Top rated GPUs for every build and budget

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 is the very first graphics card to launch from the new RTX 4000 Series, and it’s also the most powerful GPU we’ve ever tested.

In the vast majority of games we tested, it was capable of hitting over 100fps at a 4K resolution. It’s even more impressive for eSports games such as Overwatch 2, as it nearly reached a 500fps performance. You can’t get these kinds of speeds anywhere else.

We also found that the new DLSS 3 software helps to boost frame rates even further for compatible games, allowing for a smoother performance in Cyberpunk 2077 when set to a 4K resolution with ray tracing activated. And while the RTX 4090 is arguably overkill for most gamers, it’s a fantastic option for content creators that need to render 3D models at a lightning pace.

The RTX 4090 won’t be for everyone since it costs an absolute fortune and also has a high power consumption to boot. But if you’re craving the fastest performance possible from a graphics card, then this is your very best option.

Reviewer: Ryan Jones
Full review: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 review

The Nvidia RTX 3080 is the best value graphics card for 4K gaming. While the new RTX 4090 GPU is significantly faster, it’s also overkill for most gamers and ridiculously expensive. The RTX 3080 is a great option for those who want to play games in Ultra HD, but don’t want to spend well over a grand.

The Nvidia RTX 3080 managed to play both Control and Battlefield V in 4K, during our latest checks, with a performance over 60fps with their graphics maxed. On top of that, the RTX 3080 Ti typically only renders games around 5-10 frames faster than the base RTX 3080 in 4K with ray tracing and DLSS on. While these gains aren’t to be ignored, we still recommend most buyers opt for the much more reasonably priced RTX 3080 since it represents superior value. 

However, our tests did show that the card can run a little hot and, based on our experience, doesn’t have much room for overclocking. Smaller builds will also want to avoid it due to the card’s high thermals, which exceeded 90 degrees regularly when playing demanding titles in our test rig’s open case. This, plus its large dual-fan design, make it an awkward fit for smaller builds.

You should also bear in mind that the RTX 3080 has now been replaced with the RTX 4080. While we haven’t tested this new card yet, we know it’s built on the new Lovelace architecture and boasts more CUDA Cores than its predecessor. As a result, we recommend waiting for our RTX 4080 review before taking the plunge.

Reviewer: Alastair Stevenson
Full review: Nvidia RTX 3080 review

If you’re not that bothered about 4K or have a 1440p monitor instead, then the Nvidia RTX 3070 is the best graphics card we’d recommend to gamers. The card shares the same Ampere architecture and high-end features as its more expensive sibling, but isn’t quite as powerful. 

During testing, we could not reliably get demanding games (like CyberPunk 2077) running in 4K with ray tracing on and the graphics settings maxed. But with ray tracing off, the card generally performed excellently and proved fantastic value for money. Elden Ring ran smoothly in 1080p, 1440p and 4K with zero issue, as did Cyberpunk 2077 and Tiny Tina’s Wonderland.

However, we found the RTX 3070 generally played games around 15-20 fps slower than the RTX 3080. This meant games, including Cyberpunk 2077 and Control, failed to consistently hit 60fps when ray tracing was activated, averaging between 40-50fps during our tests. These frame rates are still comfortably playable, but they don’t offer the smooth experience you get on the more expensive RTX 3080. 

The compromise is forgivable as the 3070 also manages to outperform its AMD rival’s performance. Putting the RTX 3070 head to head with the slightly cheaper AMD RX 6700XT, the Nvidia card was constantly 10fps ahead in our in-game benchmark tests. This adds up to make it our recommended card for a 1440p resolution, and anyone who doesn’t care about ray tracing in 4K.

But before you hit checkout, it may be worth waiting for our review of the next-gen Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti, which should see an even better performance at a slightly more expensive price.

Reviewer: Alastair Stevenson 
Full review: Nvidia RTX 3070 review

If you still use an 1080p gaming monitor, then both the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 are overkill options based on our experience. Instead, we recommend opting for the cheaper RTX 3060 Ti. This isn’t the cheapest Nvidia card we’ve tested, with the RTX 3050 costing considerably less. But the RTX 3060 Ti is the cheapest we’ve benchmarked to offer reliable post-60fps performance with ray tracing on in 1080p.

The card shares the same perks and architecture as the RTX 3070, with the main changes being reductions to its clock speeds and general specifications. Specifically, it has less tensor cores and RT cores (the parts of the card that run ray tracing and DLSS). 

But we didn’t notice any serious issues running games in 1080p. The graphics card ran every game in our tests, even with ray tracing activated and their graphics settings maxed out. Control zoomed along at 84fps and Borderlands 3 never dipped below 60fps. As a result, we’d say this is the card to get if you care about ray tracing and other cutting-edge features, but are still gaming at a 1080p resolution.

The only downside is that the Founders Edition model we tested is still fairly large, making it a poor fit for ITX builds. If that’s what you’re after, you’re better off checking a single-fan card, like the Nvidia RTX 3050, despite occasionally struggling to hit 60fps, even in 1080p, during our checks.

Reviewer: Alastair Stevenson
Full review: Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti review

The AMD RX 6600 XT is our current top recommended card for those on a strict budget. It’s the cheapest option in AMD’s previous generation and is built on the same RDNA 2 architecture as its more expensive siblings.

During our tests, we found the card can’t match the performance of Nvidia’s more expensive RTX 3060 Ti, especially when it comes to ray tracing. But for the price, it’s still a very capable card for 1080p gaming.

Modern games, including Doom Eternal, Destiny 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 all ran over 60fps in our 1080p benchmarks, while FSR compatible titles (like Godfall) can see the performance boosted even further due to some upscaling smarts. 

If you don’t care about sky-high frame rates or ray tracing when playing games in 1080p, the budget-friendly price makes the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT a solid choice. However, AMD RDNA 3 graphics cards are right around the corner, so it may be worth waiting for their launch before settling for one of AMD’s existing options.