5 best GPUs for gaming (2024)

GPUs are essential components in a gaming rig. It is tasked with processing complex algorithms and rendering visual image frames. They are responsible for rendering the complex 3D images of the game. Without a good GPU, your computer cannot process visual information faster and thus will render only a small number of image frames per second i.e. lower FPS in games.

Thus the better the GPU, the higher the FPS in a game. Though there are several other factors involved, GPU is the most important. If you're wondering whether you have to spend more to get more FPS, yes, but there are several aspects involved. Some GPUs like RTX 4090 though the absolute best in the market, retail at a marked-up price which is absolutely not value for money for most consumers.

So despite being the absolute best, capable of rendering the most amount of frames, the RTX 4090 should be avoided. Then the question comes up about which GPU should you go for. This article solves that problem by listing the 5 best GPUs that you can buy right now in 2024 for every budget category.

Even if you are constrained on your budget, you can follow these recommendations for your next affordable GPU. Let's begin with the article.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the writer's opinion.

5 best value for money GPUs that you can buy in 2024

1) RTX 4080 Super ($999)

Instead of the RTX 4090, the RTX 4080 Super is the card you should go for to play any modern AAA titles at the maximum possible graphics settings, with ray tracing enabled that too at a very high FPS. This card currently retails for $1000, which is great value considering this card was selling at a marked-up price months ago.

Though the RTX 4090 is about 24% faster than this card and is better at ray tracing, it retails for around $1700. It is not worth it to pay $700 for only a 24% increase in performance. This card is a much better buy for gaming purposes and can handle any game you throw at it.

The 4080 Super comes with 16GB of GDDR6X VRAM, which clocks up to 2550 MHz in games. It features 10240 CUDA cores for handling raw performance and 80 RT cores to handle real-time ray tracing. Backed by NVIDIA's intelligent DLSS algorithm, this is the card to go for if you are willing to buy the best performing and value for money GPU in the market.

This card's only drawback is the upcoming 50-series GPUs. As reported by Tom's Hardware, the 50-series card will feature GDDR7 memory which could have up to 36 Gbps speeds. 36 Gbps on a 256-bit interface would result in a bandwidth of 1152 GB/s, about 57% higher than the 4080 Super's 736 GB/s. This is a massive upgrade over the previous gen.

So, if you immediately need to build a high-end gaming PC, we recommend you go for this card else we would suggest you wait for the 50-series cards to be announced at the end of this year. Overall this is a very capable 4K gaming graphics card.

Specifications	RTX 4080 Super
CUDA Cores	10,240
Tensor Cores	320
RT Cores	80
Boost Clock	Up to 2550 MHz
Memory	16 GB GDDR6X
Memory Interface	256-bit
Memory Bandwidth	736 GB/s
TDP	320W

Pros:

Powerful performance in gaming.
Excellent ray tracing performance.

Cons:

Potentially will be replaced by better 50 series cards at this price.

2) RX 7900XTX ($869)

There are two good GPUs at this price point: RTX 4070 Ti Super and% RX 7900XTX. The RTX 4070 Ti Super retails for around $820 whereas the RX 7900XTX retails for around $870, a $50 price difference. Both are very good cards but video memory-wise, the AMD card takes the lead. It features 24 GB of GDDR6 V-RAM over 4070 Ti Super's 16 GB.

Further, the AMD GPU features a greater number of RT cores, 96 total over 4070Ti Super's 66. As a result, ray tracing will be comparatively better processed in RX 7900XTX. It also is built on the 384-bit memory bus which translates to greater bandwidth over 4070 Ti Super's 256-bit. It will generate more FPS than the RTX 4070 Ti Super.

The 7900XTX offers better raw as well as ray tracing performance. However, the RTX 4070 Ti Super excels in AI upscaling and frame generation. DLSS 3 produces much better graphics quality than AMD's FSR 3. DLSS 3 is well-optimized and doesn't glitch as much as the FSR 3 does. You get a better experience playing the game.

Both cards are extremely good and are available at comparable prices. AMD cards have recently been creeping down in price and if the gap between their retail prices further narrow, RX 7900XTX will undoubtedly be better value for money. Overall, they are both impressive 4K gaming GPUs

Specifications	RX 7900 XTX
Architecture	RDNA 3
Process Node	5nm
Stream Processors	6144
Game Clock	2365 MHz
Boost Clock	Up to 2500 MHz
Memory	24GB GDDR6
Memory Bus	384-bit
Memory Bandwidth	960 GB/s
RT cores	96
TDP	355W

Pros:

Powerful performance and extremely capable of 4K gaming.
Excellent ray tracing performance.

Cons:

RX 7900 XTX comes with FSR which is not great compared to a DLSS in terms of image quality.

3) RX 7900 GRE ($529)

RX 7900 GRE (Image via XFX and David McCumskay/YouTube)

The RX 7900 GRE is creeping down in price constantly and is now retailing for $529. It is a steal at this price point. The card comes with extremely good hardware and competes with the likes of the RTX 4070 Super. This card comes with 16 GB of GDDR6 V-RAM on a 256-bit memory bus. This card is a great entry-level 4K gaming card.

The card features 80 RT cores which makes it capable of handling ray tracing efficiently. But at this price point, it's better to run games with ray tracing off. Due to AMD's lack of good ray tracing optimization, the card is not extremely well in that but if we talk about raw performance it leaps ahead effortlessly over all of its competition.

The RX 7900 GRE features 5120 shading units, which is responsible for its excellence in war performance. The card clocks up to 2245 MHz under heavy gaming loads. Overall, it stands ahead of all the NVIDIA cards in this price segment. If you don't majorly care about ray tracing, this is the card you should choose.

Specifications	RX 7900GRE
Architecture	RDNA 3
Process Node	5nm
Stream Processors	5120
Game Clock	1880 MHz
Boost Clock	Up to 2245 MHz
Memory	16GB GDDR6
Memory Bus	256-bit
Memory Bandwidth	576 GB/s
RT cores	80
TDP	260W

Pros:

Great 4K performance on a budget.
Comes with 16 GB of V-RAM.

Cons:

Ray tracing performance is not great.
AMD FSR is glitchy and unoptimized.

4) RX 7800 XT ($479)

The RX 7800XT is great for 1440p gaming and comes at a really good price of around $470. This card boasts significantly better performance in both ray tracing and non-ray tracing scenarios than its previous-gen counterpart. It packs value, performance, and hardware in the same package, and that is why it is so appealing for consumer gaming rigs.

The card features 3840 shading units and 60 RT cores, which is responsible for excellent 1440p raw performance and decent ray tracing. But as you know, AMD is infamous for its ray tracing optimizations. Therefore don't buy this card mainly focusing on that. The performance is decent enough but is not a good experience unless you enable FSR which on the other hand messes up with image quality slightly.

You should go for this card mainly because of its raw performance capabilities. It delivers high frames despite being priced like a midrange graphics card. Be sure to look out for discounts that will make this GPU an all-rounder value for money package for 1440p gaming.

Specifications	RX 7800XT
Architecture	RDNA 3
Process Node	5nm
Stream Processors	3840
Game Clock	2124 MHz
Boost Clock	Up to 2430 MHz
Memory	16GB GDDR6
Memory Bus	256-bit
Memory Bandwidth	624 GB/s
RT cores	60
TDP	263W

Pros:

Great 1440p gaming performance.
16 GB of V-RAM.

Cons:

Ray tracing could be better.
Unpredictable AMD FSR.

5) RX 6800 ($349)

The RX 6800 is from the last generation of AMD cards. This falls in the same price category as the RX 7700XT but is arguably better in gaming performance than the latter. It is great for 1440p gaming and delivers better performance than the NVIDIA cards in this price category.

The GPU has 3840 shading units and 60 RT cores. It is capable of ray tracing but does not do it efficiently enough to be a great experience. It is better to turn off ray tracing for budget GPUs when gaming. The RX6800 comes with 16 GB of V-RAM, which is enough video memory to meet the demand of modern AAA games at the highest settings.

It packs the best hardware for the money of all the GPUs in the market. You can confidently go for this GPU and won't be disappointed by the performance you squeeze out of the RX 6800.

Specification	RX 6800
Architecture	RDNA 2
Process Node	7nm
Stream Processors	3840
Game Clock	1815 MHz
Boost Clock	Up to 2105 MHz
Memory	16GB GDDR6
Memory Bus	256-bit
Memory Bandwidth	512 GB/s
RT cores	60
TDP	250W

Pros:

Excellent budget 1440p gaming GPU.
Features 16 GB of V-RAM.

Cons:

Ray tracing performance is not that good.

All of the graphics cards featured here offer great value for money and the best gaming performance in that price segment. You can choose one according to your preferences and will undoubtedly get the best gaming performance for your money spent.

Edited by Adarsh J Kumar