The Best Graphics Cards

Last updated: August 2019

Best Graphics Card Available

RTX 2080 Ti ($1200)

If you're looking to build a machine with exceptional graphical performance, then look no further than the RTX 2080 Ti; it beats the lower echelons of graphics cards by a reasonable margin. But it's worth pointing out that its price-to-performance ratio is also one of the worst among all recent consumer-grade graphics cards.

Builders who want the best should choose this card . . but only after seriously asking themselves whether the ~30% difference in performance between this card and the RTX 2080 or Radeon VII is worth the additional $500.

Runner Up: Titan RTX ($2500)

If you looked at the RTX 2080 Ti above, and said to yourself, “Not bad—but if I could get a tiny bit more powerful graphics card for a much worse price, that would really be the ideal,” then the Titan RTX is the card for you. It offers ~5% more power for ~150% more money.

This card does feature the best single-card performance on the market. But at nearly 2.5 times the cost of an RTX 2080 Ti, it also has an utterly horrendous price-to-performance ratio. So, Nvidia set the bar at 10 on what ‘unattractive offer’ looks like with the pricing of the RTX 2080 Ti; and then they immediately raised that bar up 15 notches with the Titan RTX. The only users who should consider this card are those for whom cost is literally irrelevant.

Best Graphics Card Under $750

RTX 2080 Super ($700)

The RTX 2080 Super has ~10% better performance than both the flagship card of Nvidia’s previous generation (the GTX 1080 Ti) and its closest sibling (the RTX 2080). Yet it launched at a similar price to the 2080 across most models. So if you can find a 1080 Ti or a 2080 for an unusually low price, then either of those would still be a very solid alternative at this level. Otherwise, you’ll be plenty satisfied by what the RTX 2080 Super can do.

Runner Up: Radeon VII ($700)

The Radeon VII has about 15% worse performance than the RTX 2080 Super. It's no real competitor for the winner in this category at its current price, and its drivers are still in very active development (which is making it have inconsistent performance when compared to the 2080 or 2080 Super in the short term), but the Radeon VII should still be a great high-end choice in the long term—especially if the future brings driver updates and price cuts.

Best Graphics Card Under $500

RX 5700 XT ($400)

A new face for upper midrange building: AMD’s RX 5700 XT provides an immense amount of power for the price—beating (in both price and performance) not only last year’s RTX 2060, but also its newer, beefier brother, the RTX 2060 Super.

Runner Up: RTX 2060 Super ($420)

Imagine an RTX 2060, but better! Sounds amazing, right? Well, it is . . . but it’s also a bit less powerful and a bit more costly than the RX 5700 XT. So, while this remains a very solid choice for either 1080p or 1440p gaming, the RTX 2060 Super is a somewhat inferior option when compared to the winner we’ve crowned for this category.

Best Graphics Card Under $250

GTX 1660 ($230)

Nvidia hasn’t forgotten about their lower midrange builders, despite their monstrous GPUs dominating the high-end spots at the top of this list. That is apparent from the GTX 1660, a great card for any and all 1080p gaming with superior performance to last generation’s midrange captains: the GTX 1060 6GB and the RX 580.

Runner Up: RX 580 ($185)

If the price of the GTX 1060 6GB had declined as steeply as the price of this card, it could possibly have held this spot in the list instead. But AMD’s price cuts have been extraordinarily deep for this GPU, and now the RX 580 possesses one of the best price-to-performance ratios in the entire graphics card market. Those looking to build competent budget machines for smooth 1080p gameplay should take a good long look at this card.

Best Graphics Card Under $100

Vega 11 iGPU in the R5 2400G CPU (CPU cost: $160)

The best graphics processor for under $100 is the Vega 11 integrated graphics processor of the AMD R5 2400G CPU. Confused by this choice? Read on:

Every one of the above graphics cards will require pairing with a balanced CPU option. The fact that you're taking advantage of an iGPU here means that the proportion of your CPU/GPU build purchases that is dedicated to your graphics processor is well below $100. This is not only some of the best value for money in the budget building world, it is also some of the best integrated graphics performance that has ever been available.

The Vega 11 iGPU should be capable of 60ish FPS in most games at resolutions below 1080p with medium or lower settings. For a more detailed picture of what this integrated GPU is capable of doing, check out our blog article comparing the R5 2400G to similarly priced CPU/GPU combos.

Runner Up: RX 550 ($99)

Not exactly an amazing graphics card—in fact, the RX 550 has similar overall gaming performance to the integrated GPU that won this category. But if you already have a low-end or older CPU and no GPU, and you just want to add a discrete graphics card to maximize its potential as a modest gaming machine, then this is a reasonable choice.

Questions?

If you have any questions about choosing a graphics card (or any other PC component), don’t hesitate to leave a comment below, or email us at contact@logicalincrements.com.