4 Best Graphics Cards of 2022

Since the release of the 30-series NVidia graphics cards, GPUs have quickly become one of the hottest products this year. According to the professional, building a new gaming PC now is not a good idea. If you really can’t wait or have some cash in your pocket, we recommend going with a pre-built PC manufacturer like I buy power or Alien ware.

Almost all GPUs released this year that weren’t immediately devoured by techies were bought by scalpers to resell at ridiculous prices. The release of AMD’s 6000-series GPUs was thought to alleviate the problem, and while it didn’t necessarily make things worse, neither series of cards remained available through online retailers for more than a few hours.

While it may be tempting to buy an RTX 3090 and let it be for a day, there are a few factors to consider before wasting money on the problem. Does your power supply have enough backup power to handle the new graphics card? Some models, such as the NVidia RTX 3080, require up to 300 watts and recommend using a 750W power supply. If your CPU is currently a few generations old, you may want to spend some of your budget on a better CPU or you risk bottlenecking your GPU and limiting its overall potential.

While any of NVidia’s 30-series cards would be ideal, we’d recommend any RTX 2080 Super model to fill the high-end slot machine slot for now until the 30-series becomes more widely available. How to find one for love. Or money has been nearly impossible since launch.

Best Overall: NVidia RTX 3080

When the 30-series cards were announced in September, NVidia had some pretty significant specs, and while there was some doubt that these GPUs could live up to those claims, especially the RTX 3080, which was claimed to be superior to the 2080 Ti, all the more. Benchmarks turn out to be correct. The RTX 3080 is a graphics card that beats the 2080 Ti in almost all categories for about half the price.

This card may have less VRAM, but the new GDDR6X and Ampere architecture allows the 3080 to do more with less. The 3080 outperforms the 2080 Ti in both 1440p and 4K rendering at lower temperatures under load. Perhaps more importantly, the 3080’s MSRP makes this performance much more achievable. While we’re still not sure how AMD’s big Navi GPU will affect gaming, the RTX 3080 is currently the card to beat.

Runner-Up, Best Overall: MSI GeForce

The NVidia RTX 2080 Super may be a bit behind in video RAM compared to other models, but the GGDR6 VRAM is faster. The card is based on the Turing architecture, which makes progress in cooling solutions and the number of cores. The DVI port has been removed from the card, allowing more space for a high airflow thermal solution to complement the cooling system, up to 75 degrees Celsius.

The card’s base clock frequency is 1,605 MHz and is ramped up to 1,770 MHz This card makes 4K gaming a reality at 60 fps. While some users report a slight drop in frame rate from their systems and configurations, optimized games can be played in UHD quality at very high frame rates. This great technology has high overclocking potential, is already cheaper than other high-end cards and will only continue to fall in price as supply and demand meet.

Best Budget: Sapphire Radeon Pulse RX580

This is AMD’s smaller equivalent of NVidia’s popular GTX 1660. It’s small, affordable and a 1080p processing beast. While 4K gaming isn’t quite perfect, 60fps 1080p and high frame rates 1440p are great for most new games. Again, 4K optimized games like Doom look great and can be played at 35-40 fps.

The board is also designed with overclocking in mind, and the Armor 2X thermal cooling uses torn fan technology and advanced airflow. While this architecture pushes your gaming and VR experience to the limit, Froze technology stops the fans at low load, so you can enjoy complete silence while browsing. It has 8 GB of RAM and a memory speed of 1469 MHz

Best 1080p: ASUS ROG Stix GeForce GTX 1660 Super 6GB

After the release of their 20 series GPUs, NVidia went awry instead of developing. While everyone was intrigued by the possibilities of ray tracing, NVidia quietly put 16-series GPUs into the mix. 1660 Super is our litter pick with its small size, reasonable price and good performance. This smaller-than-average card offers exceptional 1080p performance and is sized to fit even the smallest PC.

While the 1660 Super isn’t quite capable of handling 1440p or 4K gaming, the 14Gbps GDDR6 VRAM offers superior performance over the standard 1660 and 1660 Ti chips.

Second place, best 1080p: AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT

Another solid contender from the red team, the 5600XT is somewhere between low-end and mid-range performance. Higher performance than NVidia’s Vanilla 2060, but at a slightly lower price point, makes the 5600XT a great choice for mid-range gaming PCs. According to the data, the 5600XT has 6 GB of DDR6 VRAM and a maximum boost clock rate of up to 1560 MHz

While it may not have the specs needed for serious 1440p performance, it is more than capable of delivering stunning 1080p performance. This is definitely something to consider if you’re looking to invest in some of the best gaming monitors with ultra-fast refresh rates. Interest.

Final judgement

If you’re looking for high-end 4K or 1440p performance from your gaming PC, the NVidia RTX 3080 is the graphics card that makes it all possible at a reasonable price. However, if you need something more affordable or are just looking for something for 1080p gaming, the NVidia 1660 Super is definitely a better option.

About our trusted experts:

Alice Newcome-Beill has written PC component buying guides for PC Gamer and personally manages an MSI NVidia 2080Ti in her gaming rig.

Taylor Clemons has been writing about games for over three years and is an avid gamer and expert on PC components, hardware and operating systems.

Andrew Hayward has been in the business of gadgets, games, sports and more since 2006. He has cleverly switched between Windows and Mac setups to keep things interesting.

The best graphics cards

Memory: The amount of memory or VRAM on the GPU can be a determining factor in performance. Sure, you could get by with just 2GB of RAM for less intensive gaming or graphic design / video editing, but the more RAM you have, the more you can handle without a drop in performance.

Clock Speed ​​- Clock speed is the speed at which the GPU can send or retrieve data, as opposed to memory which is the amount of data it can store. Some PC gamers choose to overclock their GPUs and push them to the limit, so this figure probably makes more sense to those folks.

Size – Some GPUs are quite thin and compact, but it’s no surprise that the most powerful GPUs are monsters. For example, a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti may take up to 340mm of free space in your case, and you need to make sure you can handle that. Check your computer or the cover manufacturer’s website to be sure.

FAQ

How do I choose the right graphics card?

Graphics cards are one of the most expensive parts of a gaming desktop, which is why it can be easy to overspend them. The right GPU for you depends on your monitor and processor. If you play games on a 1080p monitor instead of a 4K gaming monitor, you can usually spend less on your graphics card. However, it is important to note that the performance of the graphics card is directly related to the CPU. So, if your CPU currently has a few generations, it might be more beneficial to upgrade your CPU first.

Find a new graphics card?

The latest generation of GPUs, especially the RTX 30 series and the AMD 6000 series, have experienced unprecedented demand, which has led to widespread shortages. Unfortunately, the goal is not to find one of these cards quickly.