GPU Performance Hierarchy 2019: Video Cards Ranked

by Chris Angelini February 15, 2019 at 9:30 AM

When you want to run games or do high-end creative work like 4K video editing, your graphics card plays the biggest role in determining performance. Get a good GPU, and you can play recent games at smooth frame rates; get one of the best GPUs for gaming and you can enjoy those games at high resolution, with the special effects turned up.

To help you decide which graphics card you need, we've developed the GPU hierarchy below, which ranks all the current chips from fastest to slowest. For comparison purposes, we've assigned each a score where the fastest card gets 100 and all others are graded relative to it. These numbers are based on the geometric mean frames per second (fps) from our Far Cry 5, Forza Horizon 4 and Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation benchmarks, giving us a good mix of game genres and APIs.

	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	$1,199.99Best Buy
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080	96.1	TU104	1515/1800 MHz	8GB GDDR6	225W	$799Nvidia
Nvidia Titan Xp	95.7	GP102	1405/1480 MHz	12GB GDDR5X	250W	$1200Nvidia
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti	95.7	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	$350Newegg
AMD Radeon RX Vega 56	76.7	Vega 10	1156/1471 MHz	8GB HBM2	210W	$642Newegg
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070	69.9	GP104	1506/1683 MHz	8GB GDDR5	150W	$409.99Newegg
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	$289Newegg
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

Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is the logical choice for uncompromising 4K gaming, though if you're willing to dial-back detail settings in some games for fluid gameplay, the Vega 7 GeForce RTX 2080 and GeForce GTX 1080 Ti are 4K-capable as well.

The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 and the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 occupy a lower performance tier. They’re ideal for running at 2560x1440 using the highest quality presets. And as you can see, they score similarly in our index.

The GeForce RTX 2060, GeForce GTX 1070 Ti, Radeon RX Vega 56 and GeForce GTX 1070 don’t land far from each other, either. All four cards are capable of great frame rates at 2560x1440, and they’re all good options for driving a VR head-mounted display.

There’s a larger group of Radeon RX 590, Radeon RX 580, GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB), GeForce GTX 1060 (3GB) and Radeon RX 570 boards that excel at 1920x1080. They can even be made serviceable at 2560x1440 if you dial down your detail settings far enough. But beware: insufficient GDDR5 memory on cards like the 3GB GeForce GTX 1060 may cause severe performance issues at higher resolutions.

This also affects the next category, where GeForce GTX 1050 appears slower than Radeon RX 560 due to the former’s 2GB of memory, hurting it in some games, like Forza. Gaming at 1920x1080 or 1280x720 is far more realistic with these cards.

Finally, Radeon RX 550 and GeForce GT 1030 close out this generation’s hierarchy with performance well-suited to popular eSports titles.

Test System & Configuration

Test System
Processor	Intel Core i7-7700K
Motherboard	MSI Z270 Gaming Pro Carbon
Memory	32GB G.Skill TridentZ DDR4-3200 (4x 8GB)
Storage	500GB Crucial MX200 SSD
Operating System	Windows 10 Pro v.1803

Games
Far Cry 5	v.1.06, Fullscreen, 1920x1080, High Graphics Quality, High Texture Filtering, High Shadows, High Geometry & Vegetation, High Environment, High Water, High Terrain, High Volumetric Fog, TAA Anti-Aliasing, Motion Blur On
Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation	v.2.7532453, High Quality Profile, 2560x1440, Fullscreen, DirectX 12
Forza Horizon 4	v.1.126.9433.2, Ultra Dynamic Render Quality, 2560x1440, Custom Dynamic Optimization, Fullscreen, Unlocked Performance Target, 100% Resolution Scale, 16x Anisotropic Filtering, 2x MSAA Quality, Car Headlights In Rain Off, and all other options set to High

Legacy GPU Hierarchy

Tom's Hardware readers accustomed to referencing our legacy desktop GPU hierarchy with historical comparisons dating back to the 1990s will find them below Here we group cards into performance tiers, pairing disparate generations where overlap occurs.

Nvidia GeForce	AMD Radeon
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti ($1,199.99 On Best Buy) Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 ($799 On Nvidia)
Titan Xp ($1,200 On Nvidia) Titan X (Pascal) ($1,649.99 On Amazon) GTX 1080 Ti ($699 On Amazon) GTX 1080 ($559.89 On Amazon)	RX Vega 64 ($649.99 On Best Buy)
GTX Titan X (Maxwell) GTX 1070 Ti ($469.99 On -) GTX 1070 ($459.89 On Amazon) 980 Ti ($537.83 On Amazon)	R9 295X2 RX Vega 56 ($469.99 On Newegg) R9 Fury X
GTX Titan Black GTX 980 ($539.99 On Amazon) GTX 690	R9 Fury R9 Fury Nano
GTX Titan GTX 1060 ($249.99 On Newegg) GTX 970 GTX 780 Ti GTX 780	RX 580 ($296.89 On Amazon) RX 570 ($229.89 On Amazon) RX 480 ($194.97 On Amazon) RX 470 ($204.00 On Amazon) R9 390X ($429.99 On Amazon) R9 390 ($319.99 On Newegg) R9 290X R9 290 HD 7990
GTX 770 GTX 680 GTX 590	R9 380X R9 380 ($229.99 On Amazon) R9 280X HD 7970 GHz Edition HD 6990
GTX 1050 Ti ($157.99 On Amazon) GTX 960 ($199.99 On Amazon) GTX 670 GTX 580	R9 285 R9 280 HD 7950 HD 7870 LE (XT) HD 5970
GTX 1050 ($119.99 On Amazon) GTX 950 GTX 760 GTX 660 Ti	RX 560 ($129.99 On Amazon) RX 460 R7 370 R9 270X R9 270 HD 7870
GTX 660 GTX 570 GTX 480 GTX 295	R7 265 HD 7850 HD 6970 HD 4870 X2
GTX 750 Ti GTX 650 Ti Boost GTX 560 Ti (448 Core) GTX 560 Ti GTX 470	R7 260X HD 6950 HD 5870 HD 4850 X2
GTX 750 GTX 650 Ti GTX 560	HD 7790 HD 6870 HD 5850
GT 1030 ( On -) GTX 465 GTX 460 (256-bit) GTX 285 9800 GX2	RX 550 ($79.99 On Amazon) R7 360 R7 260 HD 7770 HD 6850
GT 740 GDDR5 GT 650 GTX 560 SE GTX 550 Ti GTX 460 SE GTX 460 (192-bit) GTX 280 GTX 275 GTX 260	R7 250E R7 250 (GDDR5) HD 7750 (GDDR5) HD 6790 HD 6770 HD 5830 HD 5770 HD 4890 HD 4870
GTS 450 GTS 250 9800 GTX+ 9800 GTX 8800 Ultra	R7 250 (DDR3) HD 7750 (DDR3) HD 6750 HD 5750 HD 4850 HD 3870 X2
GT 730 (64-bit, GDDR5) GT 545 (GDDR5) 8800 GTS (512MB) 8800 GTX	HD 4770
GT 740 DDR3 GT 640 (DDR3) GT 545 (DDR3) 9800 GT 8800 GT (512MB)	HD 7730 (GDDR5) HD 6670 (GDDR5) HD 5670 HD 4830
GT 240 (GDDR5) 9600 GT 8800 GTS (640MB)	HD 6570 (GDDR5) HD 5570 (GDDR5) HD 3870 HD 2900 XT
GT 240 (DDR3) 9600 GSO 8800 GS	R7 240 HD 7730 (DDR3) HD 6670 (DDR3) HD 6570 (DDR3) HD 5570 (DDR3) HD 4670 HD 3850 (512MB)
GT 730 (128-bit, GDDR5) GT 630 (GDDR5) GT 440 (GDDR5) 8800 GTS (320MB) 8800 GT (256MB)	HD 5550 (GDDR5) HD 3850 (256MB) HD 2900 Pro
GT 730 (128-bit, DDR3) GT 630 (DDR3) GT 440 (DDR3) 7950 GX2	HD 7660D (integrated) HD 5550 (DDR3) HD 4650 (DDR3) X1950 XTX
GT 530 GT 430 7900 GTX 7900 GTO 7800 GTX 512	X1900 XTX X1950 XT X1900 XT
GT 220 (DDR3) 7950 G 7900 GT 7800 GTX	HD 7560D (integrated) HD 5550 (DDR2) HD 2900 GT X1950 Pro X1900 GT X1900 AIW X1800 XT
GT 220 (DDR2) 9500 GT (GDDR3) 8600 GTS 7900 GS 7800 GT	HD 7540D (integrated) HD 6550D (integrated) HD 6620G (integrated) R5 230 HD 6450 HD 4650 (DDR2) X1950 GT X1800 XL
9500 GT (DDR2) 8600 GT (GDDR3) 8600 GS 7800 GS 7600 GT 6800 Ultra	7480D (integrated) 6530D (integrated) 6520G (integrated) HD 3670 HD 3650 (DDR3) HD 2600 XT X1800 GTO X1650 XT X850 XT PE X800 XT PE X850 XT X800 XT
GT 520 8600 GT (DDR2) 6800 GS (PCIe) 6800 GT	6480G (integrated) 6410D (integrated) HD 3650 (DDR2) HD 2600 Pro X800 GTO2/GTO16 X800 XL
6800 GS (AGP)	6380G (integrated) 6370D (integrated) X1650 GT X850 Pro X800 Pro X800 GTO (256MB)
8600M GS 7600 GS 7300 GT (GDDR3) 6800	X1650 Pro X1600 XT X800 GTO (128MB) X800
9400 GT 8500 GT 7300 GT (DDR2) 6800 XT 6800LE 6600 GT	HD 6320 (integrated) HD 6310 (integrated) HD 5450 HD 4550 HD 4350 HD 2400 XT X1600 Pro X1300 XT X800 SE X800 GT X700 Pro 9800 XT
9400 (integrated) 9300 (integrated) 6600 (128-bit) FX 5950 Ultra FX 5900 Ultra FX 5900	HD 6290 (integrated) HD 6250 (integrated) HD 4290 (integrated) HD 4250 (integrated) HD 4200 (integrated) HD 3300 (integrated) HD 3200 (integrated) HD 2400 Pro X1550 X1300 Pro X700 9800 Pro 9800 9700 Pro 9700
FX 5900 XT FX 5800 Ultra	X1050 (128-bit) X600 XT 9800 Pro (128-bit) 9600 XT 9500 Pro
G 310 G 210 8400 G 8300 6200 FX 5700 Ultra 4 Ti 4800 4 Ti 4600	Xpress 1250 (integrated) HD 2300 X600 Pro 9800 LE 9600 Pro
9300M GS 9300M G 8400M GS 7300 GS FX 5700, 6600 (64-bit) FX 5600 Ultra 4 Ti4800 SE 4 Ti4400 4 Ti4200	X1050 (64-bit) X300 9600 9550 9500
8300 (integrated) 8200 (integrated) 7300 LE 7200 GS 6600 LE 6200 TC FX 5700 LE FX 5600 FX 5200 Ultra 3 Ti500	X1150 X300 SE 9600 LE 9100 8500
FX 5500 FX 5200 (128-bit) 3 Ti200 3	9250 9200 9000
FX 7050 (integrated) FX 7025 (integrated) FX 6150 (integrated) FX 6100 (integrated) FX 5200 (64-bit)	Xpress 1150 (integrated) Xpress 1000 (integrated) Xpress 200M (integrated) 9200 SE
2 Ti 200 2 Ti 2 Ultra 4 MX 440 2 GTS	7500
2 MX 400 4 MX 420 2 MX 200 256	7200 7000 DDR LE SDR
Nvidia TNT	Rage 128