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If you're looking for the best budget GPUs for gaming, it's crucial to consider both performance and price points. With technological advancements, graphics cards have become more powerful and expensive. While there are multiple pocket-friendly options that allow individuals to spend less without losing much on pure raster performance, finding them is not an easy task.
But, fret not, this article lists some of the best budget GPUs for gamers in 2024. Given that no single graphics card suits everyone's needs, the list has a variety of options for your consideration. These cards will ensure stunning visuals, seamless performance, and immersive experiences in games.
Note: The article is subjective and based on the writer's opinion.
What are the best budget GPUs for gaming?
1) AMD Radeon RX 6600
The Radeon RX 6600 excels in 1080p gaming at high settings, leveraging RDNA 2 architecture. While supporting ray tracing, this GPU offers 8GB GDDR6 VRAM, which is ample for its target resolution.
It supports Resizable BAR or Smart Access Memory. This technology lets your CPU access the graphics card’s memory directly, leading to a smoother gaming experience.
The RX 6600 supports features like DirectX 12 Ultimate and FidelityFX Super Resolution, enhancing visuals and the overall gaming experience. While this is among the best budget GPUs for gaming, it doesn’t have the power to operate at 1440p or 4K easily. Besides that, this card is a good deal.
Pros
- It supports light ray tracing.
- Impressive performance at 1080p.
Cons
- It struggles at higher resolutions.
- Outdated ray-tracing technique.
2) Nvidia RTX 3060
Nvidia's RTX 3060 was the first card built on this company's Ampere architecture and is available at an affordable price. Considering its price-to-performance ratio, it is one of the best budget GPUs for gaming. With a formidable 3,584 CUDA cores, the graphics card offers remarkable performance.
The build size is small resulting in less dedicated hardware for RT and DLSS workloads. Nevertheless, it supports both technologies. It is powered by a single 8-pin PCIe connector and has three DisplayPorts and one HDMI 2.1 port. No USB-C video output is given.
You get two VRAM configurations on this card: 8GB and 12GB. Given its emphasis on 1080p gaming, opting for the larger capacity variant may not offer significant benefits. Therefore, it is advisable to choose the smaller capacity option.
Pros
- It delivers excellent performance.
- It can be fitted in small PC cases.
Cons
- Limited 1440p performance.
- Comparatively high power consumption.
3) Intel ARC A770
The Arc A770 is one of the best budget GPUs for gaming. It can handle your favorite titles at higher resolutions. It delivers throttle-free performance at 1440p for most modern PC games. While the card has solid specs, including up to 16GB VRAM and a 256-bit memory bus, its hardware is last-gen.
It is good for modern titles. However, it falters when you're running games that use DirectX 9 or DirectX 10. So if you love playing old games, you can consider getting a different card. The card's TDP is 225W, which means it is very power-hungry. This can also lead to some heating issues during long gaming sessions.
Pros
- Excellent performance at 1440p.
- Competent at ray tracing.
Cons
- Poor performance on DirectX 9 and DirectX 10.
- It consumes a large amount of power.
4) Nvidia RTX 4060
The performance of the RTX 4060 is arguably the best in this price range at lower resolutions. Moreover, it does well at higher resolutions as well. Features like DLSS 3 and frame generation act like the icing on the cake. In terms of core specs, you will see a decent improvement over its predecessor, making it the best budget GPUs for gaming.
It is built on the TSMC 5nm process and has fast clock speeds. With a base and boost clock speed roughly 39% faster than the RTX 3060, this card outperforms its last-gen counterpart and firmly establishes itself among the best budget GPUs for gaming.
It also supports hardware ray tracing, variable-rate shading, and other features that make the gaming experience more immersive. That said, a lot of games don't offer or even need upscaling. So, it might not be worth getting if you don’t want to utilize its fancy features.
Pros
- It delivers best-in-class performance.
- It is a feature-rich option.
Cons
- It is a bit overrated.
- It might not yield optimal results without DLSS 3 on a high resolution.
5) AMD Radeon RX 7600
The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is among the best budget GPUs for gaming because it offers RDNA 3. This chipset is built on a 6nm TSMC process. The GPU's design is compact, so it can fit in just about any case. It can perform great at both 1080p and 1440p resolutions.
Overall, there is very little to not like about this GPU. It is absolutely fantastic. However, if you need better ray-tracing performance, you can opt for the Nvidia cards in its price segment, as this card still struggles at max settings in some games. Besides this, there is no reason to skip this graphics card.
Pros
- It is available at a very competitive price.
- It is priced reasonably.
Cons
- Mediocre ray tracing.
- Only has 8GB VRAM.
This concludes our list of the best budget GPUs for gaming. We have tried to compile a variety of options to cater to different users’ preferences. Pick the one you think would suit your needs the best.
Check out other articles:
- Are Intel Arc GPUs good for gaming?
- 5 best gaming power supplies
- Is RTX 2080 Ti still good for gaming in 2024?
