Graphics Cards Ranked by Value, January 2023

Graphics Cards Ranked by Value, January 2023

Graphics Cards

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The best graphics card can mean a lot of different things — fastest card, best value, best card for a specific price, etc. And some people might refuse to buy an AMD card, or an Nvidia card. But prices change all the time, and lately, they’ve been on the rise, particularly as previous-gen hardware starts to get phased out. We wanted to look at the current and previous generation GPUs, ranked by current value, for everything that’s readily available in brand-new form.

That last bit is important because it means older cards (RTX 20-series and RX 5000-series) are disqualified. However, we do have a few of the Turing generation Nvidia cards included as they’re still available at Newegg (at reasonable prices). All of the performance data is taken from our GPU benchmarks hierarchy, and we’ve broken things down into rasterization and ray tracing rankings. We’ll also have the three GPU vendor rankings after that, in case you’re only interested in seeing how the various GPUs from one company stack up.

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Graphics Cards Ranked by Value — Rasterization Performance
Graphics Card Price 1080p FPS/$ 1440p FPS/$ 4K FPS/$
Radeon RX 6600 (opens in new tab) $235 0.3772 0.1963  
Radeon RX 6700 XT (opens in new tab) $350 0.3634 0.2098 0.1157
Radeon RX 6650 XT (opens in new tab) $290 0.3624 0.1957  
Intel Arc A750 (opens in new tab) $265 0.3442 0.2085 0.1199
Radeon RX 6700 10GB (opens in new tab) $330 0.3438 0.1925 0.1004
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (opens in new tab) $179 0.3403 0.1799  
Radeon RX 6750 XT (opens in new tab) $400 0.3348 0.1955 0.1076
GeForce RTX 2060 (opens in new tab) $220 0.3323 0.1760  
GeForce GTX 1660 Super (opens in new tab) $189 0.3242 0.1714  
Radeon RX 6600 XT (opens in new tab) $325 0.3175 0.1690  
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (opens in new tab) $389 0.3009 0.1791  
Radeon RX 6800 (opens in new tab) $480 0.3008 0.1910 0.1104
Radeon RX 6500 XT (opens in new tab) $150 0.3001 0.1199  
Intel Arc A770 16GB (opens in new tab) $349 0.2859 0.1786 0.1053
Intel Arc A380 (opens in new tab) $140 0.2812 0.1390  
GeForce RTX 3060 (opens in new tab) $340 0.2686 0.1547  
GeForce RTX 3070 (opens in new tab) $479 0.2618 0.1618 0.0901
Radeon RX 6400 (opens in new tab) $138 0.2541 0.1029  
GeForce RTX 3050 (opens in new tab) $270 0.2512 0.1393  
Radeon RX 6900 XT (opens in new tab) $670 0.2394 0.1634 0.0976
GeForce GTX 1660 (opens in new tab) $230 0.2390 0.1240  
GeForce GTX 1650 GDDR6 (opens in new tab) $170 0.2376    
Radeon RX 6950 XT (opens in new tab) $700 0.2346 0.1690 0.1027
GeForce GTX 1650 (opens in new tab) $159 0.2332    
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (opens in new tab) $599 0.2185 0.1389 0.0776
GeForce RTX 3080 (opens in new tab) $699 0.2077 0.1418 0.0898
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti (opens in new tab) $800 0.1859 0.1426 0.0909
GeForce GTX 1650 Super (opens in new tab) $260 0.1845 0.0883  
GeForce GTX 1630 (opens in new tab) $130 0.1839    
Radeon RX 6800 XT (opens in new tab) $839 0.1836 0.1231 0.0726
Radeon RX 7900 XT (opens in new tab) $880 0.1742 0.1353 0.0904
GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (opens in new tab) $899 0.1664 0.1181 0.0766
GeForce RTX 4080 (opens in new tab) $1,200 0.1339 0.1084 0.0760
GeForce RTX 3080 12GB (opens in new tab) $1,230 0.1224 0.0861 0.0554
Radeon RX 7900 XTX (opens in new tab) $1,300 0.1212 0.1011 0.0729
GeForce RTX 3090 (opens in new tab) $1,449 0.1049 0.0751 0.0489
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti (opens in new tab) $1,599 0.0958 0.0724 0.0487
GeForce RTX 4090 (opens in new tab) $1,893 0.0878 0.0756 0.0613

For the rasterization rankings, we’re sorting by the 1080p column, which penalizes the fastest GPUs. If you’re only interested in 4K or 1440p performance, some of the cards change places, though the overall standings remain relatively consistent.

Best value overall right now, no surprise, goes to the AMD RX 6600. That’s been the case for most of the past several months, with prices ranging from as low as $200 to the current $235 — this is actually about as high as we’ve seen for RX 6600 pricing since September! AMD also claims positions two and three with the RX 6700 XT and RX 6650 XT, and again both now cost more than they did a couple of months back.

Intel makes a run for the fourth spot with the Arc A750, now on sale and marked down to $265. The official MSRP for that GPU is $290, and we’ve seen it selling at $275 for a couple of months, but recently Newegg dropped the price on the ASRock card another $10.

The best Nvidia value right now goes to the GTX 1660 Ti, thanks to a Peladn model selling at just $179. The next closest is another relatively unknown Chinese brand, this time a Mannajue RTX 2060 for $220. If you want something from a traditional graphics card brand (meaning, not Peladn or Mannajue), sold and shipped from the U.S., your best option is the Asus RTX 3060 for $360 (opens in new tab). Note that in rasterization games, the RTX 3060 lands between the RX 6600 and RX 6600 XT, and also just behind the A750 — all of which cost quite a bit less than the Asus card.

What about the newer RTX 4070 Ti, RTX 4080, RTX 4090, and RX 7900 XTX / XT? In terms of value, those latest-generation cards all rank toward the bottom of the list. The RTX 4070 Ti gets the honor of being the “best of the worst” new cards, sitting at number 27 out of 38 GPUs, while the RX 7900 XT sits at slot 31. The RTX 3080 12GB, RTX 3090, and RTX 3090 Ti also sit right near the bottom, as prices have shot up over the past two months, presumably due to them being phased out.

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Graphics Cards Ranked by Value — Ray Tracing Performance
Graphics Card Price 1080p FPS/$ 1440p FPS/$ 4K FPS/$
GeForce RTX 2060 (opens in new tab) $220 0.1419    
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (opens in new tab) $389 0.1414 0.0757  
GeForce RTX 3070 (opens in new tab) $479 0.1299 0.0700  
Intel Arc A750 (opens in new tab) $265 0.1260 0.0655  
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti (opens in new tab) $800 0.1250 0.0717 0.0357
GeForce RTX 3060 (opens in new tab) $340 0.1210 0.0632  
Intel Arc A770 16GB (opens in new tab) $349 0.1176 0.0632  
GeForce RTX 3080 (opens in new tab) $699 0.1162 0.0662 0.0321
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (opens in new tab) $599 0.1109 0.0602  
Radeon RX 6700 XT (opens in new tab) $350 0.1109 0.0574  
GeForce RTX 3050 (opens in new tab) $270 0.1079    
Radeon RX 6700 10GB (opens in new tab) $330 0.1073 0.0529  
Radeon RX 6650 XT (opens in new tab) $290 0.1069    
Radeon RX 6600 (opens in new tab) $235 0.1067    
Radeon RX 6750 XT (opens in new tab) $400 0.1038 0.0542  
Radeon RX 6800 (opens in new tab) $480 0.1027 0.0549  
GeForce RTX 4080 (opens in new tab) $1,200 0.1017 0.0605 0.0310
GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (opens in new tab) $899 0.0999 0.0580 0.0294
Radeon RX 6950 XT (opens in new tab) $700 0.0998 0.0545 0.0262
Radeon RX 6900 XT (opens in new tab) $670 0.0927 0.0498 0.0239
Radeon RX 6600 XT (opens in new tab) $325 0.0923    
Radeon RX 7900 XT (opens in new tab) $880 0.0869 0.0489 0.0252
Intel Arc A380 (opens in new tab) $140 0.0814    
GeForce RTX 4090 (opens in new tab) $1,893 0.0774 0.0516 0.0283
GeForce RTX 3080 12GB (opens in new tab) $1,230 0.0719 0.0412 0.0206
Radeon RX 6800 XT (opens in new tab) $839 0.0689 0.0370 0.0178
Radeon RX 7900 XTX (opens in new tab) $1,300 0.0664 0.0389 0.0199
GeForce RTX 3090 (opens in new tab) $1,449 0.0634 0.0370 0.0188
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti (opens in new tab) $1,599 0.0628 0.0374 0.0194
Radeon RX 6500 XT (opens in new tab) $150 0.0532    
Radeon RX 6400 (opens in new tab) $138 0.0485  

Turning over to our ray tracing benchmarks, again sorted by the 1080p results — though this time the tests are demanding enough that the 1440p and 4K results mostly maintain their relative ranking — the best value ends up being Nvidia’s RTX 2060. Again, that’s a no-name Mannajue model, shipped “direct from the factory” in China; there’s a Paladin card for $20 more, but if we omit those companies, prices on the Nvidia cards jump quite a bit.

Intel’s Arc A750 would arguably take the top spot in 1080p RT performance, and interestingly the RTX 4070 Ti is nipping at its heels — and ranks higher at 1440p. Intel’s A770 also does well, while the best AMD card for ray tracing (in terms of value) is the RX 6700 XT.

The bottom spots end up being claimed by AMD’s RX 6400 and RX 6500 XT, neither of which can remotely handle 1080p gaming with ray tracing enabled. The 3090 Ti and 3090 come next, followed by the 7900 XTX — with the cheapest XTX currently going for $300 over MSRP. Finally, the overpriced 3080 12GB and RX 6800 XT also manage to fall behind even the exorbitantly priced RTX 4090, thanks to inflated pricing.

But the key takeaway is that high-end and extreme GPUs really aren’t great values right now. Normally, we’d expect cards like the 3080 and 3070 series to sell below their launch MSRPs, but that’s mostly not happening (except for the aforementioned Chinese branded cards).

GPUs by Vendor

If you only want to look at AMD, Intel, or Nvidia GPUs without mixing everything together, we’ve included those tables below, without commentary. All of the card names link to the best price we’re currently tracking, which will likely change shortly after this goes live.

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AMD Graphics Cards Ranked by Value
Graphics Card Price 1080p FPS/$ 1440p FPS/$ 4K FPS/$ RT 1080p FPS/$ RT 1440p FPS/$ RT 4K FPS/$
Radeon RX 6750 XT (opens in new tab) $310 0.4320 0.2522 0.1389 0.1340 0.0700  
Radeon RX 6600 (opens in new tab) $235 0.3772 0.1963   0.1067    
Radeon RX 6700 XT (opens in new tab) $350 0.3634 0.2098 0.1157 0.1109 0.0574  
Radeon RX 6650 XT (opens in new tab) $290 0.3624 0.1957   0.1069    
Radeon RX 6700 10GB (opens in new tab) $330 0.3438 0.1925 0.1004 0.1073 0.0529  
Radeon RX 6800 (opens in new tab) $480 0.3008 0.1910 0.1104 0.1027 0.0549  
Radeon RX 6600 XT (opens in new tab) $325 0.3175 0.1690   0.0923    
Radeon RX 6500 XT (opens in new tab) $150 0.3001 0.1199   0.0532    
Radeon RX 6900 XT (opens in new tab) $670 0.2394 0.1634 0.0976 0.0927 0.0498 0.0239
Radeon RX 6950 XT (opens in new tab) $700 0.2346 0.1690 0.1027 0.0998 0.0545 0.0262
Radeon RX 6400 (opens in new tab) $138 0.2541 0.1029   0.0485    
Radeon RX 6800 XT (opens in new tab) $839 0.1836 0.1231 0.0726 0.0689 0.0370 0.0178
Radeon RX 7900 XT (opens in new tab) $880 0.1742 0.1353 0.0904 0.0869 0.0489 0.0252
Radeon RX 7900 XTX (opens in new tab) $1,300 0.1212 0.1011 0.0729 0.0664 0.0389 0.0199
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Intel Graphics Cards Ranked by Value
Graphics Card Price 1080p FPS/$ 1440p FPS/$ 4K FPS/$ RT 1080p FPS/$ RT 1440p FPS/$
Intel Arc A750 (opens in new tab) $265 0.3442 0.2085 0.1199 0.1260 0.0655
Intel Arc A770 16GB (opens in new tab) $349 0.2859 0.1786 0.1053 0.1176 0.0632
Intel Arc A380 (opens in new tab) $140 0.2812 0.1390   0.0814  
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Nvidia RTX Graphics Cards Ranked by Value
Graphics Card Price 1080p FPS/$ 1440p FPS/$ 4K FPS/$ RT 1080p FPS/$ RT 1440p FPS/$ RT 4K FPS/$
GeForce RTX 2060 (opens in new tab) $220 0.3323 0.1760   0.1419    
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (opens in new tab) $389 0.3009 0.1791   0.1414 0.0757  
GeForce RTX 3060 (opens in new tab) $340 0.2686 0.1547   0.1210 0.0632  
GeForce RTX 3070 (opens in new tab) $479 0.2618 0.1618 0.0901 0.1299 0.0700  
GeForce RTX 3050 (opens in new tab) $270 0.2512 0.1393   0.1079    
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (opens in new tab) $599 0.2185 0.1389 0.0776 0.1109 0.0602  
GeForce RTX 3080 (opens in new tab) $699 0.2077 0.1418 0.0898 0.1162 0.0662 0.0321
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti (opens in new tab) $800 0.1859 0.1426 0.0909 0.1250 0.0717 0.0357
GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (opens in new tab) $899 0.1664 0.1181 0.0766 0.0999 0.0580 0.0294
GeForce RTX 4080 (opens in new tab) $1,200 0.1339 0.1084 0.0760 0.1017 0.0605 0.0310
GeForce RTX 3080 12GB (opens in new tab) $1,230 0.1224 0.0861 0.0554 0.0719 0.0412 0.0206
GeForce RTX 3090 (opens in new tab) $1,449 0.1049 0.0751 0.0489 0.0634 0.0370 0.0188
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti (opens in new tab) $1,599 0.0958 0.0724 0.0487 0.0628 0.0374 0.0194
GeForce RTX 4090 (opens in new tab) $1,893 0.0878 0.0756 0.0613 0.0774 0.0516 0.0283
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Nvidia GTX Graphics Cards Ranked by Value
Graphics Card Price 1080p FPS/$ 1440p FPS/$
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (opens in new tab) $179 0.3403 0.1799
GeForce GTX 1660 Super (opens in new tab) $189 0.3242 0.1714
GeForce GTX 1650 GDDR6 (opens in new tab) $170 0.2376  
GeForce GTX 1650 (opens in new tab) $159 0.2332  
GeForce GTX 1660 (opens in new tab) $230 0.2390 0.1240
GeForce GTX 1630 (opens in new tab) $130 0.1839  
GeForce GTX 1650 Super (opens in new tab) $260 0.1845 0.0883

Jarred Walton is a senior editor at Tom’s Hardware focusing on everything GPU. He has been working as a tech journalist since 2004, writing for AnandTech, Maximum PC, and PC Gamer. From the first S3 Virge ‘3D decelerators’ to today’s GPUs, Jarred keeps up with all the latest graphics trends and is the one to ask about game performance.

  • AMD has better FPS/$, yet Steam charts show Nvidia dominates the consumer GPU market.

    If anything this shows that there are other factors at play. Nvidia has far more stable drivers and AMD has no real equivalent to NVENC, both these factors made me buy an Nvidia GPU.

    Reply

  • PlaneInTheSky said:

    AMD has better FPS/$, yet Steam charts show Nvidia dominates the consumer GPU market.

    If anything this shows that there are other factors at play. Nvidia has far more stable drivers and AMD has no real equivalent to NVENC, both these factors made me buy an Nvidia GPU.

    Funny I have systems with both and find AMD drivers and software far better than Nvidia.

    Reply

  • Three or four years ago.
    Unless you’ve been under a rock (or a team green shill), you’d know that AMD drivers have been pretty decent and stable before the 6xxx was released.
    They had to get it right, if not they probably would not even be in the race now.

    Nvidia has far more stable drivers

    Reply

  • AMD drivers
    The drivers are perfectly fine and I’d bet an enormous number of people have no use whatsoever for NVENC, or indeed even know what it is. This is entirely a mindshare thing, even if it’s clearly unwarranted much of the time.

    Reply

  • PlaneInTheSky said:

    AMD has better FPS/$, yet Steam charts show Nvidia dominates the consumer GPU market.

    If anything this shows that there are other factors at play. Nvidia has far more stable drivers and AMD has no real equivalent to NVENC, both these factors made me buy an Nvidia GPU.

    Recent drivers from both companies have been fine in my experience. Maybe the occasional hiccup occurs, but that happens on both sides — and can usually be attributed to my frequent swapping of GPUs. As to “other factors,” that’s definitely true, but those factors mostly boil down to: “Nvidia has better mindshare among gamers, mostly due to legacy reputation and brand recognition.” But there are things like DLSS and DXR (and the marketing for both) that help influence this.

    AMD has had encoding support for ages, and while quality (in H.264) isn’t as good as Nvidia or Intel, it’s generally fine (and HEVC encoding is basically a tie). RDNA3 just revamped the encoders to improve quality, which may close the gap, but obviously that only applies to RDNA3 GPUs. The only real exception are the Navi 24 GPUs (RX 6500 XT and RX 6400) that lack the encoder, because they were originally intended to be paired with mobile chips that would have integrated graphics with an encoder.

    Reply

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