If you are looking for the most productive graphics card of 2025, we have given you the right advisor: a carefully selected list of the most productive graphics cards on the market for each and every type of configuration and budget.
In our guide, find budget graphics cards that offer a great gaming experience and value for money, as well as the newest and largest graphics cards with cutting-edge technology from Nvidia and AMD.
As you’ll discover, opting for the best graphics card is rarely just about looking up its specs – there’s also the question of whether you can actually get the graphics card of your choice, although the source chain issues are now starting to be resolved. ease. Check out this advisor to see which cards are actually in stock.
In this guide, learn about graphics cards so tough they make adults cry with joy and graphics cards that can make environments like Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City look completely realistic. A dinner for the eyes of the new generation? Ray tracing? 4K, 8K and QHD? Everything here.
Of course, you don’t want a high-end card if you just want to play with less graphically intense cards. Whether you want to buy the most productive graphics card for gaming, the most productive budget graphics card, or the most productive graphics card that combines strength and value, this page means that locating it will be less difficult than ever.
We’re huge gamers at T3 and we’ve got plenty of other guides for you too: lists for the best gaming mouse, the best gaming keyboards, and the best gaming chairs. If you’d like to ensure you’ve got the edge over your rivals in every possible way, check out the best gaming headsets, best gaming laptops and best gaming monitors too.
When it comes to graphics cards, here are our top three picks, followed by the best of the rest.
We think the graphics card for most people is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070. It offers high-end 4K gaming without spending a lot of money, or at least not as much as the beefier cards that precede it in terms of spending.
Our pick for the premium graphics card is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080. Of course, it is more expensive than the RTX 3070, but it also brings a significant improvement in functionality and frame rate.
If you don’t want to spend too much, the best budget graphics card right now is the AMD Radeon RX 590. Improved thermals and efficiency mean that you get a lot of bang for your buck when it comes to this card.
The graphics card for the maximum number of people?This is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070.
Credited with making 4K gaming affordable for the masses for the first time, the GeForce RTX 3060 will appeal to a lot of people, even if it can’t fit the degrees of functionality of the higher 3080 or 3090 models. Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology, in addition to that graphics power, all for a relatively moderate price.
Keep your eye on prices though, because with the RTX 3060 Ti below it and the RTX 3080 above it, this may not be the best Nvidia card for your gaming rig, depending on how much you’re having to pay. While the RTX 3070 is undoubtedly a major jump over the generation that came before it, in terms of current-gen cards it’s a more crowded field.
Everyone will be at another point on the graphics price/performance when it comes to opting for a graphics card upgrade, but we think the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 will win a lot of fans, even with a rigid festivalArray. This could be the Ampere graphics card that best suits your budget and gaming needs.
To see how this graphics card compares to our number one premium pick, check out T3’s Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 vs Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 comparison feature.
The premium graphics card is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080.
The GeForce RTX 3080 from Nvidia is quite simply a powerhouse of a graphics card, offering 4K, 60 fps next-gen gaming performance for your rig. It strikes a price vs performance balance between the RTX 3070 and the RTX 3090, and is the way to go if you want to be able to ramp up the graphical bells and whistles without completely clearing out your bank account (depending on the size of your bank account balance).
In fact, the card is so popular that it is proving quite difficult to obtain at the time of writing. If you don’t want to pay an exorbitant amount at a store (and we don’t propose doing so), then you want to be We have been patient and determined to find a store, keeping a close eye on the stores and their inventory levels. Fortunately, the shortage is now easing somewhat.
Specs-wise you get a significant improvement over what the RTX 3070 can offer, so if you’re able to pay the premium price (and find one in stock) then you get to enjoy those AAA games at the best resolutions and frame rates. As with all the newer Nvidia Ampere cards, you get ray tracing and Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) included to really make your games pop.
The best budget graphics card available today is the AMD Radeon RX 590.
It may no longer be one of the latest graphics cards on the market, but the AMD Radeon RX 590 is still capable of making a big impact – it’s a card to weigh if the values of top-tier Nvidia and AMD cards leave you with a little back. a little dizzying. More than just specs, this is a card that improves thermal functionality and efficiency, and holds up very well against Nvidia cards and other AMD cards at this specific value point.
Built at 12nm, you get 2,304 GPU cores, a maximum clock speed of 1,545 MHz, and 8GB of VRAM (GDDR5) to power your games, making it one of AMD’s cutting-edge graphics cards. The most productive price you can buy right now. Training
While there’s not a massive performance boost over the cards that came before the Radeon RX 590, there is a performance boost, and you’re not going to be left disappointed by the frame rates you’re getting out of this card (especially at the sort of prices it’s now going for).
Generation of AMD graphics cards taken to the maximum: that is the story of the Radeon RX 6900 ‘admire). the card if it is installed securely inside your PC).
While the AMD Radeon RX 6900 needs to be offered and you have the budget to back it, it’s definitely worth including on your short list of the most productive graphics cards on the market right now.
Keep an eye on the costs of the Radeon RX 6900. It also works as a great graphics card for creatives who also have some savvy in their workflow.
The best mid-range graphics card? Step forward the superb value Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is rarely the cheapest graphics card on the market, but it gives you the most affordable way into the GeForce RTX 30 series and yet still performs to a point that will be more than enough for gamers who They find that they can do without the top-tier 4K and 8K resolutions found on the top cards in the Nvidia Ampere line.
This card may not give you top-notch 4K functionality in the most productive games on the market right now, but it will deliver very decent frame rates even in max games that aren’t easy at 1080p, and you’ll get strength benefits. of lightning. Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) tracking and acceleration. As long as you have a more modest display, this graphics card will make you proud.
If you’re shopping at this price point, there’s nothing really that competes with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti for the time being, even if the 8GB of on-board RAM is a little on the low side. It’s the card that proves once and for all that you can get very decent performance from a graphics upgrade without spending too much.
Want the most bang for you buck in terms of AMD graphics cards? Then plump for the RX 6800.
Welcome to the big leagues, AMD: the Radeon RX 6800 marks the tech giant’s return to the high-end graphics market, where it seeks to compete with Nvidia. Like the beefier (and more expensive) XT variant, the AMD Radeon RX 6800 offers powerful 4K gaming capabilities.
There’s plenty of video RAM to play around with here, as well as some specialised AMD tweaks that should make your gaming titles absolutely zip along. It might not get the absolute top scores in terms of benchmarks, but if you’re looking to get some heavy duty frame rates on the best games without paying a heavy duty price, then this card is definitely worth a place on your shortlist.
Thanks to the impressive performance improvements ushered in with the arrival of the Big Navi (or Navi 21 or RDNA2) technology from AMD, you don’t have to worry about performance being an issue with this card installed in your rig. There’s decent overclocking performance here as well, if you’re keen to push your card even further once it’s installed.
Creatives and ultra-high-end enthusiasts will love the ridiculous bruteness of the RTX 3090.
If you’ve got very deep pockets and want GPU performance that’s second to none, there’s the GeForce RTX 3090 – nothing beats this powerhouse, which can push out stellar frame rates at resolutions up to 8K. There isn’t a game on the market or a video editing project that will slow down the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090, it really is that powerful.
Something you get with the RTX 3090 is future-proof: we don’t think it will be dethroned as the most productive GPU in Nvidia’s lineup for some time yet. Thanks to its 24GB of VRAM and other elements of its configuration, it would arguably be an even better graphics card for creatives than gamers, but no matter what your usage situation is, we guarantee you’ll be impressed with the performance.
It’s expensive and will have more power and functionality than many other people need, so keep that in mind before spending money on this one: you may be able to find a higher price for your specific setup on a lower scale. (It costs a lot more than the RTX 3080, but is rarely much more powerful. ) It’s also a physically giant graphics card, which is another thing to consider.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super offers the same functionality (and in some tests, better) as the RTX 2070 for less money, and while it doesn’t support 4K gaming, it does have an FHD solution and is also pretty wonderful in QHD. If you don’t want the most productive functionality, it’s worth considering.
With 14 Gbps memory, 2,176 stream processors, 136 texture units, and 272 tensor cores, it’s not a low-end spec, and with ray tracing support, it’s one of the most cost-effective tactics for bringing ray tracing generation to the table. rays to your team. If you’re currently running a 970 or lower, the difference this will make to your formula will be dramatic, and its specs mean it will provide a top-notch gaming experience for many years to come.
Of course, the biggest draw here is the price: this means you can get games for a very low fee, while also taking advantage of all of Nvidia’s experience and reliability. It is still, without a doubt, one of the most productive graphics cards on the market.
Sitting between the 6800 and 6900
You get AMD’s ray tracing implementation here, as you’d expect, and forged functionality across the board, no matter what you’re looking to put your card and formula into. It’s been a while since AMD competed at the top of the market, but the RX 6800 XT shows that Nvidia has reason to worry.
As with graphics cards and today’s market, value and availability are key: while the RX 6800 XT offers significant functionality innovations over previous-generation AMD cards, there is less space between it and the other Big Navi (RNDA2) cards. in the AMD range, in any direction.
With benchmark scores at launch and a price tag that sits firmly on the affordable end of the market, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 is still an excellent graphics card choice. With a much lower asking price than comparable high-end cards, the 5700 doesn’t miss a beat, and with a resolution of 1440p, it allows you to run modern AAA games at the top or even maximum settings.
In fact, the RX 5700’s benchmark functionality is so solid that it eclipsed most other mid-range GPUs, thanks in part to an additional 2GB of VRAM. However, what’s worth noting here is that although the RX 5700 outperforms other models in terms of speed, it doesn’t have real-time ray tracing capabilities.
That lack of ray tracing aside, though, there’s nothing to hate about the AMD Radeon RX 5700, and especially its low price. And, for that reason, it is easy for us to present it as one of the most productive mid-ranges. -Range of possible graphics card options for as many people as possible.
Searching for the right graphics card often means trawling through specs and benchmarks for hours on end, as well as dealing with buckets of confusing jargon, but not only have we picked out the key graphics card models you need to know about in this guide, but we’ve also explained why they’ve been chosen.
In other words, we’ve done most of the hard work of choosing the best graphics card for you: you can simply get on with making the right choice for you and then benefiting from the higher frame rates, additional processing power and a far more immersive and spectacular gaming experience.
And now is the best time to buy a graphics card. Major online GPU stores such as Amazon and Walmart have plenty of wonderful deals, while more specialist hardware retail outlets such as Newegg. com, Overclockers. co. uk and Scan. co. uk are cutting costs as new 2025 cards arrive. As such, now is a good time to pick up a new GPU.
If you need more information to make your decision, we’d recommend taking a look at the benchmarking figures you can find online. They don’t tell the whole story when it comes to the performance of a GPU, but they can certainly help you differentiate between the various models.
Rob has been writing about computing, gaming, mobile, home entertainment technology, toys (specifically Lego and board games), smart home and more for over 15 years. As the editor of PC Gamer, and former Deputy Editor for T3.com, you can find Rob’s work in magazines, bookazines and online, as well as on podcasts and videos, too. Outside of his work Rob is passionate about motorbikes, skiing/snowboarding and team sports, with football and cricket his two favourites.