The world of computer components has felt upside-down since 2016. Between the gargantuan rise of crypto mining to the pandemic, graphic card companies have been struggling with finding enough computer chips while satisfying an unprecedented level of demand. This happens against the backdrop of companies continuing research to offer more power, and both Nvidia and AMD vying for consumer interest. Find yourself befuddled no more: here are the best graphics cards for gaming.
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#3 — Radeon RX 6700 XT
Image via Gamers Nexus on Youtube
- Starting at $370
- Ideal budget card
The Radeon RX 6700 XT should have been marketed as Radeon’s answer to Nvidia’s RTX 3060 Ti, slightly eking out a better performance while maintaining an attractive price point. Instead, AMD tried to market it against 3080’s and is considered to have lost the battle. Gamers looking to play nice with their wallets, however, shouldn’t remove this card from the lineup as a satisfactory solution to rendering modern games. You won’t be pushing the frames that newer cards offer, but it’s also next to impossible to find an equal at this price point.
The 6700 XT comes with 12GB of GDDR6 clocked at 16 Gbps, and draws 230 watts. 2,560 GPU cores help this card eke out fantastic 1080p quality. The big selling point of the 6700 XT is its price-to-performance ratio, and overclocking (even at factory) can boost performance further. This card can handle Red Dead Redemption 2 at 1440p and keep frames slightly above 60 fps, outperforming the team green 3060 Ti and offering slightly less power than the 3070.
#2 — Radeon RX 6800 XT
- Starting around $600
- Crushes 4K with impressive VRAM
The Radeon RX 6800 XT is the best AMD card on the market right now, and it performs very well. The 6800 XT can outperform the 3080, while costing around $200 less. The downside is that, compared to Nvidia, the AMD technologies simply haven’t caught on as well. The 6800 XT offers weaker ray tracing, and FSR hasn’t been adopted by the industry as readily as AMD would hope. Still, it’s difficult to find a stronger card than this, and impossible to find a stronger card at this price point.
With 4,608 GPU cores, 16GB GDDR6 clocked at 16 Gbps, and pulling 300 watts, the 6800 XT is beyond reasonable for modern gaming, even when pushing frames per second above 120. The only downside of this card, aside from the weaker ray tracing (which isn’t too harsh), is that AMD is scheduled to reveal their next flagship card relatively soon. That card, assuming it follows in the traditional footsteps of AMD, will likely push more power than the 6800 XT while still being budget-friendly.
#1 — GeForce RTX 3080
- Starting around $750
- Extremely reliable last gen card
It’s overkill if you aren’t pushing past 1080p and 60fps, but the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 is top of the line when it comes to gaming. The 4090 is more recent, but widespread reports of burning and melting cards make it a very difficult recommendation for that series. Still, the 3080 is the go-to is price is no objection: you can max out the vast majority of modern graphic options in-game, and it’s a relatively future-safe choice as the 40-series has crashed and, on more than one occasion, literally burned. Oddly enough, this has turned out to be a benefit for hobbyists looking closely at a modern RTX.
The 3080 is a powerhouse, last generation or not: 8,704 GPU cores with 10GB GDDR6X clocked at 19 Gbps with a 320 watt pull gives it a bit more bang than AMD’s best card. The Ampere architecture is now outdated compared to current-gen, but that doesn’t stop this card from performing well when anything is thrown at it. If you’re concerned about power, you can upgrade this selection to the 3080 Ti for that little bit more oomph.
