If you’re assembling your dream machine for a winter of PC gaming, it all starts with a graphics card. Even though AI server farms are buying up chips at breakneck speeds, it’s not being reflected in GPU prices quite yet. Although graphics cards are still one of the costliest parts of a gaming PC, we’re spotting some pretty decent discounts on all kinds of cards, from entry-level casual models to the latest high-end speedsters. Here are the eight best value buys we found this month.
PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Graphics Card for $399.97 (list price $449.99)
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 Graphics Card for $289.99 (list price $349.99)
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super Graphics Card for $799.99 (list price $899.99)
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Graphics Card for $399.99 (list price $629.99)
XFX Speedster SWFT319 Radeon RX 6800 Graphics Card for $359.99 (list price $459.99)
Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX Gaming Graphics Card for $849.97 (list price $999.99)
XFX Speedster SWFT210 Radeon RX6650XT CORE Graphics Card for $234.99 (list price $319.99)
ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE Steel Legend Graphics Card for $549.99 (list price $599.99)
The biggest GPU maker in the world, Nvidia basically created the modern graphics card market and typically pushes the envelope in terms of speed and performance. They knew that video games would reliably supply challenging technological problems to solve and bring in a demographic willing to spend money. Advanced tech like Bitcoin mining and AI also runs off of their silicon. Their GeForce series debuted in 1999 and has seen 40 iterations.
Let’s lead off with a solid discount on a 1080p unit that doesn’t necessarily blow the doors off but promises steady performance on the games that matter. The 4060 Ti was released in 2023 and promised a speed boost over the base 4060, and that’s exactly what we got. DLSS 3, with the new Ada Lovelace architecture, makes rendering more efficient and even lets you boost to 1440p on certain titles with no loss of frames. 8GB of GDDR6 onboard memory plus 4,352 CUDA processing cores are a solid foundation, and the trio of fans keep it cool and quiet. 16% off is a big price cut in the GPU space.
PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Graphics Card for $399.97 (list price $449.99)
This is another very capable graphics card at a nice price. The RTX 3060 isn’t going to give you 4K output, but 12GB of GDDR6 memory delivers a respectable 1080p on most games. These haven’t seen many price drops since they were released in 2021, so getting $60 off is a surprise. Four outputs include two DisplayPort and two HDMI for signal sharing, and it does support DLSS and ray tracing for some next-gen support.
Gigabyte Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Graphics Card for $289.99 (list price $349.99)
Here’s a nice $100 discount on a potent and reliable card with some interesting physical features. The unique case design uses push-pull airflow from the dual fans to get the most cooling with the least power expenditure. The copper baseplate also traps and distributes heat quickly. This card is built on Nvidia’s Ada Lovelace architecture, featuring DLSS 3 powered by the new fourth-gen Tensor Cores and Optical Flow Accelerator. It is a three-slot card, so make sure your motherboard has room for it. You’ll get great performance at high resolutions and that’s what we’re here for.
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super Graphics Card for $799.99 (list price $899.99)
Another 3070 on sale for a surprising discount, as shaving over $200 off is a rare deal in the GPU space. While the baseline RTX 3070 isn’t the highest-performing card on the market, it’s more than capable of HD output at stable and speedy frame rates. And the compact design makes it a good pick for cases with limited space. Employing the Nvidia Ampere architecture with DLSS Ai architecture, it’s a reliable performer. Build quality is also high, with a reinforced backplate and custom PCB design. It’s a great value for the price.
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Graphics Card for $399.99 (list price $629.99)
AMD is the second-largest company in the GPU business and has been producing chips for markets around the world since 1969. In the graphics business, they are best known for their Radeon series of GPUs, which are sold to a variety of third-party manufacturers to integrate into cards of their own design. They’re reliably high-performing and impressive, leveraging new technology for impressive results.
The price on this one is pretty low for what you get—a beefy GPU with three massive fans and solid performance. With clock speeds up to 2,105 MHz and 16GB of RAM, it’s definitely capable of delivering rip-fast framerates at 1440p. It’s a big unit that requires a pair of 8-pin connectors to socket in, so it’s not good for smaller cases. That said, this is a real bargain for the price. One complaint is that the fans are a little loud, so make sure you have speakers or headphones to block it out.
XFX Speedster SWFT319 Radeon RX 6800 Graphics Card for $359.99 (list price $459.99)
Here’s a real powerhouse that blows away similarly priced competition. In PCMag’s review of the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, the site said that it was “the clear winner for most buyers looking for a card for peak 4K play, or truly extreme esports frame rates at lower resolutions” thanks to its new RDNA 3 microarchitecture, which uses modular “chiplets” for scalability and cost savings. It performed exceptionally well in benchmark tests and stays cool thanks to a conductive polymer aluminum capacitor and angular velocity fans. A discount of over $150 is a rare cut on a card this new, so jump on it before it’s gone.
Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX Gaming Graphics Card for $849.97 (list price $999.99)
Here’s a solid price cut on another midrange card that won’t win any awards but still has a place in your battlestation. The SWFT210 is a take on Radeon’s 6650XT, which is in itself a boosted version of the 6600 with faster memory and a slightly higher clock speed. This results in an RDNA2-powered GPU that delivers consistent performance at 1440p, although it will struggle a bit if you push it to 4K. It’s great for VR headsets as well and keeps itself nice and cool with a pair of huge fans.
XFX Speedster SWFT210 Radeon RX6650XT CORE Graphics Card for $234.99 (list price $319.99)
It’s not the hugest discount in the world, but getting 50 bucks off of the recently released Radeon RX 7900 GRE is still worth noting because this is a real performer. PCMag reviewed a similar model from a different manufacturer and said it offers “speedy performance for the price,” noting its capable handling throughout their benchmarking tests. Boasting 16GB of GDDR6 memory, 5120 stream processors, and a clock up to 2333MHz, this is a solid pick for current-generation games at high resolution and fast framerates, with solid aesthetics.
ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE Steel Legend Graphics Card for $549.99 (list price $599.99)
If you need a new GPU for your desktop or laptop, there are a few important features to keep in mind:
There are three main manufacturers of discrete GPUs right now; Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. Intel is far and away a distant third to the other two, but your preference between AMD and Nvidia makes a difference. Nvidia is the market leader and caters more to high-performance gamers, while AMD has more midrange options.
The next thing to consider is display resolution. Cards are rated to pump out pixels at a number of different amounts, but if your GPU is pushing more than your monitor can handle, it’s just wasted effort. Make sure you don’t overspend on a graphics card that over-delivers. Same thing for monitor refresh rates.
Power consumption and cooling are the other key factors of graphics cards. Newer cards are typically more efficient in terms of power draw, and fan configurations are diverse. The amount of space in your case is going to affect what kind of cooling system you can accommodate.
Graphics card buyers have been terrifyingly high over the past few years thanks to their use in mining cryptocurrency, but we’ve seen significant price corrections this year, with costs on a downward trend. However, if you’re waiting to make a purchase because you think prices will continue to go down, you might want to rethink that strategy. AMD has new GPUs rumored, and lower supplies could make the market contract. We wouldn’t expect retail costs to go up to pandemic levels, though.
The key metrics to compare GPUs are resolution, refresh rate, and power consumption. Those are pretty easy to put against each other. One of the best resources we know of is PCMag’s reviews and benchmarking tests for GPUs (and PCMag, like ExtremeTech, is a part of Ziff Davis). PCMag not only lists the specs on each card but also puts them through numerous tasks that evaluate performance and show how they stack up to other cards in the same price range.
This is one of the most contentious questions in the GPU space right now. Nvidia cards are typically priced higher than their AMD competitors, but they excel at cutting-edge techniques like ray tracing and 4K resolution. AMD does have its advantages as well, most notably lower power consumption. If performance is your key metric, Nvidia cards are objectively better, but there are definitely valid uses for AMD (and Intel) products.
Objectively, Nvidia’s RTX 4090 is the top-performing graphics card on the market right now, capable of delivering gorgeous 4K ray-traced graphics at high frame rates. You’ll expect to pay $2,000 or more for all that power, however. For a better balance of power and price, the Nvidia 4070 Ti Super is a reliable GPU that can handle peak current-gen gaming and won’t break the bank.
PCMag agrees with us that the RTX 4090 is the number one graphics card on the market right now. Other worthy contenders include the AMD RX 7800 XT, which is a great midrange card that has sold very well; the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 for 1080p gaming with a high framerate; and the Intel Arc A580 for budget gaming.
Threading the needle between cost and performance is the hard part about picking out a graphics card, but luckily we have a wide range of benchmarks to glean data from. Right now, the best pure value in the GPU market is the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT. It performs well across a number of games and will usually run you around $200. Of course, cutting-edge performance comes at a cost, so you need to decide for yourself how much high-definition visuals and fast frame rates are worth to you.
Nvidia produces two distinct lines of GPUs, Giga Texel Shader eXtreme (GTX) and Ray Tracing Texel eXtreme (RTX). RTX is the newer configuration and is typically more expensive. For the price, you get the more advanced Turing and Ampere architecture, enabling hardware ray-tracing, more efficient power usage, and advanced AI compatibility.
Once again, the recently released Nvidia RTX 4090 is the fastest graphics card on the market, with a base clock speed of 2,235MHz.
Numerous manufacturers take Nvidia and AMD chipsets and build graphics cards around them. Some have better reputations than others, and in our deals roundups, we try to only feature products from the most reputable and reliable brands. In terms of build quality, warranty support, and technology, Asus is at the top of the heap right now. They hit a variety of price points with well-engineered cards that perform reliably. Other brands we like include MSI, Gigabyte, and Zotac.
PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Graphics Card for $399.97 (list price $449.99)
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 Graphics Card for $289.99 (list price $349.99)
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super Graphics Card for $799.99 (list price $899.99)
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Graphics Card for $399.99 (list price $629.99)
XFX Speedster SWFT319 Radeon RX 6800 Graphics Card for $359.99 (list price $459.99)
Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX Gaming Graphics Card for $849.97 (list price $999.99)
XFX Speedster SWFT210 Radeon RX6650XT CORE Graphics Card for $234.99 (list price $319.99)
ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE Steel Legend Graphics Card for $549.99 (list price $599.99)
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