At least until the launch of Nvidia’s RTX 2070 in October, the best balance between performance, pricing, and power comes from Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1070. Of course, if price is no object and you own a 4K monitor, the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is our top pick. At the other end of the spectrum, Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1050 3GB takes the place of AMD’s Radeon RX 560 for solid budget-oriented performance at 1080p in your favorite games. Although it costs $10 more, the GeForce is significantly faster. See below for our full list of graphics card recommendations.
Best GPUs For Gaming
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Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 3GBBest Budget
-
- GPU
- GP107
-
- Process
- 14nm
-
- Shader Units
- 768
-
- Texture Units
- 48
-
- ROPs
- 24
-
- Core Clock
- 1392 MHz
-
- Memory Data Rate
- 7 Gb/s
-
- Memory Bus
- 96-bit
-
- Memory Bandwidth
- 84.1 GB/s
-
- Memory Capacity
- 3GB
-
- 3D APIs
- DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan
-
- TDP
- 75W
-
- Power Connections
- None
-
- Power Supply
- 300W
-
-
AMD Radeon RX 580Best FHD
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- GPU
- Polaris 10 (GCN 4.0)
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- Process
- 14nm
-
- Shader Units
- 2304
-
- Texture Units
- 144
-
- ROPs
- 32
-
- Core Clock
- 1411 MHz
-
- Memory Data Rate
- 8 GT/s
-
- Memory Bus
- 256-bit
-
- Memory Bandwidth
- 256 GB/s
-
- Memory Capacity
- 4GB or 8GB
-
- 3D APIs
- DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan
-
- TDP
- 185W
-
- Power Connections
- 1x 8-pin, 1x 6-pin
-
- Power Supply
- 500W
-
-
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070Best QHD
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- GPU
- Pascal (GP104)
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- Process
- 16nm
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- Shader Units
- 1920
-
- Texture Units
- 160
-
- ROPs
- 64
-
- Core Clock
- 1506 MHz
-
- Memory Data Rate
- 8 Gb/s
-
- Memory Bus
- 256-bit
-
- Memory Bandwidth
- 256 GB/s
-
- Memory Capacity
- 8GB
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- 3D APIs
- DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan
-
- TDP
- 150W
-
- Power Connections
- 1x 8-pin
-
- Power Supply
- 500W
-
-
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080Best VR
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- GPU
- Pascal (GP104)
-
- Process
- 16nm
-
- Shader Units
- 2560
-
- Texture Units
- 160
-
- ROPs
- 64
-
- Core Clock
- 1607 MHz
-
- Memory Data Rate
- 11 Gb/s
-
- Memory Bus
- 256-bit
-
- Memory Bandwidth
- 256 GB/s
-
- Memory Capacity
- 8GB
-
- 3D APIs
- DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan
-
- TDP
- 180W
-
- Power Connections
- 1x 8-pin
-
- Power Supply
- 500W
-
-
Nvidia GeForce GTX 2080 TiBest 4K
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- GPU
- Turing (TU102)
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- Process
- 12nm FinFET
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- Shader Units
- 4352
-
- Texture Units
- 272
-
- ROPs
- 88
-
- Core Clock
- 1350 MHz
-
- Memory Data Rate
- 14 Gb/s
-
- Memory Bus
- 352-bit
-
- Memory Bandwidth
- 616 GB/s
-
- Memory Capacity
- 11GB GDDR5X
-
- 3D APIs
- DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan
-
- TDP
- 260W
-
- Power Connections
- 2x 8-pin
-
- Power Supply
- 600W
-
Why Trust Us
Tom's Hardware has been reviewing PC components for more than two decades. We put each graphics card through a bevy of benchmarks that quantify everything from performance in real-world games to power consumption, noise, and operating temperatures. We've tested every major model, along with third-party configurations based on the same GPUs.
Quick Shopping Tips
When choosing a graphics card, consider the following:
- First, identify your monitor’s native resolution. That’s a good target to aim for when you go graphics card shopping. We call out optimal resolutions with each of our recommendations.
- Ensure the rest of your platform is up to snuff. If you upgrade to a Radeon RX Vega 64, for instance, AMD suggests owning at least a 750W power supply. Double-check to be sure your PSU has the six- or eight-pin connectors to support your card of choice.
- On-board memory matters, kind of. In general, we recommend at least a 4GB card for 1920 x 1080 and 2560 x 1440 at the highest quality settings, and 8GB of memory for gaming at 4K.
- If your monitor supports AMD's FreeSync variable refresh technology, you need a Radeon card to enable it. Similarly, G-Sync-capable displays must be paired with a GeForce card for the feature to work.
MORE: AMD Radeon RX 480 Roundup
MORE: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Roundup
MORE: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Roundup
MORE: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Roundup
Best Budget Pick
Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1050 3GB is mostly an upgrade over the 2GB version, offering reasonable performance at 1920x1080 (so long as you're willing to dial back quality). Recently, examples of the 3GB card began showing up for sale at about $10 higher than Radeon RX 560. Consistently better frame rates mean we’re willing to spend a bit more money for the GeForce GTX 1050 3GB card.
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 3GB
Best For FHD
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.
AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB
Best For QHD
Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1070 gives us very little gripe about. It’s an excellent card for gaming at 2560x1440. Not only does it use less power than AMD’s competing Radeon RX Vega 56, but also the lower-end Radeon RX 580. The 1070’s high performance, cool temperatures, and quiet fans were revolutionary when it launched in 2016. Our only hesitation buying one now would be an impending next-gen replacement.
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070
Best For VR
Enthusiasts with VR headsets need to achieve a certain level of performance to avoid jarring artifacts. A GeForce GTX 1080 is fast enough to keep up with the 90 Hz refresh rates of modern HMDs. Moreover, it includes a number of features designed to improve the efficiency of rendering VR environments. Although $550 is still a lot of money to spend on high-end graphics, remember that GeForce GTX 1080 once sold for $700.
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
Best For 4K
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. Its halo features aren’t used in any games yet, but as those come online, the Turing architecture is expected to shine even brighter.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti FE
MORE: GPU Performance Hierarchy
MORE: All Graphics Content
For many years this table has been the single best resource for quickly comparing graphics cards. Detailed reviews are great for comparing cards within a category, but for quickly dismissing a card or prompting further research, there is nothing else on the web which compares to it. It would be a real shame for it to fall into neglect.