You’re in the market for a new graphics card, but you don’t know what you want to get. You want something robust, future-proof, and excellent performance all around.
Graphics cards are often measured by how much FPS they can give you for a particular game. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are some who prefer to use graphics cards for their rendering capabilities rather than gaming.
The previous years have shown prices for graphics cards increasing more than 100% of their MSRP. But with the crackdown on mining and countries heavily regulating cryptocurrency, graphics cards are slowly returning back to their MSRP.
If you are:
- A gamer looking to upgrade their rig
- A content creator looking for more power
- A builder looking to take their rig to the next level
Then this is the list for you. We’ll go over the best Nvidia Graphics card list that shows you the best graphics cards for your needs.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti
The Fastest Graphics Card for Gaming and Content Creators
Tech Specs
GPU: Ampere GA102
GPU Cores: 10752
Boost Clock: 1,860 MHz
Video RAM: 24GB GDDR6X 21 Gbps
TBP: 450 watts
Why Should You Buy It?
- Fastest GPU in the market right now
- 4K Gaming is easy peasy
- 8K gaming possible
- At 24GB, it can handle heavy video editing or 3D rendering workloads
Why Shouldn’t You Buy It?
- Twice the cost of the RTX 3080 with only a 30% increase in performance
- Power requirements are insane
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is the fastest graphics card on this list, even though it’s priced three times higher than the RTX 3080. But the graphics card performance of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is only about 30% better than the RTX 3080 and about 10% faster than the RTX 3090. In terms of pricing, the RTX 3090 Ti can go as low as $1,100.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is Nvidia’s top-of-the-line graphics card right now even with the next generation 40-series on the horizon. For 4K gaming and demanding content creation, the RTX 3090 Ti is a solid investment. The 24GB VRAM is great for video editing, 3D rendering, and also gaming at twice the performance and benchmark of the Titan RTX.
Modern games running on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is a slice of heaven. The graphics card performance is incredible with ultra settings at 4K resolution, even for the most demanding games.
Now you could wait for the 40-series Nvidia graphics cards as they’d probably be in the same price range as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. If you could get your hands on the RTX 3090 Ti for a reasonable price, then just go for it.
GeForce RTX 3080
Overall Best Graphics Card For 4K Gaming And More
Tech Specs:
GPU: Ampere GA102
GPU Cores: 8704
Boost Clock: 1,710 MHz
Video RAM: 10GB GDDR6X 19 Gbps
TBP: 320 watts
Why Should You Buy it?
- Great performance
- Best bang for buck
- 4K Ultra at 60FPS
Why Shouldn’t You Buy It?
- Needs more than 320W of power
- Makes 1080p displays look terrible
- Prices are still inflated above MSRP
On top of every blog’s to-buy list is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, and it goes without saying that we’re including both the RTX 3080TI and the RTX 3080 12GB variants. Depending on where you are located, prices are still a bit inflated for the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080. At this time of writing, the 10GB variant and the 12GB variant are on the high $700 mark and the RTX 3080 Ti is about $800 to $900 on average.
If you’re a serious gamer who loves to see all games in their glorious ULTRA settings, then the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 should satiate that thirst. It’s more than sufficient for gaming at 1080p (at ultra settings) unless these games are running on ray tracing. This is made possible with Nvidia’s DLSS support.
However, people are hesitant to get the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 because of the advent of the next generation of RTX 40-series graphics cards. This makes it hard to spend anything right now on upgrades as the cards are expected to hit price ranges between $600 and $1000 (speculative). But if you can’t wait for the 40-series and want to get your 4K gaming on, then the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 is one of the best Nvidia graphics cards to have right now.
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
Decent Enough For 1440p Gaming
Tech Specs
GPU: Ampere GA104
GPU Cores: 4864
Boost Clock: 1,665 MHz
Video RAM: 8GB GDDR6 14 Gbps
TBP: 200 watts
Why Should You Buy It?
- A lot better than the 2080 Super in terms of gaming benchmarks and costs you $300 less
- Great value graphics card
- Ray tracing at 1440p with DLSS
Why Shouldn’t You Buy It?
- One of the Nvidia graphics cards that’s still inflated or priced above MSRP
- 8GB VRAM might not be enough if we’re talking about future-proofing
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060Ti is built the same way as the other 30-series graphics cards and is considered as still a solid pick for most avid gamers. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060Ti beats the RTX 2080 by a mile when we’re comparing GPU benchmarks and is only about 9% slower than the RTX 3070.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060Ti is a solid pick for those using older GeForce GTX cards or RX Vega cards and who want to upgrade their current graphics card. Gaming benchmarks on the RTX 3060 Ti are still pretty impressive, with modern games still sitting at above 60FPS at ultra settings.
However, the 8GB VRAM might not hold out for too long as some of the more demanding games out there are pushing for a higher VRAM requirement for ultra settings. With the impending release of the 40-series of Nvidia graphics cards, some might even be hesitant to purchase the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060Ti.
GeForce RTX 3060
An Alternative To The RTX 3080 Without Overspending
Tech Specs
GPU: Ampere GA106
GPU Cores: 3840
Boost Clock: 1,777 MHz
Video RAM: 12GB GDDR6 15 Gbps
TBP: 170 watts
Why Should You Buy It?
- Great for both 1080p and 4K gaming
- High VRAM
- Great bang for buck at the moment
Why Shouldn’t You Buy It?
- Performance is tied with the RTX 2070 12GB variant
- 192-bit bus, which is low for a high-end GPU
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 is on this list for a good reason. The graphics card comes with a 12GB VRAM and 192-bit memory interface, a lot higher than its sibling, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050. However, it’s underwhelming when compared to the RTX 3060 Ti.
The gaming performance of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 is closely similar to the RTX 2070, which was released no more than a couple of years ago. But the value provided by the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 is unmatched because of ray tracing and DLSS performance.
We don’t have any issue with the VRAM capacity. Comparing gaming benchmarks on the RTX 3060 and the RTX 3060Ti, the latter has a minimal lead by about a few FPS on some games. The gaming performance of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 is roughly equal to the AMD RX 5700XT and can easily go head to head against the RX 6800.
If you have to choose between the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 and the RTX 3060 Ti, the latter might be a better choice if you can spend a few more bucks. But this is not to say that the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 is a terrible pick either. GPU benchmarks on modern games with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 is still impressive.
GeForce RTX 3050
Cheapest RTX Graphics Card for1080p Gaming With DLSS and DXR
Tech Specs:
GPU: Ampere GA106
GPU Cores: 2560
Boost Clock: 1,777 MHz
Video RAM: 8GB GDDR6 14 Gbps
TBP: 130 watts
Why Should You Buy It?
- Cheapest RTX graphics card
- 8GB VRAM is still powerful for 1080p gaming
Why Shouldn’t You Buy It?
- The RTX 2060 outperforms the RTX 3050, but not by a lot
- The RTX 3050 is underperforming compared to the AMD Radeon RX 6600
- Pricing for the RTX 3050 is still above MSRP
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 was designed to be the “budget” version of the RTX 30-series line of graphics cards. We say budget because it’s affordable enough for people who want to get the RTX 30-series but not able to buy a RTX 3060 or higher.
But when we asked a few people here in our office between the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, a GTX 1660 Super, and RX 5500 XT, a fair majority of them said they’d actually just go for the RTX 3050 when available.
Comparing gaming benchmarks, the RTX 3050 is about 15% faster compared to the GTX 1660 Super, even without bringing up the DLSS support and ray tracing functionality.
But we’re not overly concerned with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050’s VRAM or its functionality. We are more discouraged over the fact that the RTX 3050 is still inflated, currently making it a bad investment as of this writing. For the price range you’re paying, VRAM, and ray tracing functionality, AMD has better options. If you can find an RTX 3060 or higher, go for those cards when possible.
GeForce RTX 2060
Bargain Nvidia Graphics Card With Great Performance
Tech Specs
SPECIFICATIONS
GPU: Turing TU106
GPU Cores: 1920
Boost Clock: 1,680 MHz
Video RAM: 6GB GDDR6 14 Gbps
TBP: 160 watts
Why Should You Buy It?
- Great price
- 6GB is relatively still better than 4GB VRAM
- 1080p gaming isn’t a problem
Why Shouldn’t You Buy It?
- Why go for 6GB when you can go for 8GB?
- One of the graphics cards to have limited stocks worldwide
We’ve moved on from the 30-series Nvidia graphics cards and have made our way to the previous generation, starting with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060. Undoubtedly, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 is one of the best graphics cards released to the market, despite compromises to their components.
Comparing the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 to the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660, the former’s gaming performance is 25% faster than the GTX 1660 Super and only about 8% faster than the RTX 3050. The extra 2GB of VRAM from the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 really helped out a lot against the RTX 3050’s gaming benchmarks.
Amongst all the other RTX graphics cards released by Nvidia, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060’s 6GB VRAM is a cause for concern for a lot of gamers but mostly from a future-proofing perspective. Gaming benchmarks and gaming performance on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 is excellent, with modern games clocking in 60FPS at high settings or so without difficulty.
The biggest issue that we have with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 is its availability. This graphics card was out of stock for almost two years. Now, you’ll find some from EVGA, who decided to stop making graphics cards early this year. We assume that once the current supply of Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 is gone, they’ll probably disappear from store shelves for a long time.
How To Choose The Best Graphics Cards
With the list of Nvidia graphics cards we provided above, how do you choose the best one for you?
We’re now waiting for the latest RTX 40-series graphics cards to be released to the market within the next few months. Now that mining has slowed down and people are no longer hoarding graphics cards, it’s safe to say that the RTX 40-series will be in the hands of people who actually want to use it for gaming.
It’s also disappointing to say that some of the graphics cards on this list are still slightly inflated over their MSRP. Whether their pricing will go down once the next gen graphics cards are out, we’ll never know.
If you’re still using a GeForce GTX 10-series graphics card right now and you want to upgrade, any of the graphics cards listed above is a solid pick. If you’re strapped for cash, the RTX 3050 is worth looking into, or the RTX 2060 if you’re lucky to get your hands on them.
A lot of the demanding games right now might have you pushing for at least an RTX 3060 if you want ultra settings at 4K resolution.
Another point of consideration for upgrading is to look at your CPU and PSU. An outdated processor might struggle when paired with an RTX 30-series graphics card in terms of gaming. You’ll notice some dips in the FPS mostly because the CPU can’t keep up with the rendering demands. At this point, you’ll probably have to upgrade your processor as well if you’re thinking about getting higher than an RTX 3050.
Graphics cards like the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 will also force you to upgrade your PSU because of their power demand, so you have to think twice about going for any of these cards.
The Wrap Up
Buying a graphics card at this time proves to be a challenge. The graphics cards on this list are either inflated or have limited availability. However, we’re quite optimistic that these graphics cards and their pricing will go back to normal within the next few months. The arrival of the RTX 40-series of graphics cards will greatly affect the market for graphics cards.
Our best advice is this: if you can wait for the RTX 40-series graphics cards, then just wait for them before you decide to upgrade. But if you have to upgrade to a new graphics card because your old one conked out, it doesn’t hurt to pick out a good graphics card from this list.