in 2022? We break it down, graphical style. Graphics cards are a key point in any PC build and a constant talking point in tech. Are you going to go all in with workhorses like the 3090 Ti or will you be seeking a budget card like the RX 6600? It ultimately all depends on your budget. GPUs are a major point of any PC build, changing the entire tide of how that PC operates in one fell swoop. Do you need a workhorse like the 3090 Ti? Or are you building a PC to play PC games on a budget? Whatever your decision, we’ve found the best graphics cards you can get hold of right now. No matter where you are looking, the software is also an important factor, with features like DLSS and FSR aiding cheaper cards. With the ever-increasing required specs of games, if you were to buy a graphics card today, it’d be expected to last far longer than before. We’ve yet to get hold of any of the new GPUs from Intel and AMD. Once we’ve managed to test and determine what’s best, we’ll make a proper update to this page. Our recommendation right now is to perhaps hold off, or clue yourself in as to what GPU range is right for you. Contents
The best graphics cards Best budget graphics cardBest graphics card under $600Best premium graphics card Best graphics card for 1080p gamingBest graphics card for 1440p gamingBest graphics card for 4K gamingBest graphics card for esports gamingBest graphics card for content creation GPU FAQs Do you need a GPU AMD vs NvidiaWhat is supersampling DLSS vs FSRWhat are Founders Edition Nvidia graphics cards Intel Arc – is it going to be worth it What is Ray Tracing Do I need an RTX graphics card for Ray Tracing The best budget graphics card Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti
MSIIdeal for pretty much everything – if you don’t want to game higher than 1080p. As of right now, the Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti is the best budget graphics card on the market. It provides for solid, 1080p performance and even eke out 1440p in certain games, too. The package, including all the software additions that come with the card; DLSS, Nvidia Broadcast, and GeForce Experience are all great – which gives it incredible value, especially if you are a budding streamer. At 1080p for your traditional, AAA titles, you can expect an average of 60FPS in most games. If you have a high refresh rate monitor, you can fully expect to hit 144Hz or more on the GPU on esports titles. The 3060 Ti also now comes in smaller sizes that make it ideal for an ITX or small-form-factor build. In the content creation space: Don’t expect the best performance outside of 1080p video editing. DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro are hungry beasts that aren’t particularly well optimized on PC. Get the 3060 Ti in the USGet the 3060 Ti in the UK Alternate pick AMD RX 6600 XT
If you’re after some other options, you should consider AMD’s RX 6600 XT, a cheaper alternative to the RTX 3060 Ti. It’ll get you solid 1080p performance and while it won’t do as well as the 3060 Ti, it’s far cheaper. Get the RX 6600 XT in the USGet the RX 6600 XT in the UK The best graphics card under $600 Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti
EVGA Nvidia’s 3070 Ti MSRPs for $599. It is incredible. It’s a powerhouse at 1080p and 1440p, with some tweaks needed to get similar performance at 4K, you’ll be hanging onto this powerful card for a long, long time. The 3070 Ti is also a great option not only for gaming but content creation as well. Video editors and photographers will love the accelerated boost that comes with Nvidia’s CUDA cores and those in the 3D modeling space will also get their money’s worth. On average, you’re looking at Ultra settings for 1080p, a high refresh rate, with similar performance in 1440p titles. 4K performance is aided by DLSSS to help some framerates along, too. Get the 3070 Ti in the USGet the 3070 Ti in the UK The best premium graphics card Nvidia RTX 4090
There’s nothing that comes close to the 4090 right now. If you want premium in just about anything you plan to do, you want an RTX 4090. Gaming at 4K, with full ray tracing? A 4090. Content creation? That’s right, a 4090. It’s absurdly powerful, decimating any graphs being used right now as it changes the game. If you’re someone deep in the dirt with the rest of us, the 4090 is one of those GPUs that will be mentioned for the foreseeable future. Yes, it sits among the greatest PC parts to grace the world, as it provides that proper jump into the next generation that the 30-series failed to live up to. Things like the Intel i5-2500K, GeForce 8800, Voodoo cards and more fully changed how computing will be looked at going forward. This is the card you go for when you want performance over everything. The best graphics card for 1080p gaming RTX 3060 Ti RX 6600 XT
MSIWhichever you choose, you’re going to get what you need. We’ve already discussed the 3060 Ti in lengthy detail and it is the best option for 1080p gaming. AMD’s lineup might pale in comparison in regards to overall features, but they have the 1080p gaming market on lockdown. Yes, Nvidia do things better and have better software, as well as overall support, but AMD’s massive lineup of cards can help you cut costs and not have to sacrifice all that much. The RX 6600 XT is a great alternative to the 3060 Ti and can be found for a couple of hundred dollars less than the highly sought-after 3060 Ti. Get the 3060 Ti in the USGet the 3060 Ti in the UKGet the RX 6600 XT in the USGet the RX 6600 XT in the UK The best graphics card for 1440p gaming RTX 3070 Ti RX 6700 XT
Zotac/MSIGoing up a power level doesn’t need to be such a hard choice. There’s a tonne of cards that we could suggest for this, but going with the 3070 Ti, or an equivalent will ensure that you have enough headroom for changing your settings where it counts. The 3070 Ti just offers so much performance at this price point, it’s unreal. It hits the 1440p sweet spot, with the best of both worlds – the high refresh rates and gorgeous quality – being on offer here. It’s literally a “have the cake and eat it” scenario. If you’re after AMD though, we’d probably say to look into the equivalent. You won’t get nearly as good performance out of it if you want any modicum of ray tracing, but AMD’s RX 6700 XT will do the job if you want to cut the costs on your power bill. They’re similarly priced to the 3070 family of GPUs, but their power consumption is far lower, lending itself to lesser PSUs. Get the 3070 Ti in the USGet the 3070 Ti in the UKGet the RX 6700 XT in the USGet the RX 6700 XT in the UK The best graphics card for 4K gaming RTX 4090
At some point, we’d be recommending the 3080 Ti here. With prices dropping, we’d still probably recommend grabbing a unit if you don’t want to do a full overhaul. However, the 4090 is now the top dog for gaming. While the 30-series cards solidified ray tracing and ensured that 4K gaming, the RTX 4090 has taken it to the next step. In our current testing, we’ve found the 4090 has managed to play Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K, full ray tracing over 100FPS. No other cards do it better than Nvidia in this regard, which is why you don’t see an AMD alternative here. Where to buy the Nvidia RTX 4090
Best BuyB&HNeweggAmazonNvidia RTX 4090 Founders EditionAsus ROG Nvidia RTX 4090 OCASUS ROG GeForce RTX 4090PNY Nvidia RTX 4090 XLR8MSI Nvidia RTX 4090 Gaming TrioGigabyte Nvidia RTX 4090 Gaming OCGIGABYTE AORUS GeForce RTX 4090MSI Nvidia RTX 4090 Gaming TrioMSI Nvidia RTX 4090 SUPRIM LIQUIDGigabyte Nvidia RTX 4090 WindforceMSI GeForce RTX 4090 Suprim Liquid XMSI Nvidia RTX 4090 Gaming Trio XGigabyte Nvidia RTX 4090 WindforceASUS TUF Nvidia RTX 4090 OCASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4090MSI Nvidia RTX 4090 SuprimPNY Nvidia RTX 4090Zotac Nvidia RTX 4090 Trinity OCGIGABYTE AORUS GeForce RTX 4090MSI Nvidia RTX 4090 Suprim Liquid XGigabyte Nvidia RTX 4090 BlackZotac Nvidia RTX 4090 AMP Extreme AIROMSI Suprim GeForce RTX 4090 Video Card RTX 4090 SUPRIM XZotac Nvidia RTX 4090 Gaming TrinityZOTAC Nvidia RTX 4090 TrinityASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4090Zotac Nvidia RTX 4090 Gaming Trinity OCPNY Nvidia RTX 4090 XLR8 Verto Epic-X RGBMSI Gaming (MSI) GeForce RTX 4090 Video Card RTX 4090 GAMING X TRIO 24GZotac Nvidia RTX 4090 AMP ExtremeMSI Nvidia RTX 4090 Suprim XMSI Gaming (MSI) GeForce RTX 4090 Video Card RTX 4090 GAMING TRIO 24GMSI Nvidia RTX 4090 Suprim Liquid XMSI Nvidia RTX 4090 Gaming X TrioMSI Nvidia RTX 4090 Gaming TrioASUS TUF GMG GEFRC RTX 4090 The best GPU for esports RTX 3050
GigabyteThe 3050, a solid option for those just into esports. You will easily be able to manage esports gaming on the RTX 3050. The neat thing about esports gaming, so things along the lines of Counter-Strike or Valorant, is that there’s no real need to go overboard when choosing a graphics card. A lot of these games are designed to hit as many PCs as possible, meaning that some players could swing by on an APU alone. For those that take things seriously though, it’s recommended you seek out a high refresh rate monitor, too. If you have no real intentions of playing above 1080p at 144Hz or above, and keep your games limited to esports or whatever is trending on Steam right now (V Rising, Escape From Tarkov), you should do just fine with an RTX 3050. This should keep costs down, while still providing you with a good performance to play almost anything out there – if you ever decide to ditch de_dust2. Get the 3050 in the USGet the 3050 in the UK Best graphics card for content creators RTX 3070 Ti and above
MSI3070 Ti, a great GPU for almost everything. If you’re intending to game, make some content and possibly stream, we’d recommend going for the 3070 Ti or above. This gives you enough headroom for multiple tasks at once, without having to give up on your gaming needs. What if you want to go to AMD? Well, Nvidia and AMD use similar tech in their GPUs, with Nvidia calling it ‘CUDA cores’ and AMD going with ‘Streaming cores’. They work the same for the use case, but CUDA has more software support, with the NVENC encoder being an essential part of decoding real-time video for Team Green, giving them a natural advantage over any AMD card. Though, if you are serious about content creation, and do not like to game at all, you should look at Nvidia’s line of Quadro workstation GPUs, but they do get extremely expensive. Get the 3070 Ti in the USGet the 3070 Ti in the UK Do you need a GPU
The short answer if you’re reading this page: yes. The longer answer? It entirely depends on what you’re aiming to do. A dedicated graphics card will almost always improve everything you intend to do. From content creation to gaming, GPUs just take the stress off of your PC’s CPU to allow it to continue with its needed tasks. However, some branches of the AMD and Intel CPU lines now actually perform great on their own, with the integrated GPU intended for things like office work and maybe light Photoshop. Chips like the Ryzen 5600G and 5700G from AMD are recommended for those interested in building a budget build, as well as ideal for emulation and retro gaming. While they won’t pull in impressive framerates, they should be able to see you through some very light 1080p gaming or some hardcore emulation. AMD vs Nvidia
… and Intel
The AMD vs Nvidia conversation is always going to land on the point of ‘Nvidia is better’ and it’s true. There’s no doubt with everything that Nvidia brings to the table by using one of their GPUs in your laptop or rig, that you’re going to suffer or have to make sacrifices. Things like Nvidia Broadcast, Omniverse, and the GeForce Experience with its built-in recording function and optimization for your games, as well as the ever-impressive DLSS, mean that Nvidia just outright offers a better deal on the graphics card front. However, AMD’s cards offer something in that you’re going to wind up spending a lot less than initially expected in some aspects. Lower power consumption means less money spent on a power supply, and AMD is generally a touch cheaper, too. Some of the recent AMD cards have even been outperforming the Nvidia equivalents, but again, it depends on what you really want from your PC. What is supersampling DLSS vs FSR
Supersampling is the process of shrinking an image down to a lower resolution and then blowing it back up using algorithms from AI or machine learning. You’ll get silky smooth frames on even the toughest game to run on things like a 3050 Ti. So, supersampling is a relatively new bullet point to discuss in terms of graphics cards. It’s really designed to stop the superseding nature of GPUs, where once the next couple of iterations are out, some graphics cards become, well, worthless. To counteract this, Nvidia has DLSS – Deep Learning Super Sampling – and AMD has FSR – FidelityFX Super Resolution – both of which accomplish the same task but in different fashions. The neat thing about FSR is that AMD has made it open source so any game can begin to integrate it. However, Nvidia has closed off DLSS by limiting it to their hardware, and even then, only for RTX cards. FSR works on all GPUs that it supports, bringing new life into even older GTX cards that have become forgotten. DLSS works on RTX cards, from the 20-series onwards. However, as mentioned, DLSS and FSR have to be integrated into the game by the developers. Though, as it has gone open source, it appears as though some developers are making programs to ensure it runs everywhere. What are Founders Edition Nvidia graphics cards
Founders Edition cards are the graphics cards that are manufactured by Nvidia themselves. They rarely come back in stock and often go for much more on the secondary market due to their complete ‘stock’ design. These are the complete basis of every card that follows onwards, with all kinds of manufacturers developing their own version of each branch of the card. Intel Arc – is it going to be worth it
As of right now, it appears Intel’s first crack at graphics cards isn’t going to live up to their own hype machine. Announced in 2021, Intel positioned itself as the third pillar in the graphic card industry and they kind of fluffed it. The leaked specs coming out of China have already dashed any hopes of a decent alternative to team green or team red. However, Intel Arc shouldn’t be taken entirely as dead on arrival, as presumably, the next iteration will improve things. However, seeing as how much catching up it took AMD to have a remote inning at Nvidia’s prowess after losing all control in the late 2000s and early 2010s, don’t get your hopes up. What is Ray Tracing
Ray Tracing is a technology that’s been around for quite some time. It’s a method of calculating light in a 3D environment in a semi-natural way, that doesn’t require programmers and developers to ‘bake’ it in. This includes warping in things like glass, or even changing the color or size as it passes through things. The first ray traced movie from 1979 Whereas it has been used frequently in movies since around 2005, with Monsters University being the first to use it for everything, it wasn’t until the launch of RTX cards that ray tracing even began to function properly in real-time applications like video games. Prior to things like Doom 3 and advancements in the Unreal Engine, games would have to ‘bake’ their lights. Games like Call of Duty, for instance, would simply have the lighting already built into the world with nothing that could change it. Games with Ray Tracing now, such as Minecraft’s RTX version, can take a light source and bounce it around mathematically as close to realism as possible. So if you build a house with one block open for a window, the light will pour in and produce a natural light leak. Do I need an RTX graphics card for Ray Tracing
No, technically any graphics card supports Ray Tracing. AMD has its own version of ‘RTX’, which is merely just branding. They just poorly advertise it and do a worse job, but the point is, no, you don’t need an RTX branded card from Nvidia to do raytracing. AMD graphics cards do a worse job in part because they utilize the same hardware cores that perform different tasks at the same time. Nvidia changed the name of their GPUs from GTX to RTX because of the switch in focus for the development of the 20-series onwards. Is it a good time to buy a graphics card
Right now is a good time to buy a graphics card if you’re looking for a bargain. Prices are plumetting and you can readily purchase most cards without any fuss. However, you should still bear in mind that the RTX 4070 is going to beat out the current power king, the RTX 3090 Ti for a fraction of the price, no matter how discoutned it might be right now. So, for those looking to get the best performance, you might want to wait a little while. If you want to buy a graphics card now, pick up an RTX 3060 or RX 6600 XT, because you’ll get the best value out of them, as the next-generation cards for that bracket are not due to hit for a little while. Be careful when shopping for a used card, you might not know how hot the card was kept, or if it was used for cryptocurrency mining. This can shorten the life of the card, though it’s proven to not affect performance. It might be tempting to grab yourself a bargain, and some can in deed be had, but just make sure that you do some due diligence ahead of splashing out. If you click on a product link on this page we may earn a small affiliate commission. keep reading
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