The best graphics cardsare much more complex processors than their predecessors as they perform a wide variety of tasks that were previously limited in scope or done by the CPU. They do this because theirunderlying architecture is superior to a CPU’swhen it comes to handling large amounts of data or computations. This is why we have seen them increase in demand at the higher end with more specialized versions available to help train AI models and also perform simple tasks like accelerating web browsers' ability to display content.
However, a substantial number of the best graphics cards are used for gaming, with industry leader Nvidia drawing a large chunk of its revenue basefrom the sales of these GPUs. They enable users to play the latest game titles in all their glory while handling key functions such as rendering images, handling shadow detail, ray tracing (and more recently, path tracing), and compiling shaders for use in the latest games.
ASRock Challenger D Radeon RX 6700 XT
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming OC 24G Graphics Card
Given the enormity of the GPU market – which was estimated to be worth as much as $40 billion last year – there are options in various shapes, sizes, and prices to accommodate everyone looking for a GPU. The team at Game Rant has made a list of some of the best and most popular GPU options gamers might consider for an upgrade or anew PC build altogether.
How To Choose The Best GPUs For Gaming
Picking the best graphics cards for gaming involves considering GPUs from all major contenders in the market, including Nvidia, AMD, and a mid-range-focused Intel. All chip designers have their own pros and cons, but it does come down to the following to determine if a GPU is a great recommendation for gaming in 2024:
Performance: Raw performance in terms of rasterization is the most important factor to consider when opting for a GPU as a gamer. This directly translates to performance in most games and scales accordingly even with new AI sharpening tech such as DLSS and FSR in tow, allowing users to eke out a better gaming experience thanks to more power under the hood.
Price-To-Performance Ratio: Both AMD and Nvidia’s latest GPU lineups bring a significant price uptick versus their predecessors even as they deliver more performance at different tiers. This results in a mix of value buys that emerge, often from older-generation GPUs thanks to the newer Navi and Ada Lovelace GPUs often costing significantly more. This is particularly true in the mid-range segment, which is where Intel delivers considerably better value than both of its larger GPU competitors.
Software Support: Software support can range from driver updates, where the latest generation GPUs enjoy priority from all players in the market, to the quality of these updates, which often adds better performance, stability, and bug fixes on a regular basis. At the same time, accompanying tech such as FSR from AMD and DLSS as well as Ray Tracing software support, in addition to better optimization in terms of hardware profiles for certain titles, all make for a key component of gaming experiences, especially in newer titles.
Gameplay Resolution and FPS: Depending on the desired resolution and FPS, low to mid-tier GPUs would be sufficient. In the current market, most GPUs can deliver high FPS gaming at 1080p resolution, which means gamers do not need to invest in more premium offerings. However, if 4K 60+ FPS is the aim, then a top-tier GPU like the RTX 4080 Super and above should be considered.
Game Rant’s Picks for the Best Gaming GPUs
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4070 Super OC
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4070 Super OC brings about 20% improvement over the non-Super edition for a slightly higher price and comes in a dual axial-tech fan design with factory-overclocked. Boasting a clock speed of 2550MHz in the OC mode, it provides a slight advantage to the Founders Edition along with a better cooling solution.
Released in the very first month of 2024, the RTX 4070 Super is a fantastic alternative tothe RTX 4070with enhanced specifications for a mere $50 price increase. The Super series is one of Nvidia’s strongest weapons to make a comeback and the 4070 Super did not disappoint at all.According to Nvidia, the GPU provides better performance than the RTX 3090 with significantly lower power consumption. Compared to the non-Super version, the RTX 4070 Super consumes just 20W more and provides up to 20% higher performance.
It boasts the same memory configuration though, but as the Cuda Cores, Tensor Cores, and RT Cores increase, the performance is uplifted noticeably. It is just 5-10% slower than the RTX 4070 Ti, but costs 25% less, easily taking the place of the best overall gaming CPU at the moment.
ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 4080 SUPER OC
The ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 4080 SUPER OC is an excellent aftermarket take on the RTX 4080 SUPER, offering a higher boost clock than the stock option even as it clocks in an additional $100 on MSRP. It offers excellent reliability, power delivery, and one of the best aftermarket coolers one can get for Nvidia’s higher-end RTX 4000 series GPUs.
In a move that was considered controversial by some, Nvidia has announced that the RTX 4080 GPU has reached its End Of Life (EOL) and is being replaced with a ‘new and improved’ RTX 4080 Super. It comes at a lower launch price and offers slightly upgraded specifications. All board partners have pushed their versions of the RTX 4080 Super and the Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER OC Edition stands as the best high-end graphics card for gaming. Compared to the outgoing RTX 4080, the ‘Super’ model comes with a few more CUDA cores (10240 on the Super vs 9728 on the standard) as well as slightly improved base and boost clock speeds.
While this improvement does not bring significant performance gains over the non-Super RTX 4080, it is nonetheless a newer model at a cheaper price. Various benchmarks have shown slight improvements in performance for the RTX 4080 Super and that’s good enough for gamers looking to get the maximum frames out of their gaming PCs.
The Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER OC Edition has a triple fan design with Axial-tech fans that Asus says deliver 23 percent more airflow. The beefy cooling solution does increase the thickness of the GPU to 3.65 slots, so verify there is enough space in the PC before pulling the trigger on the Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER OC Edition. The stronger cooling allows for higher clock speeds when compared to the Founders Edition card at 2610 MHz base and 2640 MHz boost.
Those eyeing theRTX 4080instead should look out for retailers clearing their stock and know that Nvidia will continue supporting the card with driver updates, along with other RTX 40 series cards.
Sapphire AMD Radeon NITRO+ RX 7900 XTX Vapor-X
Premium Looks meets Premium Cooling
The Sapphire Nitro lineup is synonymous with the highest-end AMD 3rd-party GPU offerings in the market. The Nitro+ doubles down on this with the highest-in-market clocks and a vapor chamber that outperforms the stock design considerably while trading at a significant premium over competing 7900XTX-based products.
The RX 7900XTX is currentlythe fastest GPU from AMD, and it should come as no surprise that the Sapphire AMD Radeon NITRO+ RX 7900 XTX Vapor-X takes the top spot when it comes to finding the best AMD GPU possible. This is because it improves on the gains the 7900XTX makes by bundling a much better cooling option thanks to a vapor chamber that does not share the default unit’s design flaws while keeping thermals at much better numbers at both idle and load levels.
The Sapphire AMD Radeon NITRO+ RX 7900 XTX Vapor-X proves why Sapphire is considered by many to be the most premium GPU manufacturer for Team Red. It makes several inroads when it comes to thermals and design choices making it both the coolest-looking and the coolest-running RX 7900XTX on the market right now. With the default AMD design having issues with its own vapor chamber, demand for 3rd party RX 7900XTX units has remained a more consistent factor in sales especially when it comes to AMD fans.
All in all, while the 7900XTX is a bitter pill to swallow in terms of pricing, it does trade blows with the slightly more expensive RTX 4080 regularly when it comes to rasterization, falling a bit short when it comes to ray tracing. It is otherwise a solid offering and the $100 premium that the Sapphire Nitro+ 7900 XTX Vapor-X costs makes it a no-brainer purchase for consumers looking to get the best of the best AMD GPU possible in 2024.
The Sapphire AMD Radeon NITRO+ RX 7900 XTX Vapor-X remainsthe best AMD GPUone can buy in 2024, at least until AMD releases something beyond the RX 7900XTX. At just under $1050, this GPU is at a better price than when it was first tracked in April and is now coupled with a free copy ofStarfieldPremium Edition. Even as FSR matures over time and finds more mainstream adoption in games, includingStarfield, Sapphire is aging well thanks to its higher VRAM offering. Overall, this high-end take on the RX 7900 XTX is a much more appealing prospect than ever before, even when compared to its direct competition.
With FSR 3 on the horizon and support incoming for multiple titles in the coming weeks, the RX 7900 XTX could see stronger demand as well as more widespread adoption as it continues to deliver better value in some key areas versus an RTX 4080 such as VRAM.
ASRock Phantom Gaming Intel Arc A770
The Phantom Gaming Intel Arc A770 from ASRock is the best Intel GPU on the market, and it brings the latest and greatest of Intel’s technology to the world of gaming. It boasts 2200 MHz clock speeds, 16 GB GDDR6 VRAM, and support for Intel’s XeSS Ai upscaling. The GPU is also a budget-friendly offering that can deliver impressive performance at 1440p resolution.
Intel hasn’t yet delivered a high-end powerhouse of a GPU such as the RTX 4080 or the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and is instead sticking with more budget-friendly mid-tier options. The ASRock Phantom Gaming Arc A770 GPU is based on the Intel Arc a770 which is the best graphics card offered by Intel. The ASRock offering comes with 16 GB GDDR6 memory, 32 Xe cores, 32 Ray Tracing units, and slightly higher than the standard average clock speed of 2200 MHz.
It features a triple-fan cooling system that works in tandem with the copper base and consolidated heat pipes to keep the GPU cool under load. It also has a 0dB silent cooling mode which means the fans will not turn on till a certain amount of load. For a price of just over $300, the ASRock Phantom Gaming Arc A770 comes with a metal backplate and RGB lighting that can be controlled via the Polychrome SYNC software and sync with ASRock motherboards.
While it supports up to 8K resolutions, don’t expect to game at that or even 4K for that matter, as the ASRock Phantom Gaming Arc A770 is best suited for 1440p gaming. It does support XeSS or Xe Super Sampling, which is similar to Nvidia’s DLSS as it uses Ai upscaling to improve visual fidelity as well as frame rates. Furthermore, with Intel’s Deep Link technology, the Arc A770 can deliver improved performance when paired with select Intel Core CPUs.
XFX Speedster QICK319 RX 7800 XT CORE
XFX Speedster QICK319 RX 7800 XT CORE is a big GPU that measures 335mm in length and features a triple fan design for enhanced cooling. RX 7800 XT is a competitive mid-range GPU that comes pretty close to the RTX 4070 in performance but costs a little less. The card features 3840 SPs and a 16GB VRAM on a 256-bit bus.
Launched in September 2023, the RX 7800 XT replaced the 6800 XT and directly aims at Nvidia’s RTX 4070 for maxing out games at 1440p resolution. It does successfully stay on par with the latter but provides 4GB higher VRAM. Various gaming benchmarks have proved that modern titles likeHogwarts LegacyandThe Last of Us Remasteredconsume a lot of VRAM and can suffer from frame rate dips in intensive areas if memory is insufficient.
For the same reason, AMD equipped the 7800 XT with more VRAM and has boasted about it multiple times. However, the RX 7800 XT does come with some limitations, like higher power consumption and very little improvement over the predecessor when it comes to both rasterization and ray tracing performance, losing to the 4070 as far as ray tracing goes. Still, the lower price tag makes it an ideal choice for gamers who are looking tobuild a gaming PC for under $2000.
ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC Edition
The Best There Is
The ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC Edition may be one of its largest GPUs ever, but the patented design supports the most potent overclocking potential out of its peers.With a vapor chamber in tow, the ROG Strix comes in both black and white and does not disappoint in either looks or power. It is easily the most powerful 4090 out there, clocking at a stable 3120 MHz in Game Rant’s in-house testing.
The ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC Edition is a mainstay (and will be until a better option appears) on most of Game Rant’s lists that will mention performance. This is because it is the fastest consumer-grade GPU money can buy. It also offers steady overclockability and excellent (if subtle) RGB lighting on top of what is arguably the best vapor chamber cooling we have seen in a mainstream GPU.
Paired with an excellent 24-phase VRM, theASUS flagship can handle up to 600Wthe GPU is capable of drawing with ease along with a user’s undervolting and overclocking needs. While our test unit had a minor (but audible) coil whine, it did boost to some of the highest clocks out of the box we have been able to push an RTX 4090.
The price however is anything but mainstream with the GPU clocking in at about $2000 with scalpers buying up stock repeatedly and pushing prices even higher at times. A good example is thewhite version of the GPUthat remains in short supply to date and has been price gouged to users who want the best of the best bar none. But then that is what the ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC Edition provides: the best performance variant of the king of the hill GPU in 2024.
The RTX 4090 remains a formidable GPU in 2024 with no direct alternatives in its performance class. AMD’s RX 7900XTX only trades blows with Nvidia’s RTX 4080 at best. The Strix has stood the test of time in this case, much like its underlying GPU. It remains the best mainstream RTX 4090 SKU money can buy. As a result, it seems to hover around the premium price of $2000. Most of its competitors have seen their prices fall slightly as they vie for a thinner GPU market in 2024. Even still, the Strix holds its own simply by beingthe best RTX 4090 money can buyto date in terms of raw performance and boost clocks alone.
Check out ourfull review of the Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC Edition here!
MSI GeForce RTX 4060 VENTUS 2X BLACK 8G OC
Entry-Level Ada Lovelace
The MSI GeForce RTX 4060 VENTUS 2X BLACK 8G OC is an excellent GPU offering as far as RTX 4060 offerings go. It offers an excellent, balanced take on Nvidia’s entry-level Ada Lovelace-based RTX 4000 series, offering low power consumption, a compact design, and a single 8-pin power connector to handle its power needs, making it a silent performer that delivers on its promise.
The MSI GeForce RTX 4060 VENTUS 2X BLACK 8G OC is MSI’s take onNvidia’s newer RTX 4060 GPU, which launched at the end of June 2023. It happens to be a tradeoff, offering DLSS3 for less VRAM and similar rasterization performance with Nvidia, touting better efficiency than the popular last-generation Ampere-based RTX 3060 GPU.
MSI’s Ventus RTX 4060 is a compact, silent performer that gets the job done, offering much better value for money than some of the more over-engineered RTX 4060 SKUs in the market that often edge towards RTX 4060TI territory in terms of pricing. While it isn’t everything most gamers want, it does happen to be the best Nvidia-based GPU one can buy in the sub-$300 price bracket. However, many users may want to think twice before getting it as an upgrade for RTX 3000 series-based GPUs.
All in all, while Nvidia’s pricing on the RTX 4060 has attracted some bad press, it does happen to be the best option for those in the market for a new Nvidia-based GPU. For those on a budget, it is certainly an easier sell than for those looking for an upgrade to the current generation from Ampere.
Challenging Price Points
The ASRock Challenger D Radeon RX 6700 XT is an excellent mid-range GPU that does justice to 1080P and 1440P gamers. While it can handle the bulk of modern games at a respectable frame rate at FHD or 2K resolutions, it also does so at a price point where it decimates Nvidia’s RTX 3060/3060TI offerings. It does offer Ray Tracing, but the performance overhead is significantly higher than Nvidia’s 2nd and 3rd gen RT-core enabled RTX 3000 and 4000 GPUs which tend to be at least a generation ahead of the 6700XT’s own implementation.
The ASRock Challenger D Radeon RX 6700 XT is an aftermarket version of AMD’s versatile 6700XT GPU. It offers better than stock clocks, excellent value for money, and better performance than Nvidia’s RTX 3060TI (when ray tracing is not considered). This makes it AMD’s best budget GPU with plenty of VRAM for today’s games at itstarget resolution of 1440P.
It does, however, take a hit when it comes to Ray Tracing, where the Nvidia RTX 3060TI emerges as a clear favorite. Until recently, it was somewhat plagued with issues when it came to newer games. This was a result of AMD skipping driver updates for the RX 6000 series GPUs in order to get a head start on its new RX 7000 series GPUs. While that has been resolved since AMD unified its driver updates, it has somewhat resulted in a bit of uproar that stretches all the way from the budget RX series GPUs to its flagship RX 6950XT. Although it shouldn’t affect current purchases, it is something that end-users decried when considering the number of developers that Team Red might have employed to publish new GPU drivers that might be too thinly spread going forward.
The RX 6700XT is the gift that keeps giving to mid-range gamers, offering astounding value for money as well as excellent rasterization performance versus the competition. With the new RX 7600 not being there yet in terms of performance, along with offering lower memory, the ASRock Challenger D Radeon RX 6700 XT remains our pick for the best value GPU for gaming in 2024.
GIGABYTE built this GPU based on the Ada Lovelace architecture to deliver unparalleled responsiveness for gamers. Fourth-generation Tensor Cores and third-generation RT Cores give users fast response times while enhancing ray tracing. It features the WINDFORCE cooling system that keeps it cool and quiet throughout gaming sessions. It also supports 4K and 8K gaming via the included 24GB virtual memory
The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4090 is one of the most outstanding NVIDIA GPUs for gaming, delivering unparalleled responsiveness for gamers and exceptional functionality for video editors and graphic designers. The GPU features 4th-generation Tensor Cores that greatly enhance creativity and efficiency and give users standout response times.
Thanks to its third-generation RT cores, the GPU delivers enhanced ray tracing for realistic virtual worlds with details that make a difference in competitive gaming and professional work. The graphics card can deliver up to 300 frames per second (FPS) for enhanced image quality in gaming, graphic design, and video editing.
Additionally, it does wonders for 4K and 8K gaming and can work perfectly well at a maximum digital resolution of 7680x4320 in DirectX 12 Ultimate. When it comes to memory, the GPU comes with 24GB of virtual memory, which is large enough to deliver blistering responsiveness for faster target acquisition, perfect aim precision, and quicker reaction time in competitive gaming.
What Should Users Look For In A Graphics Card?
The best graphics cards or GPUs are complex pieces of hardware that perform multiple functions for users looking to game, render, run complex deep learning solutions, train AI models, and more. As a result, not all GPUs are made equal. Depending on a user’s needs, they may find some GPUs to be better than others for specific tasks.
The same applies to gaming. Both Nvidia and AMD (and to a lesser extent, Intel) tend to offer different solutions and hardware specifications that often do not translate to absolute performance in games. Here are the following things users should consider while buying a GPU:
FAQs
Q. What graphics card is best for all gaming?
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the best graphics card for all gaming, thanks to the built-in AI technologies that ensure low-latency delivery of images to 4K and 8K displays. As a results, users benefit by getting high response times that give them a competitive edge when gaming.
Q. What graphics card is fastest?
The fastest graphics card in 2024 is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 with DLSS 3 technology for improved speeds of up to 300FPS. It, therefore delivers the ultimate experience for users who want to almost second-guess in-game action and win against the competition.
FAQ
Q: What is the fastest GPU money can buy currently?
Nvidia’s RTX 4090 GPUs are the fastest GPUs money can buy with SKUs that cost anywhere between $1500 to $2500, depending on their specific models and cooling solutions.
Q: Is getting the latest generation of graphic cards important?
No. Even GPUs from a generation released a few years ago can handle most modern games. While the latest GPUs are considerably faster and harness newer tech and optimizations, most games are designed for PC hardware across generations, making many older GPUs like the GTX 1080 and RTX 2070 still viable GPUs to have in 2023.
