Best NVIDIA Graphics Cards in 2023

When deciding on parts for a new rig, the graphics card is now the most integral component of a gaming PC, given that it is the key driver of gaming-centric performance on a PC. Processors, memory, and storage do have a say in the overall cost of a PC, but they are often overshadowed by the cost of the accompanying GPU in the system.

A key decision that gamers must make when it comes to a modern gaming PC is whether they want to go with AMD or Nvidia as the de facto gaming partner on their rig. Nvidia leads on the software front thanks to more refined tech such as DLSS 3.0, better ray tracing support, and better hardware encoders on the new RTX 4000 series GPUs. However, some users go for AMD as they feel it offers better value thanks to more aggressive pricing from Team Red for its own offerings.

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For gamers who simply wish to experience the best possible visual fidelity or need the highest frame rates possible, Nvidia simply can’t be beaten thanks to its mammoth RTX 4000 series offerings at the top end. The RTX 4090 is a pricey but extremely premium offering that has no equivalent from competing AMD hardware (and Intel, to a lesser extent). If one is, however, more cash-strapped or wishes to get a more middle-of-the-road solution for gaming, there are options for gamers on a budget as well.

UPDATE: 2023/08 BY RAHIM AMIR

The RTX 4060/4060TI GPU launches and pricing updates

The guide below has been updated to reflect the latest prices for RTX 3000 and 4000 series GPUs as well as to account for the release of the RTX 4060 and 4060TI GPUs which, while opening to mixed reception, do significantly result in price changes across the board and in new additions to the list below.

While prices for most GPUs have stagnated in a slower market, some movement at the high end has allowed for better deals. For instance, Nvidia’s Overwatch 2 Battle Pass game bundle with its RTX 4000 series GPU adds more value for gamers looking to play Blizzard’s multiplayer first-person shooter.

The Asus TUF RTX 4070TI is an excellent SKU of the Nvidia RTX 4070TI GPU that focuses more on deliverables than aesthetics. That is not to say that it looks inelegant by any measure. It looks and feels premium, but it skips some of the extensive RGB lighting that most of its direct competitors use in order to cater to gamers, leaving the light show to its more premium Strix sibling that is priced to match.

It focuses on delivering an excellent experience to its audience in terms of a quiet, powerful GPU that boosts well compared to the competition. It has a much better build quality than many of its peers while keeping nearly in line (+$50) with the MSRP price of Nvidia’s own FE, despite having a clear advantage over the stock unit. Unlike the competition, it comes with dual HDMI ports and a tri-fan cooling system that also has an embedded vapor chamber, keeping things both cool and quiet simultaneously.

The Asus TUF RTX 4070TI also features as one of Game Rant’s candidates for the best RTX 4070 TI SKUs in the market. It’s a clear favorite when it comes to productivity-related use cases, even as it offers strong gaming-centric performance thanks to a mix of build quality, cooling, and clock speeds.

Update: The Asus TUF RTX 4070TI remains more or less unchanged in terms of price since the last update. It is slightly more expensive now since a previous discount available on Amazon has expired. It is also one of the recipients of the new Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 Series Overwatch 2 Invasion Ultimate ($40 value). This arguably makes it a better bargain than it previously was for most gamers. The RTX 4070TI continues to offer best-in-class value while the TUF SKU happens to be one of the best variants on offer for this particular model.

The MSI RTX 4070 Ventus 3X 12G OC is the best value RTX 4000 GPU one can currently buy at a sub-$600 price, with occasional discount coupons pushing it slightly below that mark. It offers 12GB of GDDR6X memory, a performance equivalent to that of the last generation RTX 3080, and significant power efficiency gains as part of its value proposition. It also offers vastly better DLSS3 performance than its predecessors, much like most of Nvidia’s newer Ada Lovelace-based GPUs.

While the RTX 4000 series’ price-performance ratios are not particularly impressive compared to the previous generation, we also see price increases at every tier. This makes Nvidia’s nomenclature somewhat confusing for gamers and enthusiasts alike with the RTX 4080 costing nearly twice as much as an older RTX 3080 while also making linear upgrades with similar budgets a challenging affair. The RTX 4070 suffers from the same problem, but less so, with its sub-$600 price tag being easier to absorb than most of its pricier siblings.

MSI’s Ventus 3X SKU happens to be available at a price that is as close to MSRP as possible while offering a lightweight design that is more compact than prior tri-fan designs. It runs cooler than its competition and offers far better power efficiency while gaming, making it a no-brainer purchase over most of its competition if one is currently looking for a mid-range GPU at the sub $500-600 mark.

Its utility as an upgrade for most RTX 3000 series GPU owners is significantly dependent on how much long-term performance gains DLSS3 brings to the table coupled with the number of titles that support it. However, the RTX 4070 still happens to be a balanced, value-driven entry from Nvidia in a market that is increasingly shifting gears towards offering more expensive GPUs in general.

To hold onto the crown of the best RTX 3000 series GPU, the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming OC has to provide performance that pleases the vast majority of gamers. While most buyers are perfectly content with the RTX 3070 Founders Edition, Gigabyte supercharges the stock NVIDIA card even further with a higher clock frequency of 1815 MHz and an effective cooling system to deal with higher-than-normal temperatures. As an added bonus, the card is commonly found in stock with small discounts.

To combat the elevated temperatures that an overclocked RTX 3070 runs at, Gigabyte employs its own system of three fans and an extended heatsink that makes direct contact with the GPU to maximize cooling. If some gamers don’t want to take any chances, the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming OC has a handy dual bios switch that toggles between an OC and Silent mode, with the latter running at a slightly lower clock speed and much lower fan speeds.

The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming OC is a card that is best suited for competitive games at up to 1440p resolution. While it’s powerful enough to test the waters at 4K, the RTX 3070 will struggle to maintain 60 fps in some games at this resolution with medium to high detail settings with its limited memory becoming a crippling factor. Regardless, 1440p remains the sweet spot for many gamers, and the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming OC 8G also performs admirably with UltraWide monitors with this resolution.

Update: The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming OC remains one of the best value offerings currently if one needs an RTX 3000 series GPU or is looking for a bargain online for a refurbished SKU, trading blows with the newer RTX 4060TI and winning occasionally when it comes to rasterization. It currently holds its ground at just about $500 for a brand-new unit where it compares unfavorably to both the RTX 4060TI and RTX 4070 at $400 and $600, respectively.

At least as far as gaming-oriented graphics cards go, the GeForce RTX 4090 is the most powerful option currently on the market. Besides generating some insane frame rates even at 4K resolutions, one of the most important additions is support for DLSS 3. DLSS is a feature that often causes confusion about what it does and how it benefits the typical gamer.

Essentially, DLSS boosts the frame rates of games by rendering frames at a lower resolution and then using AI to upscale these frames to a steadier higher resolution. Framegen builds onto this by creating AI-generated frames between two GPU-rendered frames to give a smoother experience to the end user and enable gaming smoother at higher resolutions with current-gen graphics cards or playing newer games with older GPUs.

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While support for DLSS 3.0 is growing over time, gamers can immediately benefit from the incredible raw power of the Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC Edition by pushing resolutions and frame rates that would not otherwise be possible. Playing games at 4K 120 fps is now a very real possibility with this graphics card, without compromising on lower texture or reflection settings. Although monitors and TVs to test games at 8K are scarce, early benchmarks have cards like the Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 performing surprisingly well at this resolution.

Compared to the stock NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, Asus has made a massive piece of hardware that looks more like a box than a card. Performance compared to the Founders Edition is even better, with a maximum clock speed of 2640 MHz, and the Aura Sync RGB lighting effects are stunning. Buyers will need a beefy power supply to run the card, with an 850-watt PSU a safe bet. Measuring over 14 inches long, the Asus card will also be a challenge to put in many smaller PC cases. That being said, the Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC Edition is the most performant variant of the fastest NVIDIA graphics card on the planet, and that alone makes it a solid contender for and the ultimate winner of Game Rant’s best-performance Nvidia GPU title.

Update: The Asus Strix RTX 4090 OC is the fastest RTX 4090 to date, and that might be the case until Asus’s premium ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 4090 Platinum makes its rounds later this year. It has seen a mild price uptick, primarily due to its limited availability with the white SKU of the same model going up in price considerably compared to the competition due to it being even more scarce in supply.

It’s easy to forget a time when graphics cards weren’t more expensive than a top-tier CPU or any other PC component. Today, gamers putting together a new rig often decide first on what NVIDIA or AMD graphics card they can afford and build the rest of a rig around that choice. Fortunately, some budget options are still available, at least for buyers not interested in gaming in higher than 1080p resolution. The PNY GeForce GTX 1650 doesn’t support any fancy features like ray-tracing or DLSS, but it’s a great option for a highly-compact gaming PC or as a reliable graphics card for office work.

The PNY GeForce GTX 1650 isn’t much to look at, but its minimalist design allows it to fit into the tight chassis of mini ITX cases. Additionally, the graphics card does not require an additional power connector, simplifying the already difficult cable management in smaller systems. The total power usage of the card is a mere 75 watts. In the past, some stock GTX 1650 cards have lacked DisplayPort connections, but fortunately, the PNY GeForce GTX 1650 offers two of these ports along with one HDMI 2.0 connection.

PNY’s GeForce GTX 1650 is a perfectly acceptable card for running games at 1080p with high detail settings. 60 fps gaming is a sure bet, with the card adequate for 120 fps in some moderately demanding titles. For anything more than that, gamers will have to step up to a more expensive alternative like the RTX 3050. Nevertheless, the PNY GeForce GTX 1650 is the top NVIDIA graphics card for budget shoppers.

The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 AERO OC 8G is an excellent mid-range GPU that offers the newer DLSS3-backed RTX 4000 series experience to gamers or enthusiasts on a budget while aiming to replace the well-received and considerably well-entrenched RTX 3060 GPU. It does so by targeting the sub-$300 market of GPUs and directly offering replacements that will over time phase out the aging RTX 3060 GPU while being readily available on shelves since launch, unlike some of the higher-end RTX 4090 GPUs.

The RTX 4060 GPU itself offers better efficiency than its predecessor, coupled with much better DLSS3 performance and faster clocks. It also cuts down on the VRAM on offer even as modern titles become more memory hungry. Instead, it offers a singular 8GB model versus the more generous 12GB on the RTX 3060.

Gigabyte’s AERO OC take on the RTX 4060 sees it leverage one of the better aesthetic designs on the market by marrying its large tri-fan design with the all-white AERO concept. It makes for a beautiful yet cost-effective RTX 4060 SKU to consider at only a $30 premium over the founder’s edition while offering quiet operation.

With higher clocks and lower temperatures, the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 AERO OC 8G is an easy recommendation for new gamers. For gamers coming from an RTX 3060 or equivalent, it might not be the generational GPU upgrade that one might assume it should be with similar rasterization performance under the hood, making it an unworthy upgrade, to say the least.

A mid-range graphics card today is a substantial investment, costing as much or more as some seriously powerful CPUs. However, the Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC allows gamers to enjoy the features of the NVIDIA Ampere architecture introduced in the 30 series, without the significant jump in price seen with the RTX 3070 and higher. The RTX 3060 graphics cards ship with 12 GB of DDR6 memory, which is actually more than the RTX 3060 Ti packs, albeit with a slower memory bus.

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With the Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC, the clock speed of the stock RTX 3060 is boosted to 1807 MHz. To combat higher temperatures, Zotac uses its IceStorm 2.0 system, which takes advantage of new 11-blade fans for increased airflow and cooling coverage. The length of this card is worth noting since it measures under 9 inches. The Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC is almost as wide as it is long, but its shape allows compact PCs to experience some high-end gaming performance.

The Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC is among the best graphics cards for running games at 1080p resolutions. It should age better than older cards with newer and more demanding titles. 1440p is a riskier proposition with the Twin Edge OC, but its main advantages are its support for Ray Tracing and DLSS at lower resolutions. Three 1.4a DisplayPorts and one HDMI 2.1 connector will ensure that the card can connect to any modern monitor or TV. With superior 1080p performance, NVIDIA’s stable Ampere architecture, and a surprisingly compact shape, the Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC ranks among the best NVIDIA GPUs.

The best high-end Nvidia graphics card on the list is surprisingly an RTX 4080. The PNY GeForce RTX 4080 16GB XLR8 Gaming GPU currently trades at a discount compared to most RTX 4080 SKUs as well as the Founder’s Edition. It offers a discount over its Founder’s Edition equivalent and tends to outperform somewhat thanks to better cooling, better clocks, aesthetics, and more.

While it isn’t the fastest RTX 4080 out there, it doesn’t need to be given its unique value proposition as both the cheapest RTX 4080 on the block and its mid-range performance tier within its own GPU class. With subtle lighting, solid build quality, and adequate RTX 4080-tier performance at a price point that doesn’t make the RTX 4080 feel like a bad tradeoff, it is Game Rant’s pick for the best high-end Nvidia Graphic Card one can currently buy.

If one plans to spend more or is looking for a more premium RTX 4080 SKU, they should consider looking at the now-cheaper RTX 4090 SKUs that are pushing downwards towards the sub-$1500 mark for a relative bargain instead.

Update: The PNY GeForce RTX 4080 16GB XLR8 Gaming GPU now trades at a full $100 discount compared to Nvidia’s MSRP for the RTX 4080 Founder’s Edition, making it one of the cheapest RTX 4080 units on the market. With the added Overwatch 2 bundle for the RTX 4000 series GPUs, it is an even more appealing proposition than ever before for gamers looking for a true next-gen experience at a sub $1k price point.

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FAQ

Q: What is the #1 GPU in the world?

In terms of gaming, NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4090 series of GPUs far outclass any of the competitors, including NVIDIA’s other offerings. But for the size of nearly an Xbox Series S, it’s no wonder this graphics card can output FPS like no other.

Q: What is the best graphics card for 4K gaming?

The RTX 4080 or higher is the ideal GPU for 4K gaming. It can sustain 4K games at high frame rates thanks to DLSS 3. However, the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 also provide stable 60 fps frame rates at 4K resolutions for many games.

Q: What is the difference between NVIDIA GTX and RTX graphics cards?

NVIDIA’s RTX graphics cards provide ray-tracing support and tend to have higher amounts of VRAM, CUDA Cores, and GPU speeds than their older GTX series. In fact, besides the GTX 1650, the rest of the line has halted production in favor of the RTX series. This isn’t to say this card isn’t viable any longer, but as the VRAM capacity for GPUs increases over the years, 4GB is no longer cutting it.