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Graphics Card Performance Hierarchy Chart

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: October 2014
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What about this other card that’s not on the list? How do I know if it’s a good deal or not?

This will happen. In fact, because inventory levels and prices change quickly, it’s guaranteed to happen. So how do you know if that card you’ve got your eye on is a good buy in its price range?

Here is a resource to help you judge if a card is a good buy or not. The graphics card hierarchy chart groups graphics cards with similar overall performance levels into tiers. The top tier contains the highest-performing cards available, and performance decreases as you go down the tiers from there.

You can use this hierarchy to compare the pricing between two cards, to see which one is a better deal, and also to determine if an upgrade is worthwhile. I don’t recommend upgrading your graphics card unless the replacement card is at least three tiers higher. Otherwise, the upgrade is somewhat parallel, and you may not even notice any worthwhile difference in performance.

At the request of readers, we've added mobile graphics and integrated chipsets to the hierarchy chart. We want to make it clear that there is very little performance data available for these graphics solutions. While the discrete video cards in the chart are placed in tiers based on a lot of information, many of the mobile and integrated devices in the chart are guesstimates based on their specifications. At worst, we doubt they’re more than one tier away from their actual performance, but this is something to keep in mind when considering mobile graphics chipsets.

Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart
GeForceRadeonIntel
Discrete: GTX Titan Z
Discrete: R9 295X2

Discrete: GTX 690Discrete: HD 7990
Discrete: GTX 780 Ti, 980, Titan Black


Discrete: GTX 780, 970, TitanDiscrete: R9 290, 290X
Discrete: GTX 590, 680, 770
Go (mobile): 980M
Discrete:  HD 6990, 7970 GHz Ed, R9 280X
Discrete: GTX 580, GTX 670
Go (mobile): 970M
Discrete: HD 5970, 7870 LE (XT), 7950, 280, 285
Discrete: GTX 660 Ti, GTX 760
Go (mobile): 880M
Discrete: HD 7870, R9 270, 270X

Discrete: GTX 295, 480, 570, 660
Go (mobile): 680M, 780M
Discrete: HD 4870 X2, 6970, 7850, R7 265,
Mobility: 7970M

Discrete: GTX 470, 560 Ti, 560 Ti 448 Core, 650 Ti Boost, 750 Ti Discrete: HD 4850 X2, 5870, 6950, R7 260X
Mobility: 7950M

Discrete: GTX 560, 650 Ti, 750
Go (mobile): 580M, 675M
Discrete: HD 5850, 6870, 7790
Mobility: 6990M

Discrete: 9800 GX2, 285, 460 256-bit, 465
Discrete: HD 6850, 7770, R7 260
Mobility: 6900M

Discrete: GTX 260, 275, 280, 460 192-bit, 460 SE, 550 Ti, 560 SE, GT 650, GT 740 GDDR5
Go (mobile): 570M, 670M
Discrete: HD 4870, 5770, 4890, 5830, 6770, 6790, 7750 (GDDR5), R7 250 (GDDR5)
Mobility: HD 5870, 6800M

Discrete: 8800 Ultra, 9800 GTX, 9800 GTX+, GTS 250, GTS 450
Go (mobile): 560M, 660M
Discrete: HD 3870 X2, 4850, 5750, 6750, 7750 (DDR3), R7 250 (DDR3)
Mobility: HD 4850, 5850, 7870M

Discrete: 8800 GTX, 8800 GTS 512 MB, GT 545 (GDDR5), GT 730 64-bit GDDR5
Go (mobile): GTX 280M, 285M, 555M (GDDR5)
Discrete: HD 4770
Mobility: HD 4860, 7770M, 7850M

Discrete: 8800 GT 512 MB, 9800 GT, GT 545 (DDR3), GT 640 (DDR3), GT 740 DDR3
Go (mobile): 9800M GTX, GTX 260M (112), GTS 360M (GDDR5), 555M (DDR3)
Discrete: HD 4830, HD 5670, HD 6670 (GDDR5), HD 7730 (GDDR5)
Mobility: HD 5770, HD 5750, 6600M/6700M (GDDR5), 7750M

Discrete: 8800 GTS 640 MB, 9600 GT, GT 240 (GDDR5)
Go (mobile): 9800M GTS, GTX 160M
Discrete: HD 2900 XT, HD 3870, HD 5570 (GDDR5), HD 6570 (GDDR5)
Mobility: 6500M (GDDR5), 6600M/6700M (DDR3), 7730M

Discrete: 8800 GS, 9600 GSO, GT 240 (DDR3)
Go (mobile): GTX 260M (96), GTS 150M, GTS 360M (DDR3)
Discrete: HD 3850 512 MB, HD 4670, HD 5570 (DDR3), HD 6570 (DDR3), HD 6670 (DDR3), HD 7730 (DDR3), R7 240
Mobility: HD 3870, HD 5730, HD 5650, 6500M (DDR3)

Discrete: 8800 GT 256 MB, 8800 GTS 320 MB, GT 440 GDDR5, GT 630 GDDR5, GT 730 128-bit GDDR5
Go (mobile): 8800M
Discrete: HD 2900 PRO, HD 3850 256 MB, 5550 (GDDR5)
Mobility: HD 3850

Discrete: 7950 GX2, GT 440 DDR3, GT 630 DDR3, GT 730 128-bit DDR3
Discrete: X1950 XTX, HD 4650 (DDR3), 5550 (DDR3)
Integrated: HD 7660D

Discrete: 7800 GTX 512, 7900 GTO, 7900 GTX, GT 430, GT 530
Go (mobile): 550M
Discrete: X1900 XT, X1950 XT, X1900 XTX

Discrete: 7800 GTX, 7900 GT, 7950 G, GT 220 (DDR3)
Go (mobile): 525M, 540M
Discrete: X1800 XT, X1900 AIW, X1900 GT, X1950 Pro, HD 2900 GT, HD 5550 (DDR2)
Integrated: HD 7560D

Discrete: 7800 GT, 7900 GS, 8600 GTS, 9500 GT (GDDR3), GT 220 (DDR2)
Go (mobile): 7950 GTX
Discrete: X1800 XL, X1950 GT, HD 4650 (DDR2), HD 6450, R5 230
Mobility: X1800 XT, HD 4650, HD 5165, 6400M
Integrated: HD 6620G, 6550D, 7540D

Discrete: 6800 Ultra, 7600 GT, 7800 GS, 8600 GS, 8600 GT (GDDR3), 9500 GT (DDR2)
Go (mobile): 7800 GTX, 7900 GTX
Discrete: X800 XT (& PE), X850 XT (& PE), X1650 XT, X1800 GTO, HD 2600 XT, HD 3650 (DDR3), HD 3670
Mobility: X1900, 3670
Integrated: 6520G, 6530D, 7480D
Integrated: Intel HD Graphics 4000
Discrete: 6800 GT, 6800 GS (PCIe), 8600 GT (DDR2), GT 520
Go (mobile): 7800, Go 7900 GS, 520M, 520MX
Discrete: X800 XL, X800 GTO2/GTO16, HD 2600 Pro, HD 3650 (DDR2),
Mobility: X800 XT, HD 2600 XT, 3650
Integrated: 6410D, 6480G

Discrete: 6800 GS (AGP)
Go (mobile): 6800 Ultra, 7600 GT, 8600M GT, 8700M GT, 410M
Discrete: X800 GTO 256 MB, X800 PRO, X850 Pro, X1650 GT
Mobility: HD 2600
Integrated: 6370D, 6380G

Discrete: 6800, 7300 GT GDDR3, 7600 GS, 8600M GS
Go (mobile): 6800, 7700
Discrete: X800, X800 GTO 128 MB, X1600 XT, X1650 Pro
Mobility: X1800, HD 5145, HD 5470 (GDDR5)

Discrete: 6600 GT, 6800LE, 6800 XT, 7300 GT (DDR2), 8500 GT, 9400 GT
Go (mobile): 7600 (128-bit)
Discrete: 9800 XT, X700 PRO, X800 GT, X800 SE, X1300 XT, X1600 PRO, HD 2400 XT, HD 4350, HD 4550, HD 5450
Mobility: X800, 3470, HD 5470 (DDR3), HD 5450, HD 5430, 6300M
Integrated: HD 6310, HD 6320
Integrated: Intel HD Graphics 3000
Discrete: FX 5900, FX 5900 Ultra, FX 5950 Ultra, 6600 (128-bit)
Go (mobile): 6800 (128-bit)
Integrated: 9300, 9400
Discrete: 9700, 9700 Pro, 9800, 9800 Pro, X700, X1300 Pro, X1550, HD 2400 Pro
Mobility: X1450, X1600, X1700, 2400 XT, X2500, 3450
Integrated: HD 3200, HD 3300, HD 4200, HD 4250, HD 4290, HD 6250, HD 6290 

Discrete: FX 5800 Ultra, FX 5900 XT
Go (mobile): 6600, Go 7600 (64-bit)
Discrete: 9500 Pro, 9600 XT, 9800 Pro (128-bit), X600 XT, X1050 (128-bit)
Mobility: 9800, X700, X1350, X1400, X2300, HD 2400
Integrated: Intel HD Graphics (Core i5-6x1), 2000
Discrete: 4 Ti 4600, 4 Ti 4800, FX 5700 Ultra, 6200, 8300, 8400 G, G 210, G 310
Go (mobile): 315M
Discrete: 9600 PRO, 9800 LE, X600 PRO, HD 2300
Mobility: 9700 (128-bit), X600, X1300
Integrated: Xpress 1250
Integrated: Intel HD Graphics (Core i3 5x0, Core i5-6x0)
Discrete: 4 Ti4200, 4 Ti4400, 4 Ti4800 SE, FX 5600 Ultra, FX 5700, 6600 (64-bit), 7300 GS, 8400M GS, 9300M G, 9300M GS Discrete: 9500, 9550, 9600, X300, X1050 (64-bit)
Mobility: 9600
Integrated: Intel HD Graphics (Pentium G)
Discrete: 3 Ti500, FX 5200 Ultra, FX 5600, FX 5700 LE, 6200 TC, 6600 LE, 7200 GS, 7300 LE
Go (mobile): 5700, 8200M, 9200M GS, 9100
Integrated: 8200, 8300
Discrete: 8500, 9100, 9000 PRO, 9600 LE, X300 SE, X1150
Mobility 9700 (64-bit)
Integrated: GMA X4500
Discrete: 3, 3 Ti200, FX 5200 (128-bit), FX 5500,
Go (mobile): 5600, 6200, 6400, 7200, 7300, 7400 (64-bit)
Discrete: 9000, 9200, 9250
Mobility: 9600 (64-bit), X300

Discrete: FX 5200 (64 bit)
Go (mobile): 7200, 7400 (32-bit)
Integrated: 6100, 6150, 7025, 7050
Discrete: 9200 SE
Integrated: Xpress 200M, Xpress 1000, Xpress 1150
Integrated: GMA X3000, X3100, X3500
Discrete: 2 GTS, 4 MX 440, 2 Ultra, 2 Ti, 2 Ti 200 Discrete: 7500 Integrated: GMA 3000, 3100
Discrete: 256, 2 MX 200, 4 MX 420, 2 MX 400 Discrete: SDR, LE, DDR, 7000, 7200 Integrated: GMA 500, 900, 950
Discrete: Nvidia TNT Discrete: Rage 128 Discrete: Intel 740

Now all that’s left to do is compare performance to your budget, and you'll be able to confidently decide which board is right for you - we even put in the legwork to help find you the best prices!

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  • 0 Hide
    boytitan2 , October 17, 2014 12:29 AM
    You can get a 760 for 180 bucks with a rebate and it is not listed. And the 750 ti can be found for 125 with or with out a rebate by multiple vendors. These prices have been around for the 3 weeks I have been shopping for a new rig come on Toms.
  • 5 Hide
    jdwii , October 17, 2014 1:19 AM
    People don't care about rebates
  • 4 Hide
    Memnarchon , October 17, 2014 2:24 AM
    What's going on with the hierarchy chart?

    You have the GTX970 below GTX780ti and the GTX980 in the same level with GTX780ti, while the real performance at page 8 clearly shows GTX970 on par with GTX780ti and GTX980 one level (at least) ahead.

    Your own benchmark results are not on par with your hierarchy chart. Isn't the hierarchy chart based on Tom's Hardware benchmarks?
  • 1 Hide
    silverblue , October 17, 2014 4:15 AM
    Not everybody can get rebates either; I'm not sure if it's a Stateside thing but I don't generally see them over here in the UK.
  • 2 Hide
    Nuckles_56 , October 17, 2014 4:34 AM
    Things certainly changed a bit since last months chart...
  • 3 Hide
    InvalidError , October 17, 2014 4:37 AM
    Quote:
    You can get a 760 for 180 bucks with a rebate and it is not listed.

    Only regular retail prices are considered for the chart so you are not going to see those included until the retail price drop to integrate the discounts.
  • 5 Hide
    Onus , October 17, 2014 5:21 AM
    I see some awkward tweaks have been made to the chart. For example, a GTX760 should be at least a tier higher than the HD7870 (like it was a couple months ago), but now they're on the same tier. If driver changes have made that much difference, I believe they should be called out in the article.
    Little nuances like that are what clearly illustrate that as useful as the chart is, it is not a be-all/end-all. Consider it a substantial data point, but don't forget to consider others, such as benchmarks of the specific games you want to play.
  • 0 Hide
    filippi , October 17, 2014 6:14 AM
    Typo: GeForce GTX 970 - Inroduced.
  • 3 Hide
    giemer , October 17, 2014 6:32 AM
    Can we get an update on the available integrated graphics ratings?
    It seems like it hasn't been updated in years (HD 4000 was Q2 '12).

    At least their inclusion into the hierarchy chart as a base of comparison.
  • 0 Hide
    aje21 , October 17, 2014 6:49 AM
    Please, scale the price like you have the performance so the highest prices is at the same point as the highest performance (the 100% line).
  • 0 Hide
    marooner , October 17, 2014 7:18 AM
    I don't think that the R9 295X2 deserves a recommendation anymore. 2 GTX 970s or even 980s in SLI cost less, perform better, and even score better in the noise and heat department.
  • 1 Hide
    Pavel Pokidaylo , October 17, 2014 7:32 AM
    The 295X2 is recommended because it's a single board ideal for small rigs.

    The reference 780 ti clocks are low compared to the 900 series cards. The gap in performance between the 980 and 780 ti is probably at stock. I know you can overclock the 900 series to over 1400 and what not but if you compare the out of box overclocks on, for example, the MSI 780 ti gaming and MSI 970 Gaming, you will see the 780 ti pulls ahead by quite a bit and in fact produces the same performance as an MSI 980 gaming. Don't take my word for it, here are the benchmarks...

    MSI 980 Gaming - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_980_Gaming/6.html

    Asus Strix 970 - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/6.html

    MSI 780 Ti Gaming- http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Ti_Gaming/6.html
  • 2 Hide
    anthony8989 , October 17, 2014 8:02 AM
    GTX 580 is up with the GTX 670 and the 760 is with the 660 Ti???
  • 0 Hide
    jwl3 , October 17, 2014 8:17 AM
    Why are Nvidia cards so much more expensive than AMD? I freaking hate AMD cards and their schit drivers. They dropped support of my Crossfired 4850's even though they still run lots of games well. Only reason I had to upgrade was because it wouldn't run Thief or NBA 2k15.

    I was forced to buy a Radeon 280 and guess what? I spent 2 hours trying to get the damned card to accept the newest Catalyst drivers - install kept crashing. What the F is wrong with AMD and their drivers?
  • 2 Hide
    xenol , October 17, 2014 8:18 AM
    Quote:
    You can get a 760 for 180 bucks with a rebate and it is not listed. And the 750 ti can be found for 125 with or with out a rebate by multiple vendors. These prices have been around for the 3 weeks I have been shopping for a new rig come on Toms.

    Including rebates isn't a good idea because...


    • You still have to pay full price up front.
    • The time window for rebate maybe ending by the time this goes up
    • You don't get cash anymore. Most rebates are giving out gift cards (those pre-paid Visa ones or something).
    • You won't get the rebate in a timely manner anyway.
    • Rebates require you to snip off the UPC code. If something goes wrong with that part, you can't return it if you've already submitted the rebate and returns require the UPC code.


  • Rebates are like letting a friend borrow money, you just have to accept you may never get it back.

    Quote:
    Why are Nvidia cards so much more expensive than AMD?

    With high quality comes a price. Or so I'm led to believe. Even with people complaining about AMD's drivers (with a few in the camp who say they've never had a problem), I still question their hardware engineering sometimes.
  • 0 Hide
    Swede69 , October 17, 2014 8:59 AM
    My 770GTX Superclocked ACX Sli will steamroll any of these single cards......and I paid nothing for them!!! The best graphic cards, free ones!!
  • 0 Hide
    chaosmassive , October 17, 2014 9:39 AM
    its seems alot confusion here in hierarchy chart..

    to keep the hierarchy list short and neat
    its good idea to cut the table from bottom up to at least DX 10 capable card
    because its not making any sense to keep such ancient card in the list
    and there is no way to play nowadays games...
  • 0 Hide
    Sakkura , October 17, 2014 10:01 AM
    Quote:
    You can get a 760 for 180 bucks with a rebate and it is not listed. And the 750 ti can be found for 125 with or with out a rebate by multiple vendors. These prices have been around for the 3 weeks I have been shopping for a new rig come on Toms.

    Yeah well you can get a more powerful R9 280 for 170 bucks, so the GTX 760 is just not a good buy at the moment.
  • 1 Hide
    kulmnar , October 17, 2014 10:20 AM
    Mail-in rebates are the biggest joke in the industry. I've never gotten any money back from mail-in rebates and I don't bother with them. The only rebates that are worth anything are instant rebates that result in an instant price reduction when checking out. Other than that, rebates may as well not exist.
  • 0 Hide
    elbert , October 17, 2014 10:40 AM
    I suggest taking the R9 290 off the list. I'm an AMD guy and I would opt for the GTX970 before purchasing anything in the $200 range. The R9 290 needs to be below $260 else its not worth buying.
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