The ever-rising inflation has made it difficult for gamers to build their dream PC. However, with PC parts seeing a price decline, we are getting various budget builds in the market. Of course, your PC preference will differ because you can have a budget of $500, $1,000, or even $5,000. Therefore, knowing the best budget graphics cards is essential to complete your PC build.
Here are the specifications of the best budget graphics cards compared with each other:
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Best Budget Graphics Cards
These are the best budget GPUs currently on the market:
- XFX Speedster SWFT210 Radeon RX 6650 XT
- ASUS Dual OC NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060
- Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6700
- ASUS Dual NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
- ASRock Phantom Gaming D Radeon RX 5500 XT
XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6650 XT
Best Budget Overall Graphics Card
Specifications: Architecture: RDNA 2.0 | Dimensions: 241 x 131 x 41mm | Stream Processors: 2,048 | Base Clock: 2,055MHz | Boost Clock: 2,635MHz | Memory: 8GB GDDR6 | Recommended PSU: 500W | Power Connectors: 1 x 8-pin | RGB: No
Pros
- Low power requirements
- Amazing 1080p performance
- Decent thermal performance
- Great raytracing capabilities
Cons
- Only 8GB VRAM
Design: The SWFT 210 RX 6650 XT is 241 x 131 x 41mm, making it suitable for most ATX cases. Being a dual-slot low-profile card, you don’t require too much space to fit the GPU. Moreover, you can place it in stealthy builds because it only has a few white LED lights and no RGB. The GPU’s compact size makes it perfect for workstation PCs and sleeper builds. The graphics card may fit in an ITX case if you’re lucky. However, you must analyze the size and width properly before purchasing.
Cooling: Examining the cooling of the SWFT 210 RX 6650 XT, the GPU has five copper baseplate heat pipes. The heat pipes are designed to keep the GPU low-profile and less noticeable. Furthermore, the SWFT 210 RX 6650 XT has two 95mm fans with a zero RPM stop feature. To explain, that means the fans won’t start until the GPU’s temperature exceeds 55°C. This helps keep the noise levels minimal while decreasing power consumption under idle load. You can change the GPU settings to start the fans at a lower or higher temperature.
Performance: As I stated, the XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6650 XT performs exceptionally well at 1080p resolution. The GPU runs extremely fast, with a base clock speed of 2,055MHz and a boost clock speed of 2,635MHz. The SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6650 XT also provides exceptional ray tracing capabilities, allowing for better eye candy in many games. You get some overclocking headroom because of the thermal efficiency, but you might only receive a slight bump in most cases. While using the GPU, I managed to get a ~3-5% performance increment through overclocking.
Buy It If
You want an amazing 1080p graphics card: While staying on a lower budget, the SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6650 XT has outstanding 1080p performance, falling by only 4.8% against the RX 7600 regarding performance.
You want to utilize entry-level ray tracing: Using ray tracing while staying at 1080p resolution under a lower budget is a fantastic deal for any graphics card. Moreover, you can get over 60 FPS in AAA-titled games even with ray tracing and FSR enabled.
You don’t want a new power supply: Another significant aspect of the SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6650 XT is its low power requirements. If you don’t want to upgrade your PSU, this GPU is meant for you.
Don’t Buy It If
8GB VRAM won’t cut it: If you want to use your graphics card for productivity tasks, the 8GB VRAM might not be enough for you. If that’s the case, you’re better off looking for an alternative than staying with the SWFT 210 RX 6650 XT.
What Makes It The Best Budget Overall Graphics Card?
Out of the many budget graphics cards, the SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6650 XT stands out due to its impressive 1080p performance, power and thermal efficiencies, excellent ray tracing, FSR, overclocking capabilities, and sleek design. Additionally, you can use the GPU for work purposes and in stealthy builds due to the lack of RGB. All-in-all, the SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6650 XT is the best budget overall graphics card that won’t break your bank.
The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT has won several other awards from us:
| Performance: 8/10 | Value: 8/10 |
| Features: 9/10 | Design: 10/10 |
ASUS Dual OC GeForce RTX 4060
Best Budget NVIDIA Graphics Card
Specifications: Architecture: Ada Lovelace | Dimensions: 227 x 123 x 50mm | CUDA Cores: 3,072 | Base Clock: 1,830MHz | Boost Clock: 2,505MHz | Memory: 8GB GDDR6 | Recommended PSU: 550W | Power Connectors: 1 x 8-pin | RGB: No
Pros
- Great cooling performance
- Almost completely silent
- Great ray tracing capabilities
- Compact design
Cons
- 8GB VRAM
- Issues with older games
Design: The ASUS Dual OC Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 is 227 x 123 x 50mm and comes as a 2.5-slot card. The GPU has a compact design and can fit in most tight-spaced cases, but you will require three slots to place the graphics card. The black color design makes the ASUS Dual RTX 4060 a perfect addition to stealth-based PC builds. I used the graphics card in a metallic build, which enhanced the entire PC’s aesthetic with the GPU at the heart of the design.
Cooling: Examining the cooling, the ASUS Dual OC RTX 4060 offers two heat pipes, each 6mm thick, connected to an aluminum heatsink. Furthermore, the heat pipes are made of copper, improving heat absorption. The graphics card also houses two axial tech fans with a small fan hub to increase fan speed as required. However, the fans don’t have a built-in zero RPM mode, which may slightly increase noise. Even so, in my experience, even with higher fan speeds, I couldn’t hear any noise, giving the ASUS Dual OC RTX 4060 exceptional acoustic levels.
Performance: As the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is one of the latest-gen GPUs, it provides incredible ray tracing and Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) performance. The ASUS Dual OC variant also has a base clock speed of 1,830MHz and a boost clock speed of 2,505MHz. The boost clock speed is ~2% greater than the reference graphics card, improving overall performance. The ASUS Dual OC RTX 4060 showcases amazing overclocking potential due to its beefed-up Voltage Regulatory Modules (VRMs) and a better cooling solution.
Buy It If
You want to utilize DLSS 3.0: Many consumers may buy a new graphics card to utilize the latest features they provide, such as DLSS 3.0. With the ability to get higher FPS without changing game settings, DLSS 3.0 provides an amazing incentive for many.
You don’t want fan noise: Although the ASUS Dual OC RTX 4060 fans don’t have a zero RPM feature, the fans are incredibly silent. Even when I pushed them to 100% utilization, the fans made almost no noise, improving the acoustics of the graphics card. If you don’t want fan noise, the ASUS Dual OC NVIDIA RTX 4060 is a great GPU to purchase.
Don’t Buy It If
You need to play older games: Due to a few driver issues, the ASUS Dual OC RTX 4060 graphics card shows issues with older games. The issue is more prevalent with games utilizing DirectX 9.0. Therefore, if you want to play older games, I don’t recommend purchasing the ASUS Dual OC NVIDIA RTX 4060 GPU.
What Makes It The Best Budget NVIDIA Graphics Card?
The amazing 1080p performance, access to entry-level ray tracing, amazing DLSS 3.0 capabilities, thermal and power efficiency, and a sleek design make the ASUS Dual OC NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 the best budget NVIDIA graphics card on the market. To have access to amazing features such as DLSS and the capability of further overclocking the GPU, making the ASUS Dual OC GeForce RTX 4060 one of the best budget graphics cards under $300 and the best in NVIDIA’s arsenal.
| Performance: 8/10 | Value: 10/10 |
| Features: 9/10 | Design: 8/10 |
Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6700
Best Budget AMD Graphics Card
Specifications: Architecture: RDNA 2.0 | Dimensions: 260 x 120 x 49mm | Stream Processors: 2,304 | Base Clock: 2,132MHz | Boost Clock: 2,495MHz | Memory: 10GB GDDR6 | Recommended PSU: 650W | Power Connectors: 1 x 8-pin | RGB: Yes
Pros
- Decent entry-level 1440p performance
- Dual BIOS switch
- Exceptional cooling
- Almost zero fan noise
Cons
- Limited overclocking headroom
Design: The Sapphire Pulse RX 6700 has a 260 x 120 x 49mm size with a 2-slot bracket. This makes the graphics card easily suitable for all ATX and most ITX cases. Furthermore, the Sapphire Pulse RX 6700 comes in black and white colors, making it a perfect product for the best white gaming PC build. The GPU also features subtle RGB lighting that can be customized using the Sapphire TriXX software. While customizing my graphics card, utilizing the software was extremely easy, and I got the hang of it within a few minutes.
Cooling: Considering the cooling, the Sapphire Pulse RX 6700 graphics card houses 5 heat pipes, each 6mm thick and made of pure copper. The heat pipes help with heat transfer, improving overall cooling. Moreover, the GPU has two 92mm fans made of sleeve bearings. These fans can be customized easily using the Sapphire TriXX software, with the capabilities of changing the fan speed curve, adjusting fan speeds, and monitoring the GPU temperature. Lastly, the fans also have a zero RPM feature, which helps with the acoustic levels. The original threshold is 45°C, but can be changed.
Performance: The Sapphire Pulse variant of the AMD Radeon RX 6700 reference card showcases amazing performance boosts. For example, the Sapphire Pulse RX 6700 has a base clock speed of 2,132MHz, an almost 10% increment from the reference model. Furthermore, the Sapphire Pulse has a boost clock speed of 2,495MHz, an almost 2% increment. Because the graphics card already has a bumped-up clock speed, there isn’t a lot of overclocking potential left. I could barely get a ~2% increment with increased thermals and power consumption when I tried overclocking.
Buy It If
You require a dual BIOS switch: If you’re the cautious type and like to have a backup BIOS for your GPU, the Sapphire Pulse RX 6700 features a dual BIOS switch, allowing users to have two separate BIOS for the graphics card. Also, you can utilize the feature to keep a backup BIOS before updating your GPU drivers and pre-installed BIOS.
You need zero fan noise: Along with the zero RPM feature, the Sapphire Pulse RX 6700 fans are extremely quiet, even at the highest RPM. If you need such acoustics, I recommend buying the graphics card.
Don’t Buy It If
You want to overclock your GPU: If you like to push your computer hardware to its limit, I recommend not purchasing the Sapphire Pulse RX 6700. The GPU’s clock speeds are already bumped up, and you don’t get much overclocking headroom to improve performance. I barely got a ~2% increment when I tried to overclock my graphics card.
What Makes It The Best Budget AMD Graphics Card?
The amazing 1080p gaming performance, cooling capabilities, zero fan noise, and low power consumption make the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6700 one of AMD’s best budget graphics cards. You can utilize the sub-$300 GPU for entry-level 1440p gaming and use features such as ray tracing, FSR, and even SAM for additional performance.
| Performance: 8/10 | Value: 10/10 |
| Features: 8/10 | Design: 8/10 |
ASUS Dual OC GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
Best Budget Graphics Card For 1440p Gaming
Specifications: Architecture: Ampere | Dimensions: 230 x 120 x 42mm | CUDA Cores: 4,864 | Base Clock: 1,410MHz | Boost Clock: 1,710MHz | Memory: 8GB GDDR6X | Recommended PSU: 750W | Power Connectors: 2 x 8-pin | RGB: No
Pros
- Exceptional 1440p performance
- GDDR6X memory
- Quiet fans
Cons
- High power requirements
- No overclocking headroom
Design: Starting with the design, the ASUS Dual OC RTX 3060 Ti has a 230 x 120 x 42mm size. Because it is a 2-slot card, you can easily fit it in any ATX case. However, you will need to take caution for ITX cases due to the length of the GPU. Furthermore, the ASUS Dual OC RTX 3060 Ti offers black and white colors, allowing users to build their PCs freely. The absence of RGB allows the graphics card to be used in workstations and for stealthy builds.
Cooling: Surprisingly, the ASUS Dual OC RTX 3060 Ti GPU has an increasingly similar cooling design to the Sapphire Pulse RX 6700 GPU. While the ASUS Dual OC RTX 3060 Ti has two heat pipes, three less than the RX 6700; each is 6mm thick and made of pure copper. Moreover, the graphics card houses two 92mm fans utilizing an Axial tech design. The fans also have a zero RPM feature, which helps reduce noise levels significantly. Because the fans use an Axial tech design, they have longer fan blades that induce greater downward air pressure, cooling the heatsink more effectively.
Performance: Looking at the performance, the ASUS Dual OC RTX 3060 Ti houses amazing performance for a budget graphics card. With a base clock speed of 1,410MHz, the ASUS variant doesn’t change the speeds from the reference model. However, the 1,710MHz boost clock speed sees a ~3% increment from NVIDIA’s reference card. The main performance point in the ASUS Dual OC RTX 3060 Ti are the 4,864 CUDA cores and the GDDR6X memory. During my testing phase, I realized the ASUS Dual OC RTX 3060 Ti doesn’t have much overclocking headroom, even with a higher power output.
Buy It If
You want exceptional 1440p gaming performance: If you’re trying to stay within a budget but want to play AAA-titled games at 1440p, the ASUS Dual OC RTX 3060 Ti will be useful. Moreover, you can easily gain over 60 FPS in most games with DLSS enabled, providing amazing performance.
You require GDDR6X memory: Faster VRAM is a requirement for many consumers who need a graphics card for productivity tasks. If you’re under budget restraints, the ASUS Dual OC RTX 3060 Ti’s 8GB GDDR6X memory should allow you to hasten your productivity tasks.
Don’t Buy It If
You don’t want to upgrade your power supply: With the added performance, the ASUS Dual OC RTX 3060 Ti requires a lot of wattage. If you’re not already using a 750W PSU, you’ll need to spend on a new power supply. The thought can be devastating for many. If so, don’t go with the graphics card.
No overclocking headroom: The ASUS Dual OC RTX 3060 Ti is slightly overclocked by the manufacturer. For that reason, the GPU doesn’t have much manual overclocking headroom, even with significantly higher power consumption.
What Makes It The Best Budget Graphics Card For 1440p Gaming?
The performance-to-dollar ratio enhanced ray tracing capabilities along with DLSS 2.0, quiet fans, and better cooling methods are a few reasons that make the ASUS Dual OC RTX 3060 Ti the best budget graphics card for 1440p gaming. While staying on a budget, you can get 60FPS and more in most AAA-titled games with DLSS enabled. Furthermore, you neither require a big chassis nor a lot of cooling for the GPU to perform adequately, further enhancing its value.
| Performance: 10/10 | Value: 7/10 |
| Features: 9/10 | Design: 9/10 |
ASRock Phantom Gaming D Radeon RX 5500 XT OC 8GB
Best Budget Graphics Card Under $200
Specifications: Architecture: RDNA 1.0 | Dimensions: 241 x 127 x 42mm | Stream Processors: 1,408 | Base Clock: 1,685MHz | Boost Clock: 1,845MHz | Memory: 8GB GDDR6 | Recommended PSU: 500W | Power Connectors: 1 x 8-pin | RGB: Yes
Pros
- Effective cooling
- Great 1080p performance
- Amazing performance-per-dollar ratio
Cons
- Louder fans
- No ray tracing support
Design: Firstly, the ASRock Phantom RX 5500 XT has a 241 x 127 x 42mm size, making it a slightly compact dual-slot graphics card. This means you don’t have to spend on a big case, and you can fit the graphics card easily in any ATX or ITX chassis. The ASRock Phantom RX 5500 XT is also available in red and black colors, allowing consumers to create unique aesthetic builds. Moreover, with the presence of RGB, you can fully customize the lighting on the GPU as you like. Use the ASRock Polychrome Sync software to customize the RGB.
Cooling: Examining the cooling of the ASRock Phantom RX 5500 XT, the graphics card houses three large 6mm thick heat pipes. These heat pipes are attached to an aluminum heatsink, which helps spread the heat, improving cooling. The graphics card also houses two 85mm fans, which help with airflow. The fans have a zero RPM feature, which helps with keeping acoustic levels low. However, during my testing, I noticed that the ASRock Phantom RX 5500 XT produces more noise when the fans are fully utilized. Even though you can change the fan customizations, the noise level doesn’t decrease.
Performance: For a graphics card under $200, the ASRock Phantom RX 5500 XT showcases exceptional performance, even giving over 60 FPS in most games at 1080p resolution. With a base clock speed of 1,687MHz and a boost clock speed of 1,845MHz, the card runs pretty fast. Moreover, the base clocks are 5% faster, and the boost clocks are ~1% faster than the reference model, increasing performance. You can also utilize FSR features, which help boost FPS in difficult-to-run games. However, the GPU isn’t compatible with ray tracing, leaving space for some eye candy.
Buy It If
You want great 1080p performance at a lower budget: Finding graphics cards that produce 60+ FPS in new games at 1080p resolution within a tight budget is a difficult task. However, the ASRock Phantom Gaming D RX 5500 XT showcases over 100 FPS at 1080p resolution with FSR enabled, showing its relevancy and power while keeping the price below $200.
You want unique colors in your graphics card: There aren’t many graphics cards that come in a red design. If you require a red or black design, the ASRock Phantom Gaming D RX 5500 XT should be your choice.
Don’t Buy It If
You want quiet fans: Unlike many other graphics cards, the ASRock Phantom RX 5500 XT has loud fans. If you’re a fan of quieter fans, the GPU won’t cut it. The fan noise is created due to the lower-quality fans being used to save costs in production.
You require ray tracing: Because the ASRock Phantom RX 5500 XT has the RDNA 1 architecture, it does not support ray tracing. If you’re looking for better eye candy, you should purchase another GPU with a slightly higher budget.
What Makes It The Best Budget Graphics Card Under $200?
The exceptional gaming performance at 1080p for its price, cooling capabilities, unique color availability, RGB customization options, and features such as FSR make the ASRock Phantom Gaming D RX 5500 XT one of the best budget graphics cards under $200. You can easily fit the GPU for a build under $500 and get amazing gaming performance in AAA-titled games at high and ultra settings.
| Performance: 7/10 | Value: 10/10 |
| Features: 8/10 | Design: 9/10 |
Gaming Benchmarks Of The Best Budget Graphics Cards
Here are a few samples of the gaming benchmarks I got when testing each of the products in this review. I tested all of the graphics cards under 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions with and without utilizing ray tracing to get these results. Here are the results:
Specifications Comparison
| Graphics Cards | Memory (GB) | Clock Frequency (MHz) | Boost Frequency (MHz) | Shading Units | Length (mm) | TDP (W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XFX SPEEDSTER SWFT210 Radeon RX 6650 XT | 8 | 2055 | 2635 | 2048 | 241 | 180 |
| Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 4060 | 8 | 1830 | 2505 | 3072 | 227 | 115 |
| Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 6700 | 10 | 2132 | 2495 | 2304 | 260 | 220 |
| ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti | 8 | 1410 | 1710 | 4864 | 269 | 200 |
| ASRock Phantom Gaming D Radeon RX 5500 XT 8G OC | 8 | 1685 | 1845 | 1408 | 241 | 130 |
Important GPU Key Terms
- DLSS: Short for Deep Learning Super Sampling, DLSS is an image enhancement technique NVIDIA utilizes to improve FPS without any physical performance boost. AMD has a similar image enhancement technique called FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR).
- Tensor Cores: Tensor cores are an important aspect of ray tracing and DLSS. These cores perform complex mathematical calculations, also called tensor computations. Faster tensor computations equate to better ray tracing and DLSS performance.
- CUDA Cores: CUDA cores help with tasks that require processing. GPUs with better CUDA cores process data faster and are more useful for productivity tasks. AMD has a similar technology called Stream Processors.
- VRAM: Also stands for Virtual Random Access Memory; VRAM is present in all graphics cards and stores data that is frequently accessed in games. The VRAM usually saves data such as renders and shaders, among other graphical inputs.
- Overclocking: Overclocking is a way to manually increase the boost clocks of your GPU, CPU, and RAM. Consumers can overclock their products by increasing the power consumption and wattage limits. However, it should be done in moderation, as overclocking can be dangerous.
- Ray Tracing: Ray tracing is a technique that uses RT cores to create artificial light in games. The RT cores perform complex mathematic calculations to imitate realistic lighting, such as reflections and refractions, improving a frame’s quality. Not every graphics card supports ray tracing and ones that do take a big hit on performance.
- GDDR6: GDDR6 is a memory type used in recent graphics cards. The standard is slowly shifting to GDDR6X, but most budget GPUs still utilize GDDR6. The memory typically offers a bandwidth between 14 to 16 Gbps.
How We Selected The Best Budget Graphics Cards
To choose the best budget graphics cards, I followed multiple parameters, such as performance, cooling capabilities, wattage requirements, and aesthetics. There are, of course, many more factors to consider when selecting a graphics card.
- Performance: While choosing the graphics cards, I took caution in selecting cards with decent 1080p and 1440p performance, depending on their price. None of the cards I picked provide less than at least 60 FPS at 1080p ultra. It would be best to consider your monitor’s refresh rate so as not to waste your monitor’s full potential.
- Cooling Capabilities: You must rely on your GPU’s cooling capabilities half the time to avoid thermal throttling. Thus, I chose graphics cards with plenty of heat pipes that can disperse heat properly and aid in cooling. Better GPU fans were a bonus.
- Wattage Requirements: You must always consider the power consumption of your graphics card and how much your power supply can provide. As a rule of thumb, budget GPUs usually don’t require too much power, which I kept in mind while choosing the GPUs.
- Aesthetics: When choosing a graphics card, you don’t want one that doesn’t go with the rest of your build. While aesthetics might not be necessary for gaming performance, a good-looking graphics card will go a long way. Thus, I chose graphics cards that have a variety of color options and look aesthetically pleasing. Neutral colors such as black and gray are always welcome as they fit with most builds. However, more catchy colors such as red and white might appeal to consumers wanting a unique color scheme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Graphics cards are getting cheaper steadily as time passes. We’re seeing more stable prices than ever since the 2020 pandemic.
Yes. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is not only better in performance but also has better thermal capabilities and lower power consumption.
The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is a great 1080p option while staying under a tight budget. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti might be a better option if you want consistent 144 FPS in 1080p resolution.
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[Hardware Reviewer & Editor]
Meet Nauman Siddique, a highly experienced computer science graduate with more than 15 years of knowledge in technology. Nauman is an expert in the field known for his deep understanding of computer hardware.
As a tech tester, insightful reviewer, and skilled hardware editor, Nauman carefully breaks down important parts like motherboards, graphics cards, processors, PC cases, CPU coolers, and more.
- 15+ years of PC Building Experience
- 10+ years of first-hand knowledge of technology
- 7+ years of doing in-depth testing of PC Hardware
- A motivated individual with a keen interest in tech testing from multiple angles.
- I majored in Computer Science with a Masters in Marketing
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