Nvidia Graphics Cards Compared: Which One Is Right for You?

Tips

If you want the most out of your PC and gaming experience, you’ll need to invest in the best graphics cards. With many 4K games on the horizon, there’s no better time to consider an upgrade with a powerful Nvidia graphics card.

While some graphics cards may cost more than your mortgage, others can deliver the same power and technologies while keeping within an affordable budget.

We’ve rounded up the best Nvidia graphics cards available today to help you decide which is right for you.

The MSI GeForce RTX 3090 is the first graphics card that enables gamers to play at 8K. Although it isn’t perfect, it’s a step in the right direction, offering a future for 8K gaming.

The copious amount of VRAM that the card boasts makes creative design work a breeze, especially if you’re focused on 3D rendering, which requires a lot of memory.

4K gamers won’t have to worry about performance dips with the MSI GeForce RTX 3090. You’ll be able to max out pretty much any game at 4K without any frame rate issues.

However, if you’re on a budget, this graphics card doesn’t come cheap. The gains you get from the card don’t necessarily outweigh the price increase, but if you want the best of the best, this is it.

Key Features

  • Zero Frozr
  • Thermal padding
  • Powered by Ampere
Specifications

  • Brand: MSI
  • Cooling Method: Triple Fan Thermal Design
  • GPU Speed: 1,725MHz
  • Interface: PCI Express Gen 4
  • Memory: 24GB GDDR6X
  • Power: 370W
Pros

  • 50 percent performance improvement over RTX 2080 Ti
  • 24GB VRAM
  • Second-generation hardware-accelerated raytracing
Cons

  • High heat output

The MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 offers outstanding performance for 1440p gaming, though 4K gaming may require you to alter your graphics settings to ensure you can play with 60fps or above.

Focussing on aesthetics, this graphics card blends a dark color theme with RGB lighting to offer a bold look that would suit many gamers. However, the graphics card is huge and heavy, so it may not fit every case on the market.

The chunky heatsink is paired with TriFrozr 2 to ensure the GPU temperature doesn’t skyrocket at full load and ticks the boxes for being silent while pushing it to its gaming limits.

Performance-wise, the MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 is hard to fault. Though you may struggle to make use of all of your other PCIe slots on your motherboard due to its size, this graphics card is well worth the money.

Key Features

  • Third-gen Tensor Cores
  • Nvidia Studio
  • Nvidia Reflex
  • Streaming multiprocessors
Specifications

  • Brand: MSI
  • Cooling Method: TriFrozr 2
  • GPU Speed: 1,730MHz
  • Interface: PCI Express Gen 4
  • Memory: 8GB GDDR6
  • Power: 240W
Pros

  • Highly-rated cooling and thermal technology
  • Incredible performance
  • Great value for money
Cons

  • Chunky size and weight

The Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1650 OC is an excellent entry-level graphics card that would make a decent upgrade for office PCs or low-level gaming PCs.

In comparison to the GTX 1050 Ti, this card does well performance-wise and consumes less power. However, if you want to overclock it, you’ll need auxiliary power, which you won’t get from the PCIe slot.

If value for money is crucial for you, other cards like the Radeon RX 580 or GTX 1660 offer a more cost-effective solution. However, if you’re not concerned about the few extra bucks, this card is a great 1080p runner.

Key Features

  • Alternative spinning airflow
  • Nvidia Ansel
  • Turing shaders
Specifications

  • Brand: Gigabyte
  • Cooling Method: WINDFORCE 2X Cooling
  • GPU Speed: 1,695MHz
  • Interface: PCI-E 3.0 x 16
  • Memory: 4GB GDDR5
  • Power: 350W
Pros

  • Affordable gaming graphics card
  • Includes Windforce 2x cooler
  • No requirement for additional power
Cons

  • Better price/performance options available for the cost

Though the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC is a cut-down version of the GTX 1660 Ti, it’s a seriously good graphics card that’s incredibly affordable.

Its low-cost price point makes this graphics card widely available for gamers and newcomers to upgrades. While it may not boast the newer Turing features, the included shaders give the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC much better performance.

Streamers will delight in the improved streaming this card offers, as well as 1080p gamers who are looking for good value for money and performance that seriously outweighs the cost.

Key Features

  • Nvidia Ansel
  • 45MHz factory overclock
  • Full HD gaming
Specifications

  • Brand: Gigabyte
  • Cooling Method: Windforce 2x Cooling
  • GPU Speed: 1,830MHz
  • Interface: PCI-E 3.0 x 16
  • Memory: 6GB GDDR5
  • Power: 450W
Pros

  • Superb 1080p gaming
  • Very affordable
  • NVENC is great for streaming
Cons

  • GDDR5 video memory

The EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Super offers a more affordable and powerful alternative to its predecessor, the RTX 2080. However, for some, the performance increase isn’t close enough to the RTX 2080 T, particularly considering the price tag.

This graphics card offers high-end graphics across the board with the ability to play top-end games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 4K with ray tracing.

Compared to the RTX 2080, which offers 14Gbps of memory bandwidth, the EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Super provides 15.5Gbps, a significant increase. This helps boost performance with games that have a habit of chewing through memory bandwidth.

Key Features

  • Real-time ray tracing
  • Hydro dynamic bearing fans
  • Next-gen overclocking
Specifications

  • Brand: EVGA
  • Cooling Method: Dual HDB fans
  • GPU Speed: 1,815MHz
  • Interface: PCI-E 3.0 x 16
  • Memory: 8GB GDDR6
  • Power: 650W
Pros

  • Solid choice for 4K gaming
  • Cheaper than the RTX 2080
  • Includes FrameView software
Cons

  • Performance gains are minimal over RTX 2080

The EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 Super SC is an excellent graphics card, faster than the GTX 1080 while offering a lower price. If you’re looking to upgrade to a high-end graphics card and are currently running an older GPU, the Super is worth investing in, even if there aren’t many ray tracing games available yet to make the most out of it.

Compared to the RX 570, which is far cheaper, the 2060 Super is much more capable of running at higher framerates and higher resolutions, making it nearly twice as fast.

Ray tracing aside, the EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 Super SC is a worthy pick if you’re upgrading. However, if you’re running a Founders Edition 2060, it’s probably better to wait for an even more capable graphics card.

Key Features

  • Real-time ray tracing
  • Built for EVGA Precision X1
  • Powered by Turing GPU architecture
Specifications

  • Brand: EVGA
  • Cooling Method: Dual HDB Fans
  • GPU Speed: 1,650MHz
  • Interface: PCI-E 3.0 x 16
  • Memory: 8GB GDDR6
  • Power: 550W
Pros

  • Great performance at 1440p
  • Better value for money than other RTX cards
  • 8GB GDDR6 is better than the base 2060
Cons

  • Not many ray tracing-compatible games available

At first glance, the MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is a little over-priced, especially as other graphics cards will be on par at a lower cost.
However, other graphics cards may not feature RGB.

However, this card does, giving it the edge over others, especially for gamers who take pride in their component’s appearance and case aesthetics.

If overclocking isn’t a priority or you would prefer a smaller PC build, the MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti may not be the best option given its price point. However, weighing up the performance, cooling, and 4K capability, this card delivers excellent bang for your buck.

Key Features

  • TORX 4.0 triple fans
  • MSI’s Mystic Light RGB LEDs
  • Shader core count of 4864 units
Specifications

  • Brand: MSI
  • Cooling Method: Tri Frozr 2
  • GPU Speed: 1,725 MHz
  • Interface: PCI Express Gen 4
  • Memory: 8GB GDDR6
  • Power: 650W
Pros

  • Overclocked out of the box
  • Low temperatures
  • Capable of 4K in many games
Cons

  • Poor energy efficiency

FAQ

Q: Is RTX Better than GTX?

GTX stands for Giga Texel Shader eXtreme, and RTX stands for Ray Tracing Texel eXtreme. RTX graphics cards utilize newer technology and generally offer faster performance levels compared to GTX graphics cards.

Q: What Is the Best Budget Graphics Card?

The best budget graphics card is the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1650 OC. However, the best value for money graphics card would have to go to the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC. Both cards are very similar, offering 1080p gaming and decent performance levels.

Q: Is Nvidia or AMD Better?

Nvidia cards tend to use less power than AMD graphics cards. Yet they offer slightly faster and higher performance levels. AMD cards are generally still worth considering. However, they tend not to be able to beat Nvidia graphics cards in GPU tests.

About The Author

.

Products You May Like

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *