Picking a new graphics Nvidia or AMD card can be overwhelming. We’ll help you get started with everything you need to know.
AMD’s new Radeon RX 5700 XT
If Intel, Nvidia and AMD’s statistics are right, you’re probably using a system that’s several years old. In PC gaming hardware terms, that’s just about forever. A lot’s changed in those few years, especially in graphics-processing technologies and the demands of the software that depends on them — predominantly games and creative applications such as video editors and 3D tools.
Even if you only need the basics for streaming video or surfing the web, a new graphics card can make your system feel snappier by redrawing your screens faster or improving the acceleration of video decoding. With a Thunderbolt 3-equipped laptop or iMac you can even upgrade the graphics using an external graphics processing unit (an eGPU).
The landscape is constantly in flux; as an example, cards in the $350-$500 price range completely changed during the first weeks of July, with AMD and Nvidia overhauling their lineups for the growing 1440p gaming market. Nvidia announced the RTX 2060 Super, RTX 2070 Super and RTX 2080 Super to replace its unsupered versions of the 2070 and 2080; the RTX 2060 remains in the line. They’re not radical changes, though, they simply bring slightly better performance the the cards of the same name — or to to put it another way, bring slightly lesser performance than the step-up cards at lower prices. They’re slated to be available this month.
The move was an obvious counter to AMD, which had announced prices when it unveiled its new Radeon RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT cards based on its next-generation 7nm “Navi” architecture. So two days prior to shipping — they’re available now — AMD dropped the prices of those cards to match Nvidia’s. It debuted the flagship Radeon VII in February, which uses the 7nm process but sticks with the previous-generation Vega architecture.
Ready to throw down some cash for a new graphics card? Don’t spend a penny until you read this detailed buying guide, plus our general GPU shopping tips at the end.
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Under $100: Nvidia GeForce GT 1030
For basic 1080p gaming or replacing an integrated GPU
Gigabyte
If you’re planning to spend less than $100 on a graphics card, don’t expect to game with the GeForce GT at 1080p. It adds a boost over Intel’s integrated graphics, but many games may simply go from unplayable to a little less unplayable, depending upon how graphically intensive the game is. This does for desktops what Nvidia’s MX250 does for laptops. In other words, plenty of games will run on it, but many won’t benefit. Cards can come with the chip overclocked, which gives it a little extra oomph as well.
If you’ve got an old desktop with integrated graphics that don’t support the current versions of graphics programming interfaces such as DirectX 12 or Vulkan or if you just want to make Windows feel a little more snappy, a GT 1030-based card can help. The GT line is designed with lower power requirements than the more popular GeForce GTX models, so it can fit in systems with lesser power supplies and compact designs. Unlike most gaming cards, 1030-based cards can be low profile and take up just a single slot, as well as be quieter because they only require a single fan.
$100-$250: AMD Radeon RX 580
For good 1080p gaming, upgrading older Macs and photo editing
Sapphire
It’s not the fastest CPU in its class, but the RX 580 is one of the best values in graphics cards. It’s fast enough to deliver solid 1080p play in all but the most demanding games. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 is its closest competitor but costs a lot more. And AMD’s step-up from this, the RX 590, isn’t substantially faster.
And if you need a relatively inexpensive speed boost for your old (but still Thunderbolt 3-enabled) MacBook Pro — an eGPU equipped with this card should do the trick. It’s the same GPU that’s in some 2018 MacBook Pros, so first check what you already have to make sure the upgrade makes sense.