If you’re looking for the best graphics card of 2025, we’ve got the guide for you: a carefully curated list of the very best graphics cards on the market for every kind of setup and every budget.
In our guide, find budget graphics cards that offer a great gaming experience and great 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 for 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. facility. Check out this advisor to see which cards are actually in stock.
In this guide, look at graphics cards so rugged they make adults cry with joy, and graphics cards that can make environments like Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City look downright realistic. A next-generation eye candy? Ray tracing? 4K, 8K and QHD? Everything here.
Of course, you don’t want a high-end card if you only want to play less graphics-intensive cards. Whether you want to buy the best gaming graphics card, the best budget graphics card, or the best graphics card that combines power and value for money, this page means finding it will be easier 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 3 most sensible picks, followed by 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’s more expensive than the RTX 3070, but it also brings a significant improvement in terms of functionality and frame rate.
If you don’t need to spend too much, the most productively priced graphics card out there is the AMD Radeon RX 590. Improved power and thermal functionality mean you get what you pay for with this card.
The best graphics card for most people? That’s the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070.
Credited with making 4K gaming affordable to the masses for the first time, the GeForce RTX 3060 will appeal to a lot of people, even if it can’t match the levels of functionality of the higher 3080 or 3090 models. Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology, plus that graphical power, all for a relatively moderate price.
Keep an eye on the pricing, though, because with the RTX 3060 Ti below and the RTX 3080 above, it may not be the most productive Nvidia card for your gaming rig, depending on how much you have to pay. While the RTX 3070 is a significant step up from the previous generation, in terms of current-gen cards, it’s a more crowded area.
Everyone is going to be at a different point along the price vs performance graph when it comes to picking out a graphics card upgrade, but we think the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 is going to win a lot of fans even with some stiff competition. It could be the Ampere graphics card that suits your budget and your gaming requirements the best.
To see how this graphics card compares to our number one premium choice, then check out T3’s Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 vs Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 comparison feature.
The best premium graphics card is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 is simply a rugged graphics card that delivers next-generation 4K gaming functionality at 60fps for your rig. It swings the price/feature balance between the RTX 3070 and RTX 3090, and is the way to go if you need to develop graphics capability without completely emptying your bank account (depending on the length of your account). bank account balance).
In fact, the card is so popular that it’s proving quite difficult to download at the time of writing. If you do not want to pay an inflated amount to a broker, and we do not propose doing so, then you will want to be patient and make a decision in your search for a broker, 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 most productive budget graphics card available today is the AMD Radeon RX 590.
It might not be one of the newest graphics cards around any more, but the AMD Radeon RX 590 is certainly able to still pack a punch – it’s one to weigh up if the prices on the top-level Nvidia and AMD cards are leaving you a little dizzy. More than specs, this is a card about improved thermals and efficiency, and it holds up very well against both Nvidia and other AMD cards at this particular price 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).
AMD graphics card generation pushed to the max: that’s the story of the Radeon RX 6900 XT, which raises the bar for AMD graphics cards and ray tracing while still being up to the task (even if you might not be able to appreciate it). The card if it is securely installed inside your PC).
While the charge of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT in comparison to the functionality gains accomplished over the 6800 series would possibly be too tricky for many players to justify, if you’re willing to get the most productive graphics functionality AMD has to be offering and if you have the budget to be to back it up, It’s definitely value getting on your shortlist of the most productive graphics cards on the marketplace right now.
Keep an eye out for the Radeon RX 6900. It also doubles as a wonderful graphics card for creatives who also have some knowledge 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 at a point that will be more than enough for gamers. . who find they can do without the top-tier 4K and 8K resolutions found on top-of-the-line Nvidia Ampere cards.
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 in even the toughest games at 1080p and you’ll get ray strength benefits. Tracking and deep learning supersampling (DLSS) 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 tougher (and more expensive) XT variant, the AMD Radeon RX 6800 offers powerful 4K gaming capabilities.
There’s plenty of video RAM to play with here, as well as some specialized tweaks from AMD that keep your gaming titles running smoothly. It may not get the best score in terms of benchmarks, but if you’re looking to get the best frame rates in the most productive games without paying a premium price, then this card definitely deserves a spot on your shortlist.
Thanks to the impressive functionality innovations brought by the arrival of AMD’s Big Navi (or Navi 21 or RDNA2) technology, you don’t have to worry about functionality being a factor with this card installed in your rig. The overclocking functionality is decent too, if you must push your card even further once 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.
One thing you get with the RTX 3090 is future-proofed: 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, 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 might find a better price for cash for your specific setup further down the scale. (It costs a lot more than the RTX 3080, but it’s not 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’s not up to par with 4K gaming, it looks like an FHD solution and is also pretty good in QHD. . If you don’t want the most productive functionality, it’s worth considering.
With 14Gbps memory, 2176 stream processors, 136 texture units and 272 tensor cores it’s hardly a shoddy specification, and with ray tracing support it’s one of the cheapest ways to bring ray tracing tech to your rig. If you’re currently using a 970 or lower, the difference it’ll make to your system will be dramatic and its specification means it should deliver a top-notch gaming experience for a good few years into the future.
Of course, the biggest draw here is the price: this means you can get games for a large sum of money while also taking advantage of all of Nvidia’s expertise and reliability. Without a doubt, it is still one of the most productive graphics cards on the market.
Sitting between the 6800 and 6900 XT in terms of graphical prowess, the 6800 XT is therefore worth a look for anyone who wants to strike a certain balance between how much they spend and how high their frame rates get. In terms of the Nvidia series, this card is essentially up against the RTX 3070.
You get AMD’s ray tracing implementation here, as you would expect, and solid performance across the board no matter what you’re trying to put your card and your system through. It’s been some time since AMD was competing right up at the top end of the market, but the RX 6800 XT shows that Nvidia does have something to worry about.
As always with graphics cards and the market at the moment, pricing and availability is key: while the RX 6800 XT offers a serious performance boost over previous generation AMD cards, there’s less of a margin between it and the other Big Navi (RNDA2) cards in the AMD line-up, in either direction.
With unbelievable benchmark scores when it launched and a price point that sits very firmly at the affordable end of the market, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 remains a great graphics card choice. Retailing for much less than comparable high-end cards, the 5700 doesn’t miss a beat, and at a 1440p resolution allows modern AAA games to be run at high if not max settings.
Indeed, the RX 5700’s benchmark performance has been so strong that it has eclipsed most other mid-range GPUs, thanks in part thanks to an extra 2GB of VRAM. What is worth noting here, though, is that while the RX 5700 out-performs other models in terms of speed, it does not feature its real time ray tracing capabilities.
That lack of ray tracing aside, though, there’s literally nothing to hate about the AMD Radeon RX 5700, let alone its low price. And, for this reason, it is easy for us to propose it as one of the most productive mid-range graphics card options possible for the maximum number of users.
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 the heavy lifting to find the most productive graphics card for you – you can make the right selection for you and then reap benefits like higher frame rates, additional processing power, and much more. Immersive, awesome gaming experience.
And, right now is a great time to be shopping for a graphics card deal. Major online GPU retailers like Amazon and Walmart have plenty of bargains on offer, while more specialist computer hardware stores like Newegg.com, Overclockers.co.uk and Scan.co.uk are slashing prices as new 2025 cards arrive. As such it really is a great time to pick up a new GPU.
If you want more data to make your decision, we present the reference figures that you can find online. They don’t tell the whole story in terms of a GPU’s performance, but they can actually help you differentiate between other models.
Rob has been writing about computing, gaming, mobile devices, home entertainment technology, toys (specifically Lego and board games), Wise House and more for over 15 years. As editor of PC Gamer and former deputy editor of T3. com, you can see Rob’s paintings in magazines, book magazines, and online, as well as on podcasts and videos. Outside of his paintings, Rob is passionate about motorbikes, skiing/snowboarding and team sports, with football and cricket being his two favourites.