Best Graphics Cards for Gaming in 2019

Your computer's graphics card  or GPU is the most important component when it comes to determining gaming performance (followed by the CPU). To help you choose the right graphics card for your rig, we thoroughly test and review all the major cards, ranking each platform in our GPU hierarchy. Below, we publish our list of specific make and model recommendations.

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Quick Shopping Tips

When buying a graphics card, consider the following:

• Resolution: The more pixels you're pushing, the more performance you need. You don't need top-of-the-line to game at 1080p.

• PSU: Make sure that your power supply has enough juice and the right 6 or 8-pin connector. For example, AMD recommends a 750-watt PSU for the Radeon VII.

• Video Memory: We recommend at least a 4GB card for 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 (QHD resolution) play at the highest quality settings and at least 8GB of memory for 3840 x 2160 (4K resolution).

• FreeSync or G-Sync? Either variable refresh rate technology will synchronize your GPU's frame rate with your screen's refresh rate. If your monitor supports AMD's FreeSync anti-tearing tech, you need a Radeon card. G-Sync-capable displays require Nvidia GeForce cards to do their magic, although you can now run G-Sync on some FreeSync monitors.

Best Graphics Cards for Gaming

1. Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti

Best Overall (When Price is No Object)

Rating: 4.5 / 5 (Editor's Choice)

GPU: Turing (TU102) | Core Clock: 1,350 MHz | Video RAM: 11GB GDDR5X | TDP: 260 watts

Pros: Smooth performance at 4K, High Settings • Packed with future-looking tech • Great thermal solution supports boost clocks

Cons: Price is out of reach for most users

Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is the first card we’ve tested able to deliver smooth frame rates at 4K with detail settings maxed out, something the previous-generation GeForce GTX 1080 Ti couldn’t quite manage. The GTX 2080 Ti’s halo features aren’t used in many games yet, but as those come online, the Turing architecture is expected to shine even brighter. That said, Nvidia's recent driver release unlocks ray tracing support on non-RTX cards. So if you have a capable previous-generation Pascal (10-series) card, you can at least try out those snazzy lighting and shadow effects. 

Nvidia also did a good job improving the cooler on its Founders Edition version of the 2080 Ti, leading to high sustained clock speeds. That said, the $1,200 (£1,100/$1,900 AU)-plus price means this card is out of reach for the vast majority of gamers. Only those who are truly after a no-compromise 4K gaming experience should consider this card. Both the GTX 1080 Ti, and the one-step-down RTX 2080 are capable of smooth UHD gaming, providing you’re willing to switch off a few settings.

Note that we've also tested Nvidia's RTX Titan. It's a more powerful card based around the same silicon as the RTX 2080 Ti, with more memory. But it's not significantly faster than the RTX 2080 Ti, not aimed specifically at gamers, and it's priced at $2,500 (£2,400). The Titan runs games very well, but we don't recommend buying it strictly for gaming purposes.

Read Review: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti

Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti

US$1,199.99Best Buy

2. Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070

Best for VR Gaming

Rating: 3.5 / 5

GPU: Turing (TU106) | Core Clock: 1,410 MHz | Video RAM:  8GB GDDR6 | TDP: 185 watts

Pros: Faster than GTX 1080 • Quiet under load • Good cooling

Cons: Expensive

Enthusiasts with VR headsets need to achieve a certain level of performance to avoid jarring artifacts. An Nvidia GeForce GTX 2070 is fast enough to keep up with the 90 Hz refresh rates of most modern head-mounted displays (HMDs). Moreover, it includes a VirtualLink port for connecting next-generation headsets with a single cable. That’s not really a useful feature today, but it will likely come in handy the next time you consider upgrading your VR headset.

While stock remained high for the previous-generation GeForce GTX 1080, keeping prices low, it was easy to recommend that card over newer RTX options. But now that’s no longer the case, and pricing for the RTX 2070 has occasionally slipped below the starting MSRP of $499 (£450, $800 AUD).

With more than enough pixel punch to handle smooth VR and prices generally below that of the older GTX 1080, the GeForce RTX 2070 is our new pick for VR. Those who want more performance future-proofing may also consider the GeForce RTX 2080, but with pricing for that card starting around $700 (£642, $1,120 AUD), the 2070 is easily a better value for a couple hundred dollars less.

Read Review: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070

$599.99Best Buy

3. Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (6GB)

Best for 2K Gaming

Rating:4.5 / 5 (Editor's Choice)

GPU:  Turing (TU116) | Core Clock: 1,500 MHz | Video RAM: 6GB GDDR6 | TDP: 120 watts

Pros: Great performance at 1920 x 1080 • Acceptable frame rates at 2560 x 1440 • Retains Turing's video encode/decode acceleration features • 120W board power compares favorably to AMD competition

Cons: No RT/Tensor cores mean you won't be able to try ray tracing or DLSS

Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is the card to beat for high-refresh gaming at 1920 x 1080 and solid performance at 2560 x 1440 (1440p), delivering frame rates similar to the previous-generation GeForce GTX 1070.

Stepping up to the GeForce RTX 2060 will get you higher frame rates at 1440p, while also bringing the company’s Tensor/RT cores to the table. But with a tiny number of current games supporting those features, the 2060 doesn’t look as good in our performance-per-dollar charts, making the 1660 Ti a better value for most 1080p-plus gamers.

That said, if you have a high-refresh 2K screen and / or are particularly excited about what DLSS and ray tracing will bring to more games in the coming months and years, the RTX 2060 is worth paying the extra $70 (£50) or so for.

Read Review: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (6GB)

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 FE

$350Newegg

4. AMD Radeon RX 580 (8GB)

Best for 1080p Gaming

Rating: 4/5

GPU: Polaris 10 (GCN 4.0) | Core Clock: 1,411 MHz | Video RAM: 4GB/8GB GDDR5 | TDP: 185 watts

Pros: Smooth frame rates at 1920 x 1080 • Low power consumption with multiple monitors • Available in both 4GB and 8GB capacities

Cons: Higher power consumption than Radeon RX 480

AMD’s Radeon RX 580 is based on the same Polaris 10 GPU as the Radeon RX 480 that preceded it. AMD simply dialed in higher clock rates to improve performance. While we’re always appreciative of higher frame rates, this also had the side-effect of increasing power consumption. Still, Radeon RX 580 generally outperforms the similarly-priced GeForce GTX 1060 6GB, particularly in DirectX 12 games, earning it a spot on our list.

The newer AMD Radeon RX 590 that debuted in late 2018 is yet another refresh of the same Polaris GPU, which bumps up performance compared to the competing Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060. But better performance comes at the cost of higher power consumption, necessitating larger coolers that sometimes chew up three expansion slots on your motherboard. Factor in a $279 (£240, $480 AU) MSRP and AMD’s newer card becomes tough to recommend when so many similar-performing RX 580s are still available for significantly less money.

Read Review: AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB

AMD Radeon RX 580

US$199.99Newegg

5. AMD Radeon RX 570 (4GB)

Best Budget GPU

Rating: 3.5 / 5

GPU: Ellesmere | Core Clock: 1,206 MHz | Video RAM: 4GB GDDR5 | TDP: 150 watts 

Pros: Slightly faster than Radeon RX 470, excellent 1080p performance • AMD maintains competitive pricing • Ample memory (4GB GDDR5) proves valuable in comparisons to GeForce GTX 1060 3GB

Cons: Slightly faster than Radeon RX 470, excellent 1080p performance • AMD maintains competitive pricing • Ample memory (4GB GDDR5) proves valuable in comparisons to GeForce GTX 1060 3GB

There’s been lots of turmoil in the budget gaming card space over the last couple years, despite a general lack of substantively new hardware. For a long time, the crypto-ming craze kept AMD’s RX 570 card priced high (and often made it hard to find in stock), keeping it out of our budget considerations. But now that’s over and an abundance of AMD cards has pushed the price of the 2017-era RX 570 (itself a re-work of 2016’s RX 470) down to around $130 (£127) and up for 4GB models. That makes AMD’s card easy to recommend over our previous recommendation, the 3GB GTX 1050, which currently sells for about $30 (£20) more.

The Radeon RX 570 appeals specifically to folks gunning for high-detail gaming at 1920x1080 (1080p), who don’t have the budget to step up to an RX 580. That said, with 8GB RX 580s often dipping below the $200 (£154) mark these days, AMD’s stepped-up card is arguably a better buy. That’s particularly true for those looking for long-term gaming performance at 1080p or interested in experimenting with high-resolution texture packs. The additional 4GB of memory will likely become increasingly important in future memory-hungry titles, making the RX 580 a card with more gaming performance longevity.

Read Review: AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB

Gigabyte Radeon RX 570

$289Newegg

All GPUs Ranked

We've tested all the current AMD and Nvidia GPUs and ranked them in order of performance, from best to worst.

	Score	GPU	Base/Boost	Memory	Power	Buy
Nvidia Titan RTX	100	TU102	1350/1770 MHz	24GB GDDR6	280W	$2,499.99Amazon
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti	98.4	TU102	1350/1635 MHz	11GB GDDR6	260W	$1200Best Buy
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080	96.1	TU104	1515/1800 MHz	8GB GDDR6	225W	$800Best Buy
Nvidia Titan Xp	96.0	GP102	1405/1480 MHz	12GB GDDR5X	250W	$1200Nvidia
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti	96.0	GP102	1480/1582 MHz	11GB GDDR5X	250W	$694.99Newegg
AMD Radeon VII	92.4	Vega 20	1400/1750 MHz	16GB HBM2	300W	$700MSRP
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070	87.2	TU106	1410/1710 MHz	8GB GDDR6	185W	$599.99Best Buy
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	84.4	Vega 10	1274/1546 MHz	8GB HBM2	180W	$679Newegg
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080	84.3	GP104	1607/1733 MHz	8GB GDDR5X	295W	$701Newegg
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti	78.5	GP104	1607/1683 MHz	8GB GDDR5	180W	$479Newegg
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060	77.5	TU106	1365/1680 MHz	6GB GDDR6	160W	Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 FE $350Newegg :button:
AMD Radeon RX Vega 56	76.7	Vega 10	1156/1471 MHz	8GB HBM2	210W	$642Newegg
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti	71.4	TU116	1365/1680 MHz	6GB GDDR6	120W	$280Newegg
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070	69.9	GP104	1506/1683 MHz	8GB GDDR5	150W	$409.99Newegg
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660	~	TU116	1530/1785 MHz	6GB GDDR5	120W	$220Newegg
AMD Radeon RX 590 8GB	60.7	Polaris 30	1469/1545 MHz	8GB GDDR5	225W	$279.99Amazon
AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB	57.9	Polaris 10	1257/1340 MHz	8GB GDDR5	185W	$495Newegg
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB	53.2	GP106	1506/1708 MHz	6GB GDDR5	120W	$314Newegg
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 3GB	49.4	GP106	1506/1708 MHz	3GB GDDR5	120W	$229Newegg
AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB	48.3	Polaris 10	1168/1244 MHz	4GB GDDR5	150W	Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 $289Newegg :button:
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti	33.1	GP107	1290/1392 MHz	4GB GDDR5	75W	$189Newegg
AMD Radeon RX 560	28.6	Polaris 11	1175/1275 MHz	4GB GDDR5	80W	$149Newegg
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050	28.1	GP107	1354/1455 MHz	2GB GDDR5	75W	$139Newegg
AMD Radeon RX 550	17.9	Polaris 12	1100/1183 MHz	4GB GDDR5	50W	$119Newegg
Nvidia GeForce GT 1030	13.0	GP108	1228/1468 MHz	2GB GDDR5	30W	$92Newegg

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