The best graphics card in 2025: our picks for all budgets

These are all the best graphics cards available now

Finding the best graphics card in 2025 can be a challenge, especially given the overwhelming variety of options on the market.

From affordable choices like the Intel Arc B580 to 4K monsters like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, there's no shortage of potential upgrades for your PC, and over the last several years at TechnoFever, I’ve spent hundreds of hours testing numerous GPUs to evaluate gaming prowess, creative performance, and overall bang for your buck—chalking up more than 36 in-depth graphics card reviews in the last three years alone.

This hands-on experience helps me cull though all of the top contenders on the market for both gamers and content creators according to both raw performance and real-world value.

Right now, my favorite pick for an ideal blend of value and power is the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, especially for gamers who are frustrated by the rampant price inflation for premium cards. This GPU isn't cheap, but it's 4K performance outpaces its price, even after inflation, making it the one I'd recommend to just about anyone looking for their next upgrade.

For all of the cards on this list, I dig deep into factors like energy usage, performance benchmark results, form factor and design, and price to determine the true standouts.

With more than 200 graphics card reviews published over TechnoFever nearly two decades of work, me and my colleagues know exactly how to steer you toward the best graphics card for your individual needs and budget, backed by data and extensive reviews, so you can feel confident in my picks.

Below, you'll find detailed write-ups for each of the best graphics card picks on this list. I've extensively tested each of them and have the gaming and other performance data you need to make the right choice for your needs and budget.

The best graphics card overall

Specifications

Core Clock: 2,400MHz

Shaders: 4096

Ray Processors: 64

AI Processors: 128

Memory: 16GB GDDR6

Memory Speed (Effective): 20.1Gbps

Outputs: 1 x HDMI 2.1b, 3 x DisplayPort 2.1a

Power Connectors: 2 x 8-pin

TGP: 304W

Recommended PSU: 700W

Reasons to buy

+Close to RTX 4080 gaming performance at half the MSRP

+16GB VRAM

+PCIe 5.0

Reasons to avoid

-Power-hungry

-Not great for non-raster creative workloads

-No AMD reference card to keep prices in check

I spent about two weeks testing the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT for my review of AMD's latest flagship GPU, and it’s without question one of the best gaming GPUs I’ve ever used.

With performance that nearly matches the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080—at half the launch price—it’s an unbeatable deal. AMD’s always had fewer supply issues and less scalping compared to Nvidia, so I expect the RX 9070 XT to remain accessible at around its $599 MSRP, which should be a huge relief for anyone weary of overpriced, understocked cards.

In my testing, I saw power draws of up to 309W, which is high, but given the performance level for this card, I won't say it's out of bounds. You'll need to make sure that your case can fit a triple-fan card and supply it with enough power, so it might not be ideal for small form factor builds. It also won’t blow you away with creative or AI tasks if my test results are any indication, but for pure gaming, it's fantastic.

In my testing, the RX 9070 XT got within 7% of the RTX 4080 and beat out every single last-gen AMD card, delivering high frame rates in some very demanding games, and providing a smooth gaming experience overall, even at 4K in many cases. Its fantastic value, especially in a graphics card generation that is largely lacking in excellent price-for-performance offers, makes this not only a massive breath of fresh air for the market but a new GPU offering that any PC gaming fan should be excited about.

The best budget graphics card

Specifications

Core Clock: 2,670MHz

Shaders: 2560

Ray Processors: 20

AI Processors: 160

Memory: 12GB GDDR6

Memory Speed (Effective): 19Gbps

Outputs: 1 x HDMI 2.1a, 3 x DisplayPort 2.1

Power Connectors: 1 x 8-pin

TGP: 190W

Recommended PSU: 450W

Reasons to buy

+Fantastic 1440p performance

+Very affordable

+Great reference card design

Reasons to avoid

-Ray tracing lags behind Nvidia

-Non-gaming performance cannot keep up with Nvidia

The Intel Arc B580 was the biggest GPU surprise of 2024 when it launched last December, greatly impressing me with its phenomenal 1440p gaming performance in my tests for under $250/£250/AU$450 at MSRP, something AMD and Nvidia have failed to do for two generations now.

What's more, any issues that Intel's previous Arc Alchemist GPUs suffered from seemed to have been ironed out with this latest release, earning a rare 5-star review from me in my review.

While the card has its drawbacks (its ray tracing performance lags behind Nvidia's and it's not the best creative GPU out there for the money, for example), this is strictly a GPU for gamers, and considering how long it's been since PC gamers have had a compelling graphics card at this price point, it's simply in a class of its own.

That said, if you want the absolute best graphics card performance at 1440p or 1080p, there are better cards for that, like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti. But those other cards are substantially more expensive, and they just don't offer a good enough reason to buy them when the Arc B580 is right there, offering nearly equal performance on average and costing 10%-40% less than its competition.

So if you're looking for the best budget graphics card but don't want to sacrifice performance, this card is exactly what you are looking for.

The best Nvidia graphics card overall

Specifications

Core Clock: 2,300MHz

Shaders: 8,960

Ray Processors: 70

AI Processors: 280

Memory: 16GB GDDR7

Memory Speed (Effective): 28Gbps

Outputs: 3 x DisplayPort 2.1, 1 x HDMI 2.1

Power Connectors: 1 x 16-pin

TGP: 300W

Recommended PSU: 700W

Reasons to buy

+RTX 4080 Super-level performance

+Great gen-on-gen uplift

+GDDR7 and PCIe 5.0

+Lower price than its predecessor

+Multi-Frame Generation is fantastic

Reasons to avoid

-Still expensive

-No Founders Edition card

-Scalpers are going to have a field day

-Many games still need to implement DLSS 4

I found the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti to offer the best balance of performance and price across all categories that I've seen over the last two generations of Nvidia GPUs, and it's not even really close in most cases.

My test results found it gives crisp, fluid 4K gaming performance without much in the way of settings compromise in just about every game. Meanwhile, content creators or AI enthusiasts who are looking for an Nvidia GPU that can deliver top-tier performance without the kind of substantial investment normally required for a workstation GPU.

Of course, this all comes with a massive caveat, which is that you're able to find this card at MSRP. Without a Founders Edition card directly from Nvidia, pricing is ultimately in the hands of third-party partners, so there's no guarantee that you'll ever be able to find this card at the price Nvidia set for it. So depending on the price you find for this card, your value proposition may change accordingly, and other cards on this list might be better options.

Objectively speaking, however, just about every other card on this list faces the same pricing pressures that the RTX 5070 Ti does, and so on balance this card is almost certainly going to offer you the best performance for your money no matter what you're looking to use it for.

If you want it for your gaming rig, you can game at close to 90 fps on average at 4K with a fps floor of 65, which is about as good as you could want for a premium GPU, especially for its price.

Creative pros who need a dedicated GPU for 3D modeling or video editing work will especially like this card, as it comes close to matching some of the best graphics cards for creatives of the last generation, and someone upgrading from an RTX 3090 will see a big performance boost over what they have now.

If the price of Nvidia's RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 are too high for your liking but you want enthusiast-grade performance, the RTX 5070 Ti is exactly the card you're looking for.

The best gaming graphics card

Specifications

Core Clock: 2,295MHz (2,617MHz)

Shaders: 10752

Ray Processors: 84

AI Processors: 336

Memory: 16GB GDDR7

Memory Speed (Effective): 38Gbps

Outputs: 1 x HDMI 2.1b, 3 x DisplayPort 2.1b

Power Connectors: 1 x 16-pin

TGP: 360

Recommended PSU: 750W

Reasons to buy

+Excellent overall performance

+New GDDR7 and PCIe 5.0 technology

+Same price as RTX 4080 Super

+DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation

Reasons to avoid

-Only modest gen-on-gen improvement

-Expensive even for a premium card

-Best performance depends on Multi-Frame Generation

-Ongoing stock issues and price inflation

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 is the third most powerful GPU you can buy at a price that won't force you to take out a small bank loan to buy, even though which version of the card you buy can make all the difference in terms of whether you'll be able to afford it.

This card is one of the most sought-after on the market, so it's subject to ongoing stock issues and price inflation which makes its value proposition for any given buyer a moving target.

This is especially true once you consider that the gen-on-gen uplift of this card over the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Super is only about 8-13% according to my testing, so if you can find the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Super for less than an RTX 5080, those cards might be a better value depending on their price.

It also goes without saying that anyone with an RTX 4080 or RTX 4080 Super should not get this card, as you won't see much benefit from it other than Multi-Frame Generation with DLSS 4, which is not worth spending this kind of money on.

For everyone else, though, especially those coming from the RTX 30 series or pretty much any AMD card other than the RX 7900 XTX, the RTX 5080 will blow you away—assuming you can find it in stock, that is.

The best graphics card for creative professionals

Specifications

Core Clock: 2,017MHz (2,407MHz Boost)

Shaders: 21760

Ray Processors: 170

AI Processors: 680

Memory: 32GB GDDR7

Memory Speed (Effective): 28

Outputs: 1 x HDMI 2.1b, 3 x DisplayPort 2.1b

Power Connectors: 1 x 16-pin

TGP: 575W

Recommended PSU: 950W

Reasons to buy

+Best performance on the market

+Native 8K gaming is possible

+Creative performance completely eclipses any other consumer GPU

Reasons to avoid

-Absolute obscene power consumption

-Costs a fortune

-Overkill for anyone other than creative professionals

If you're looking for the best possible performance for your creative work—and who isn't? Time is money, after all—then this is really really the holy grail for creatives (not to mention AI professionals).

Whether you're working with 3D modeling and rendering in a professional capacity, you're a video production professional, or you're an AI researcher, Nvidia's GPUs have long been the standard for commercial and academic use, but the RTX 5090 is in a whole other league.

With a massive 33% increase in multiprocessors, including industry mainstay CUDA and Tensor cores, and 32GB VRAM that is faster than the last-gen's best, the RTX 4090, which 'only' had 24GB VRAM.

For the gamers and enthusiasts out there who are determined to flex on their friends with this card, my testing found it was nothing short of overkill for every game I tested it with. It's the only graphics card that's truly capable of handling native 8K gaming, thanks to its massive VRAM pool and enormous memory interface, but it's also the only graphics card I've tested where you can get actually playable native 4K gaming with ray tracing maxed out.

Of course, all this performance isn't cheap, and you could buy a used car with a year or two of life in it for the same price as this card's MSRP, and there's no way you're ever going to find it at MSRP. What's more, its frankly scandalous power consumption tops out around 575W, so expect a hefty power bill to go along with this already super-premium GPU.

The best 1440p graphics card

Specifications

Core Clock: 1,980MHz (2,475MHz Boost)

Shaders: 7,168

Memory: 12GB GDDR6X

Memory Clock: 21 Gbps effective

Outputs: 1 x HDMI 2.1, 3 x DisplayPort 1.4

Power Connectors: 1x 16-pin

Power draw (TDP): 220W

Reasons to buy

+Fantastic performance

+Same price as RTX 4070 launch MSRP

+Higher core count and base clock

+Gorgeous design

Reasons to avoid

-Gamers will be better off with RX 7900 GRE

-Still just 12GB VRAM

-Higher power draw

-Still expensive for a midrange card

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super meets the high expectations I had for this card, offering compelling performance at the same price as its predecessor.

The Super outshines the base RTX 4070, offering more SMs for enhanced processing and a swifter base clock speed. However, its 12GB GDDR6X VRAM limits its 4K prowess, so for optimal 4K performance, the Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5080 are a better bet.

For top-tier 1440p gaming, though, the RTX 4070 Super excels thanks to its robust specs, DLSS 3 with Frame Generation, and Nvidia Reflex technology.

And while the RTX 4070 Super generally outperforms the RX 7800 XT, particularly in ray tracing, AMD holds the edge in 1440p gaming performance with the RX 9070.

Despite stiff competition, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super still stands out as the best 1440p graphics card overall for those who want the most utility out of a midrange GPU, especially for anyone seeking a balance of gaming prowess, content creation capabilities, and sheer performance.

The best 1080p graphics card

Specifications

Core Clock: 2,500 MHz

Shaders: 2,304

Ray Processors: 18

AI Processors: 144

Memory: 10GB GDDR6

Memory Clock: 19Gbps

Power Connectors: 1 x 8-pin

Outputs: 1 x HDMI 2.1, 3 x DisplayPort 1.4a

Power Draw (TDP): 150W

Suggested GPU: 450W

Reasons to buy

+Great 1080p performance

+Fantastic price

+10GB VRAM

Reasons to avoid

-Not able to really do 1440p

-Ray tracing lags Nvidia

-B580 is a better value at MSRP

The Intel Arc B570 might not get as much attention as the Intel Arc B580, but if all you're looking for is dirt-cheap 1080p gameplay with some nice extras like ray tracing and hardware upscaling, you can't go wrong with the Arc B570.

For significantly less than competing 1080p cards like the AMD RX 7600 and Nvidia RTX 4060, you can get nearly the same level of performance while gaming at 1080p, and with hardware upscaling through Intel XeSS with Frame Generation, you can get frame rates we've simply never seen at this price point.

Of course, it does come with some limitations. Its 10GB GDDR6 VRAM is great, but not quite enough to really handle 1440p gaming without some major compromises. Its creative performance is also pretty much non-existent beyond being able to encode AV1 video, which you might find useful if you're a streamer and you want a cheap setup to offload some video processing into.

Otherwise, this is strictly a cheap 1080p gaming graphics card, and for what it is, it's about as good as you're going to find anywhere on the market right now.

The best Nvidia graphics card of the last generation

Specifications

Core Clock: 2,235MHz (Boost 2,520MHz)

Shaders: 16,384

Ray Processors: 128

AI Processors: 512

Memory: 24GB GDDRX

Memory Speed (Effective): 21

Outputs: 1 x HDMI 2.1, 3 x DisplayPort 1.4a

Power Connectors: 1 x 16-pin

TGP: 450W

Suggested GPU: 850W

Reasons to buy

+Outstanding all-around performance

+Creatives will absolutely love it

+No game settings are out of reach

Reasons to avoid

-Very expensive

-16-pin connector will test your cable management skills

Yes, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 is expensive. It also requires a 16-pin connector or adapter that many people still don't have, and it is very, very big. But, the first release from Nvidia’s new 4000-series is an absolute powerhouse that can tackle anything you need it to, making it a worthwhile pickup from the last gen if you can find it for cheap.

In my testing, I found it performed significantly better than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 with two to four times the performance in synthetic benchmarks and up to 100% improved framerates with some games. What’s more, DLSS 3 is a game-changer in terms of gaming frame rates, and in games that support it, the RTX 4090 with Frame Generation turned on will absolutely push even the best gaming monitors to the limit of what they can do. Now that DLSS 4 is rolling out to the RTX 40 series, this is an even more powerful card than it was when I reviewed it in 2022.

That said, this is far more GPU than most people will probably ever need, and you have to really, really want this card, especially at the prices it is selling for right now. That said, if you can get it for a reasonable price, it's a solid pickup that you might not want to miss.

The best AMD graphics card from the last generation

Specifications

Core Clock: 1,855MHz (2,499MHz Boost)

Shaders: 6144

Ray Processors: 96

AI Processors: 384

Memory: 24GB GDDR6

Memory Speed (Effective): 20Gbps

Outputs: 1 x HDMI 2.1, 2 x DisplayPort 2.1, 1 x USB Type-C

Power Connectors: 2x PCIe 8-pin

TGP: 355W

Recommended PSU: 750W

Reasons to buy

+Phenomenal performance

+Can fit in most cases

+No 16-pin connector

Reasons to avoid

-Just OK creative performance

-Ray tracing still lags Nvidia

-Very power hungry

Asserting its dominance in the 4K gaming realm, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX marks AMD's most exceptional offering in the premium category.

Released at the tail end of 2022, this powerhouse GPU is a couple of years old now, but it's still holding its own against current-gen cards like the RTX 5070 Ti. Especially when it comes to 4K gaming, there are few cards that can match the frame rates of the RX 7900 XTX.

Outside of gaming though, things aren't as rosy for the best AMD graphics card of the last generation. Thanks to Nvidia's proprietary lock on the CUDA instruction set powering most 3D modeling software and AI tools like Pytorch (not to mention Nvidia's advanced Tensor cores), even more budget-friendly Nvidia cards are better for these workloads than AMD's last-gen flagship.

That said, if you're looking for a gaming dynamo that's capable of blazing-fast 4K gaming, this is definitely one of the best graphics cards you can buy and might even be more available than Nvidia's latest RTX 50 series GPUs.

When shopping for the best graphics card for your needs and budget, the first thing you need to do is consider your monitor (or the monitor you plan to buy), as the resolution you're targeting matters quite a bit.

For 1080p, I recommend looking at GPUs with at least 8GB VRAM, like the AMD Radeon RX 7600 and Nvidia RTX 4060, but getting one with 10GB VRAM like the Intel Arc B570 is ideal.

For 1440p, I recommend GPUs with at least 12GB VRAM, like the Nvidia RTX 5070, AMD RX 9070, or Intel Arc B580. This will ensure high framerates at quad HD resolution, which is considered the sweet spot for PC gaming.

For 4K gaming, my testing shows that you'll need a minimum of 16GB VRAM in your GPU, preferably with a 256-bit memory bus to make sure that UHD textures are processed quickly so you can maintain a 60 FPS baseline for your games. This means you should be looking at cards like the Nvidia RTX 4080 Super, RTX 5080, AMD, RX 7900 XTX, and AMD RX 9070 XT, all of which are great picks for 4K gaming.

For creative and AI use, you're going to want to stick to the best Nvidia graphics card you can afford, as it will give you the level of performance professionals need.

If you need more in-depth advice on how to choose a graphics card appropriate for your needs, you can read my in-depth guide to how to choose the right graphics card.

When it comes to the best graphics cards, it's essential that I test every GPU I review on an equal playing field. That's why I test graphics cards with a full suite of benchmark tests covering synthetic tests, creative performance, and a battery of around 7-10 games tested at different settings and across several resolutions, all on current drivers.

I am also constantly retesting graphics cards I've already reviewed so I have the most up-to-date data as drivers are updated. I make sure that all of the cards are tested on the same hardware, which means the same processor, the same memory at the same speed, the same motherboard, and the same SSD.

That way, I can be sure that I'm measuring how the graphics card itself is performing relative to other cards.

If you want to know my testing process in greater detail, you can read more about how I test graphics cards for TechRadar in-depth.

Generally speaking, the best graphics card for gaming is going to depend on several factors, but principally, your budget and monitor resolution will dictate the best card for gaming on your system.

For 4K gaming, the Nvidia RTX 5080 is as good as it gets without spending an absolute mint on the RTX 5090, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the best gaming graphics card from AMD, with the Intel Arc B580 offering an excellent budget-friendly alternative.

For 1080p, the Nvidia RTX 4060 is the way to go, while the AMD Radeon RX 7600 and Intel Arc B570 are also great alternatives.

The most powerful graphics card for gamers and creatives on the market right now is the RTX 5090. That's because it features a staggering 32GB GDDR7 memory pool with a 512-bit memory bus, along with a massive GPU die with more than 20,000 shader cores.

An RTX graphics card is much better than an older GTX model. Nvidia discontinued the GTX line when brought in the RTX 20 series a handful of years ago. RTX GPUs are capable of real-time ray tracing and can utilize the company's AI upscaling tech DLSS for increased framerates in more demanding games.