• The list in brief ↴
1. Best overall
2. Best NVIDIA
3. Best AMD
4. Best Intel
5. Best last-gen
6. Best under $200
Whether you're looking to put together a new gaming PC or upgrade your existing one, one of the most important components to prioritize is the graphics card, or GPU. Since games are graphics-intensive — and since the integrated GPUs included on most processors are very weak — you'll need a performant and reliable graphics card to achieve the smooth framerates and sharp visuals that every PC gamer dreams of.
While the best graphics cards on the market cost a ton of money (especially the overpriced offerings from the latest GPU generation), you don't have to shell out eye-watering amounts of cash to enjoy quality performance. In fact, there are plenty of dependable GPUs available for very cheap prices, and provided you're not trying to play at 4K, these budget-friendly options won't disappoint.
From these, I've compiled a list of the top budget graphics cards that myself and the rest of Team Windows Central confidently recommend to anyone in need of a low-cost, high-value GPU. This includes several of our favorites from NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel, so whether you're on Team Green, Team Red, Team Blue, or Team I Want To Get A Good GPU Without Breaking The Bank, you've come to the right place.
The quick list
Best overall
AMD's last-gen mid-range card has fallen to around $300-350, putting it within range of budget-tier GPUs that it outperforms handily. It's perfect for elite 1080p gaming and is even a good choice for 1440p, though it's not great for ray tracing.
Best NVIDIA
All in all, NVIDIA's RTX 4060 is currently the best budget-class GPU from Team Green. With excellent 1080p performance, a $300 MSRP, and DLSS 3 that helps with ray tracing and general performance uplifts, it's a compelling card — though I'd like to see more VRAM.
Best AMD
Offering comparable raw performance to the RTX 4060 for a lower average price, AMD's RX 7600 is a strong alternative for high-end 1080p gaming as long as you're okay with giving up DLSS and good ray tracing capabilities.
Best Intel
Intel's Arc A750 is one of the best GPUs you can get for under $300, as it goes toe-to-toe with what the RTX 3060 is capable of for just over $200. It's not as capable as the RTX 4060 or RX 7600, but for the price it's selling for right now, it's awesome value.
Best last-gen
NVIDIA's last-gen RTX 3060 has been one of the most popular GPUs for a long time now, and even though the Arc A750 gives it stiff competition, it's still the best sub-$300 card for high-performance 1080p gaming if you want to keep the door for ray tracing open.
Best under $200
For a basic 1080p, 60 FPS gaming experience at High/Ultra settings, you won't find anything better than the $179 Arc A580 from Intel. Ever since launching last year, it's stood tall as the best sub-$200 card available.
The best budget graphics card overall
Though AMD's RX 6700 XT launched in 2021 with an MSRP of $479, that price has fallen dramatically in recent years. These days, you can find the card for just $300-350, which puts it within striking distance of this generation's budget GPUs — and since it's more of a mid-range card that crushes 1080p gaming with 100+ FPS on Ultra settings and can push well into 1440p, too, it will remain at the top of our list as long as it's this affordable.
Despite being older than options like NVIDIA's RTX 4060 or AMD's own RX 7600, the 6700 XT holds a comfortable and commanding lead with its beefier mid-range specs, including 12GB of VRAM and a wide 192-bit memory bus. At this price point, the value of the 6700 XT is simply unbeatable.
The only real drawback here is that you won't get access to NVIDIA's DLSS upscaling technology or its superior ray tracing performance, but AMD's FSR 2 is no slouch (and widespread implementation of AMD FSR 3 is on the way), and ray tracing is still a relatively niche feature overall. If you can live without it and without DLSS, the 6700 XT is an incredible buy right now.
The best NVIDIA budget graphics card
The best budget GPU from NVIDIA this generation is the GeForce RTX 4060, which is a follow-up to last-gen's hugely popular RTX 3060. While the reception to the 4060 has been very mixed compared to the high praise received by its predecessor due to underwhelming performance improvements, its $299 MSRP and compatibility with Team Green's 40 series-exclusive DLSS 3 tech makes it a strong choice for gaming at 1080p and having the option to use ray tracing.
Generally capable of around 70-100 FPS at 1080p Ultra, 100+ with DLSS 3 running in games that support it, and 60-80 with ray tracing while DLSS 3 is enabled, the 4060's advantages over the 6700 XT and the RX 7600 are only relevant if you're playing something that supports NVIDIA's upscaling and frame generation techniques or if you care about ray tracing.
While the GPU is okay for 1440p thanks to DLSS 3, you'd still be better off with the 6700 XT if you're targeting that resolution. The card's 8GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus limit its potential at anything over 1080p, though it is the best budget option if you want to play something with ray tracing at 1440p.
The best AMD budget graphics card
Like the sound of raw performance that's equivalent to the RTX 4060, but costs ~$50 less? That's what you'll get with AMD's Radeon RX 7600, which stands out from other budget GPUs due to its competitive pricing. If you're gaming at 1080p, don't mind giving up ray tracing capabilities and DLSS, and are looking to spend less than $300, it's arguably the best graphics card available right now.
Like the RTX 4060, the RX 7600's main flaws are the limitations of its memory capacity and bus, which restricts how well it can handle resolutions above FHD. Also, AMD FSR 2 is less capable than DLSS 3, so you're not getting as much of a performance uplift from upscaling. Even so, the fact this card trades blows with the raw capabilities of the 4060 for a considerably lower price makes it a very compelling alternative, and definitely one of our top picks.
The best Intel budget graphics card
Intel's Arc GPUs launched in a very rough state in late 2022, with their performance hamstrung by a number of issues with their drivers. Fast forward about a year-and-a-half, though, and continued updates and improvements have transformed them into some of the most competitive graphics cards in the budget tier — and with an average price that's fallen a bit from its $249 MSRP, the Intel Arc A750 is arguably the best of the lot aimed strictly at the 1080p crowd.
With 60-80 FPS performance at 1080p Ultra that's neck-and-neck NVIDIA's last-gen RTX 3060, as well as considerably better ray tracing performance than AMD's cards, the Arc A750 is undoubtedly one of the top sub-$300 GPUs out there. It's also worth noting that Intel's XeSS upscaling tech (when used with an Intel card like this one) compares favorably to AMD FSR, with slightly worse performance improvements but noticeably better overall image quality. It still falls short of what NVIDIA DLSS is capable of, but it's impressive nevertheless.
A handful of games here or there may still run poorly on Arc due to lingering driver issues, but the vast majority of these have been resolved since Intel made its entry into the GPU market. And overall, even with the occasional driver hiccup, the Arc A750 offers some of the best value from a price-to-performance standpoint.
The best last-gen budget graphics card
NVIDIA's RTX 3060 was last generation's most popular 1080p workhorse GPU, and it's still the most used graphics card by PC gamers on Steam according to its monthly hardware surveys. While it's been succeeded by the RTX 4060 and has fierce competition from the Arc A750, recent price drops have ensured that this card still has a place in the conversation.
At its average current price of around $260-270, the RTX 3060 is a great option for people who want something that fits in the gap between the Arc A750 and GPUs like the RX 7600 and RTX 4060. Its raw performance is level with Intel's card, but even though it's a little pricier, it allows you to use DLSS and enjoy some of the best ray tracing performance achievable under $300. You won't get DLSS 3 since it's only usable with a 40-series GPU, mind, but ray tracing or no, DLSS 2 is still amazing.
You'll probably be better off with an Arc A750 or the RX 7600 if you don't care much about ray tracing and just want quality 1080p Ultra performance, but definitely consider the RTX 3060 if you do and want to save a little money. Oh, and if you opt for one of the models that has 12GB of VRAM instead of 8GB, you can have a decent time gaming at 1440p. The cost between these SKUs isn't really different in most cases, so try and find a good deal on the 12GB one if you can. More VRAM is always a good thing.
Read the full review: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 review: Good budget gaming performance, if you can find one (we reviewed it during The Great GPU Shortage)
The best budget graphics card under $200
If all you want is 1080p Ultra (or maybe High, depending on the game) at around 60 FPS, the ideal graphics card for you will be Intel's Arc A580. Launched in early October last year, it stands tall as the best GPU available under the $200 mark.
Performance-wise, it surpasses what direct competition like the RTX 3050 and RX 6500 XT can do, and is often just a hair short of matching the power of AMD's $200-220 RX 6600. For a card with a $179 MSRP, that's fantastic, and it solidifies the Arc A580 as the clear winner on this end of the budget-friendly spectrum. Compatibility with XeSS upscaling only sweetens the deal, and the fact a GPU this affordable also includes 8GB of VRAM is awesome.
Like with the Arc A750, you might have to deal with the occasional driver quirk, as Intel still hasn't fully ironed out all of Arc's kinks. These issues are few and far between, though, so I wouldn't let them deter you from picking up the Arc A580 if it sounds like the right GPU for you.
How we test the best budget graphics cards
Myself and many of my colleagues here at Windows Central are avid PC gamers, and we've been putting a wide range of graphics cards in our rigs for years. That includes everything from high-end enthusiast GPUs to bang-for-your-buck budget workhorses — including the cards found in this very roundup.
Overall, if you're able to spend $300-350, the value of AMD's RX 6700 XT is simply unbeatable for the crazy low price it's held steady at for several months now. It's the best way to experience elite 1080p gaming inexpensively, and it's a very affordable (and reliable) option for 1440p as well. Pair it with one of the best gaming monitors with one of these resolutions, and you'll be in for a great time.
You can get the RX 7600, Arc A750, and (sometimes) RTX 4060 for less, though they're not as powerful and have some memory limitations that can prove to be an issue at higher resolutions. With that said, there are valid reasons to pick one of these over the 6700 XT, such as access to DLSS 3 in the RTX 4060's case. Last generation's RTX 3060 is also an option for folks that want ray traced 1080p gaming that's actually playable for under $300.
Then there's Intel's new Arc A580, which has risen to the top of the sub-$200 category. Performance that's nearly equal to AMD's RX 6600 for just $179 is incredibly impressive, and if you can live with sticking to 60 FPS at 1080p, you won't find better value elsewhere.
