Unfortunately, the Great GPU Shortage of 2021 is still a reality as of this writing. As we go into the second half of the year, we are seeing some indications of better supply, although GPU prices remain highly inflated when compared to levels prior to the epidemic.
To put it another way, the year 2021 has proven to be a terrible time to go shopping for a graphics card upgrade, at least so far. If you are searching for a graphics card that offers any kind of reasonable gaming performance, be prepared to wait for lengthy periods of time and to pay higher-than-average costs.
We will continue to keep this page updated based on MSRPs in order to give an overview of the industry and to identify which graphics cards would be the best under typical conditions for less than $300.
The 10 Best Graphics Card Under $300
Assembling a gaming computer is not a low-cost endeavor. Because a GPU is often the most costly component of a gaming setup, it is critical to keep the price of the GPU itself as low as possible in order to keep your rig within your budget.
GPUs continue to improve year after year as a result of massive amounts of money being invested in research and development.
A mid-range GPU that costs no more than $300 can run any current AAA game at playable framerates on low to medium settings.
Even if you’re playing a less demanding game, such as Valiant, you should expect to see more than 100 frames per second on high settings.
Especially if you want to play old and out-of-date AAA games such as The Witcher III or Grand Theft Auto V, a $300 GPU represents great value for money.
Because there are so many manufacturers and a competitive industry that is always expanding, there are a plethora of GPU models that use the same chips but are manufactured by different companies.
Each manufacturer customizes and fine-tunes its graphics processing units (GPUs) in its own way. Consequently, there will be a small performance variation between an Nvidia GTX 1660 manufactured by Asus and the identical card supplied by MSI.
Our top ten selections for the best graphics card under $300 are shown below.
1.Gigabyte Radeon RX 5600 XT graphics card
AMD is the undisputed leader of the low-cost graphics card market. The new AMD RX 5600 XT graphics card, manufactured by Gigabyte, a well-known GPU manufacturer, offers great value for money.
The Gigabyte Radeon RX 5600 XT, which will be released in early 2020, is based on AMD’s 7 Nm RDNA processor, which has a core clock speed of 12000 MHz.
Although it consumes less power than most rivals, the 7 Nm architect is still very power demanding, using just 150Watts in total.
This specific model is equipped with a 6 GB GDDR6 video RAM, which is sufficient for playing any visually demanding game at 1140p and 30+ frames per second.
In addition, there are three display connectors as well as an HDMI port for the output to be found. AMD Freesync technology is pre-installed on the GPU, which helps to minimize on-screen tear if your display is compatible with the technology.
Gigabyte has also included two of its trademark Windforce fans, which rotate in opposite directions to maximize the amount of airflow through the system.
In terms of physical dimensions, the GPU measures 11”, which may be too large for certain smaller cases. As a whole, the Radeon RX 5600 XT delivers outstanding performance at a reasonable price.
Specifications
- The clock frequency is 1,200 MHz.
- TFLOPS: 8.07 TERAFLOPS
- 6 Gigabytes of memory GDDR6
- Memory clock frequency: 12 GHz
- Memory bandwidth is 288 gigabits per second.
2.Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 WINDFORCE OC 6G
Gigabyte has released an OC (overclocked) version of the GTX 1060. It is equipped with two fans, each of which has the WINDFORCE 2X with Blade Fan Design for more effective and efficient cooling. The card has a total of 6 GB of GDDR5 memory. This card is very powerful, allowing you to run games such as GTA 5, Doom, BF4, The Division, and others at 1080p at 60 frames per second on Ultra settings. The card needs a single 6-pin PCI-E power connection and is capable of supporting up to an 8k display at 60 frames per second. The actual model number is GV-N1060WF2OC-6GD, according to the manufacturer.
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 WINDFORCE OC 6G Specifications | |
| CUDA Cores | 1280 |
| GPU Clock | 1582 / 1797 MHz (OC Mode) |
| Memory Clock | 8008 MHz |
| Memory Size | 6GB GDDR5 |
| Memory Interface | 192-bit |
| Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
| DirectX | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 |
| Output Ports | DVI-D x 2, HDMI, DisplayPort |
3.MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 2060
The MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 2060 is the only graphics card in Nvidia’s new RTX series that costs less than $300.
Consequently, if you’re searching for a GPU that is capable of supporting ray tracing and your budget is limited to $300, the MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 2060 is the sole choice available to you.
Inside the card, you’ll find an Nvidia RTX processor that has been factory overclocked to a higher frequency by MSI. When it comes to Boost Clock speed, you’re looking at 1710 right out of the box.
The processes are carried out by the 6 GB of GDDR6 RAM, which is also capable of running AAA games at 1440p.
The ray-tracing feature is the icing on top of the cake; unfortunately, you’ll have to say goodbye to higher framerates in order to get the ray tracing to function on this cheap card.
There are two fans with angled blades that are made by the company MSI, and they help to enhance airflow. In order to keep the chip cool, the fans themselves tend to become very noisy when under a lot of stress.
Four outputs are available; there are three Display Ports and one HDMI port. To summarize, the MSI Geforce RTX 2060 is a competent premium mid-range graphics card with ray tracing capability that is priced competitively.
Specifications
- The clock frequency is 1710 MHz.
- TFLOPS: 7.18
- 6 Gigabytes of memory GDDR6
- Memory clock frequency: 14 GHz
- Memory bandwidth is 336 gigabytes per second.
4.ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 ROG STRIX
Asus has released a massive GTX 1060 graphics card that has a triple-fan cooling system. Due to the fact that this is a large graphics card, you should ensure that you have adequate space in your computer case before purchasing it. When compared to the Gigabyte GTX 1060 stated above, this card offers significantly quicker GPU and Memory Clock frequencies. It is equipped with two HDMI connections, which may be very useful for certain users. Every game at 1080p on Ultra settings with 60 frames per second or higher is actually possible.
DirectCU III with Patented Wing-Blade Fans, Auto-Extreme Technology with Super Alloy Power II, and Aura RGB Lighting are just a few of the features available. In addition, it includes the Asus GPU Tweak II Overclocking Software. You may learn more about this powerful graphics card by clicking on the link provided below. The card’s model number is ROG STRIX-GTX1060-O6G-GAMING, which stands for “ROG STRIX-GTX1060-O6G-GAMING.”
| SUS GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 ROG STRIX Specifications | |
| CUDA Cores | 1280 |
| GPU Clock | 1645 / 1873 MHz (OC Mode) |
| Memory Clock | 8208 MHz |
| Memory Size | 6GB GDDR5 |
| Memory Interface | 192-bit |
| Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
| DirectX | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 |
| Output Ports | DVI, HDMI x 2, DisplayPort |
5.Sapphire Radeon RX 580 graphics card
The Sapphire Radeon RX 580 is the most affordable GPU with 8 GB of video memory, demonstrating once again AMD’s supremacy in the area of graphics card memory at a low price.
The only concession you will have to make in exchange for the 8 GB of VRAM is the fact that the RX 580 makes use of older GDDR5 memory rather than the more modern GDDR6 memory.
The Radeon RX 580, in contrast to the more costly Radeon 5600 and Radeon 5700 series, is based on the 4th Generation GCN graphics cores, while the previously mentioned cards are built on the 7 Nm RDNA graphics processors.
Consequently, the power usage in terms of performance is a little bit greater, coming in at 185 watts, as opposed to 150 watts before.
Sapphire, on the other hand, has created an outstanding card based on the AMD processor.
Boostable clock rates are available up to 1366 MHz, and the card comes pre-loaded with AMD proprietary software like as FreeSync, Eyefinity, and LiquidVR to give you the best gaming experience possible.
The LiquidVR technology provides a stutter- and lag-free virtual reality gaming experience, which is essentially FreeSync for VR.
While the Radeon RX 580 is not the most powerful or competent GPU available, it is excellent for VR gaming on a tight budget.
Specifications
- 1366 MHz is the frequency of the clock.
- TFLOPS: 6.17
- 8 Gigabytes of memory GDDR5
- Memory clock frequency: 2000 Mhz
- Memory bandwidth is 256 GB per second.
6.MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 graphics card
The Nvidia GTX 1660 is one of the most highly rated graphics cards on the market when it comes to GPUs priced around $300.
In addition, since the GPU is based on Nvidia’s Pascal architecture, it is very energy efficient.
In addition to having 6GB of video RAM and a high clock speed of 1860 Mhz, the GTA 1660 is capable of providing an extremely smooth and flawless gaming experience.
The performance is nearly similar to that of the AMD Radeon RX 580 graphics processor.
The MSI GTX 1660 is distinguished by its visually appealing appearance. The TORX 3.0 is an award-winning fan that cools the GPU in a jiffy and is very quiet.
It has four zones of RBG illumination, which is especially effective in window cabinets.
The MSI afterburner application provides you with detailed information about your GPU in real-time and even enables you to overclock your GPU if you so choose.
Specifications
- The clock frequency is 1,860 MHz.
- the number of TFLOPS is five
- 6 Gigabytes of memory GDDR5
- Memory clock frequency: 8 GHz
- Memory Bandwidth: 192 GBytes per second
7.ZOTAC GAMING GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB GDDR6
The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is the company’s most recent graphics card, and it is based on the Turing GPU architecture. It is one of the most powerful graphics cards available at a price of less than $300. Despite the fact that it is a Turing card, it does not have RT Cores for Real-Time Ray Tracing or Tensor Cores for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep Learning Supervision (DLSS). The card has 1536 CUDA Cores and 6GB of GDDR6 memory with a 192-bit interface, making it a powerful graphics card. It is a VR-ready card that has technologies such as Nvidia G-Sync / Free-Sync, GPU Boost, Nvidia Ansel, and the most up-to-date APIs like DirectX12, OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan, and OpenCL. It is also compatible with virtual reality headsets. The card is about 40% more powerful than the GTX 1060 6GB and delivers performance that is comparable to or slightly better than the GTX 1070. This card is capable of running all of your most recent AAA games at 1080p / 1440p with 60+ frames per second on Ultra graphics settings with no problems.
Here we have the ZOTAC GAMING GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB GDDR6, which is a GTX 1660 Ti card with a length of just 173.4mm, making it a small GTX 1660 Ti card. This card is compatible with almost all mini-ITX and small form factor PC cases (excluding low profile cases). Despite the fact that it operates at stock or standard GTX 1660 Ti speeds, you may overclock this card to obtain the most performance possible. The card is equipped with twin fans, as well as a heatsink with copper heat pipes, to provide cooling. A pair of offset fans, one of which is a smaller fan and the other of which is a larger fan, are installed on the card, allowing for improved static pressure and airflow. When it comes to electricity, the card requires one 8-pin PCIe and a powerful 450W power supply to function properly. The back of the device has three DisplayPort ports and one HDMI connector for connecting to a monitor or television. I would strongly recommend this product.
8.Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC 6G
In terms of value for money, the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC 6G is arguably the finest budget graphics card that you can buy for less than $300. This is an overclocked version of the card, which is based on the Turing GPU architecture and has 1408 CUDA Cores as well as 6GB of faster GDDR6 memory, making it a powerful performer. It is up to 20% quicker than the GTX 1660, 15% faster than the RX 590, and offers performance comparable to the GTX 1660 Ti, all at a much cheaper cost. It is capable of running all of your most recent games at 1080p and 1440p resolutions with acceptable frame rates on ultra to extremely high graphics settings.
With the WINDFORCE 2X Cooling System from Gigabyte, this card is equipped with two 90mm alternate rotating fans that minimize air turbulence and increase airflow. The heatsink is equipped with a single copper heatpipe that comes into direct contact with the GPU, allowing for improved heat transmission and therefore more efficient computing performance overall. The 3D Active Fan function on this card offers semi-passive cooling, in which the fans stop spinning while the GPU is under low stress or is idle, and then begin spinning again when the GPU is under increased strain, such as when playing a demanding game or working with GPU-intensive apps. This OC edition GTX 1660 SUPER card has a Boost Clock of 1830 MHz, which is 45 MHz faster than the standard card’s clock speed. It is a dual-slot card that has a plastic backplate to cover the printed circuit board (PCB). The card requires a single 8-pin PCIe power connection as well as a 450W power supply to function properly. There are three DisplayPort ports and one HDMI connector available for display connectivity. The Gigabyte AORUS ENGINE software, which can be downloaded for free from the company’s official website, allows you to tune, configure, and change different parameters on the card.
9.EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB Graphics Card
We previously said that the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 is one of the most highly recommended GPUs under the $300 price tag, and we have included another GTX 1660 to our list in order to remain true to our word.
However, the EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB is a markedly different card than the MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 1660, as previously stated.
For starters, the GTX 1660 Ti outperforms the GTX 1660 by a little margin, owing to a higher base clock speed.
The memory frequency and bandwidth on the Evga GeForce GTX 1660 Ti are both faster than on the previous generation. While both of the 1660 cards have 6 GB of video RAM, the EVGA model has GDDR6 memory, as opposed to the GDDR5 memory found in the MSI model, giving it an additional advantage in terms of speed.
This specific model is equipped with a single fan, which helps to minimize the physical footprint of the graphics card.
For those who are constrained by space or who are working on a tight budget, the EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is a great option.
Specifications
- The clock frequency is 1845 MHz.
- the number of TFLOPS is five
- 6 Gigabytes of memory GDDR6
- Memory clock frequency: 12 GHz
- Memory bandwidth is 288 gigabits per second.
10.MSI Gaming Radeon RX 5500 XT graphics card
Despite having a price tag of just $200, the Radeon RX5500 XT is capable of outperforming a GPU that costs twice as much.
The Radeon RX 5500 XT is based on Radeon’s revolutionary RDNA architecture, which has cores that are 7 nanometers in size. The boost clock may be increased all the way to 1845 MHz, resulting in a mind-boggling transfer rate of 14 GB/s.
This graphics card’s 8 GB GDDR6 RAM is capable of running any game at a smooth 1080p quality.
Because it is made by MSI, it will have all of the features that are common to MSI graphics cards.
We’re talking about TORX 3.0 fans, as well as MSI Afterburner, which allows you to tune, monitor, and overclock your graphics card in real-time.
MSI has done an excellent job with the cooling, which includes plenty of thermal pads and 6mm copper heat pipes that are in direct touch with the motherboard.
When you combine it with the 7 Nm chip, which isn’t too power-hungry, you have a great GPU that doesn’t choke even under high demand.
Specifications
- The clock frequency is 1845 MHz.
- TFLOPS: 5.19
- 8 Gigabytes of memory GDDR6
- Memory clock frequency: 14 GHz
- Memory bandwidth is 288 gigabits per second.
How We Test Graphics Cards
In order to determine pure graphics card performance, it is important to eliminate any other bottlenecks — or, at the very least, as many as feasible. The following components make up our current graphics card testbed: an Intel Core i9-9900K processor, an MSI MEG Z390 Ace motherboard, 32GB Corsair DDR4-3600 CL16 memory, and an XPG SX8200 Pro 2TB SSD. We ran tests in the three most popular gaming resolutions, 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, at medium and extreme settings across the three most common gaming resolutions. Even while there are theoretically faster CPUs available today, we’ve conducted testing and found that, at most, overall performance increases by just 1–3 percent, so we’ll stay with the Core i9-9900K for the time being.
For all of our tests, we use reference cards wherever feasible, such as Nvidia’s Founders Edition versions and AMD’s reference designs, which are both available from the manufacturers. Although most mid-range and lower-priced GPUs do not have reference versions available, we do have factory overclocked cards available for testing in certain instances. In such situations, we make every effort to pick graphics cards that are as near to the reference specifications as possible.
We now have nine games in our test suite for you to try out! The information included in the following charts is based on testing that has taken place over the course of many months. Please bear in mind that Red Dead Redemption 2 does not run on all GPUs at all settings, and we have interpolated data for the total score to ensure that the charts remain consistent. You’ll need at least 6GB of RAM for 4K UHD, although leaving that result out of the table distorts the overall performance a little. We interpolate, using a negative bias (i.e., somewhat lower scores than we would otherwise anticipate) in order to make things as relevant as possible.
The most popular graphics processing units (GPUs) during the last three years are shown in the following charts. Everything from the RTX 3090 down to the GTX 1650, and from the RX 6800 down to the RX 5500 XT, as well as almost everything in between, has been included in this list. In order to keep things reasonable, we’ve had to remove several older GPUs including the Titan cards off the charts. (We do, however, have access to all of the test data, which is how the scores and ranking for the table at the top, which is derived from our GPU benchmarks hierarchy, are produced.) In order to make it simpler to understand what’s going on, the charts are color-coded, with AMD represented by red/grey and Nvidia represented by blue/black.
Be aware that since each card undergoes an extensive test period lasting a whole day, some of the results are now out of date. This means that they were obtained using older drivers, running previous versions of the game, and potentially using a previous version of Windows 10. In the near future, we plan to do a comprehensive retest of all current-generation and previous-generation GPUs using a single set of drivers. Any discrepancies in the charts should, hopefully, be resolved at that point (e.g., Red Dead Redemption 2 for example has several instances where the 6800 outperformed the faster 6800 XT and even 6900 XT).
Buying Guide: Choosing A Quality Graphics Card(GPU)
1.The Graphics Processing Unit’s (GPU) size
When upgrading your current graphics card, it is critical to consider the amount of space available on your computer’s hard drive. The majority of graphics cards are about 10 inches in size. However, if the graphics card has extra features (such as fans), they may be a little bigger and take up a little more room during the installation process.
Ensure that the graphics card is properly attached to the computer and that there is enough room around it throughout the installation process.
2.The intended use is described
Take into consideration how you plan to utilize your graphics card before investing in an update since various types of graphics cards will be better suited for different tasks.
Graphically demanding applications like gaming are popular, and some graphics cards are specifically built to handle game visuals better than others. Other visually intensive activities, such as image or video editing, may also benefit from a higher-capable graphics card, according to the manufacturer.
3. Balance between the CPU and the GPU
For the best visual quality, your CPU and GPU will need to collaborate; however, if either the CPU or GPU is considerably more powerful than the other, you may have bottlenecking problems.
If you have a good balance, you can be certain that when the CPU tries to transfer the intensive work to the GPU, they will both be able to perform the task. Use the Bottleneck Calculator on PC build to determine which GPU will function best with your CPU.
4.Brand
When it comes to graphics cards, NVIDIA tends to concentrate on more powerful technology, while AMD achieves a better balance between pricing and performance. NVIDIA and AMD each have their own proprietary software that includes a range of options to improve your gaming experience.
5.Platform
In recent years, the OpenCL platform has risen to become one of the most widely used development platforms for graphics processing. OpenCL is supported by Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA.
6.The number of GPU cores
A GPU, as opposed to a CPU, makes use of a greater number of tiny cores to break down the data being processed into the smallest component feasible and to work together to produce a smooth, clean picture while rendering. CUDA processors, which are usually utilized by NVIDIA, have bigger cores and are more general-purpose in nature than AMD’s Stream processors, which are smaller and more specialized.
7.Clock Speed of the GPU
The clock speed of a GPU is a measure of how quickly the cores can process information and is measured in megahertz (million cycles per second). Overclocking a graphics processing unit (GPU) may help it cope with more intensive graphic demands.
8.Memory and Bandwidth Limitations
A measure of the speed of the GPU’s video RAM, similar to the clock speed of the GPU, is known as the memory bandwidth (VRAM). VRAM is measured in gigabytes per second, and it is available in a variety of different capacities.
9.Thermal Design Capability
Thermal design power (TDP) is the maximum amount of electricity that a gadget will use under typical operating conditions. The maximum power draw of your device, measured in watts, does not correspond to the amount of energy used when overclocking.
10.Design
Reference cooling exhausts all of the air from the rear of the computer and is integrated directly into the GPU. Aftermarket cooling solutions may make the GPU operate more quietly and efficiently, but they must be installed.
11.The Factor of Form
Many of the most powerful graphics cards are classified as dual-slot cards because they need two mounting slots on the motherboard and the PC casing to be installed properly. When utilizing a compact case, single-slot and low-profile graphics cards may be quite useful. They are usually less powerful but cheaper than dual-slot cards.
12.Price and Warranty Information
As with any electronic purchase, be sure to read the warranties and terms that are offered. Because graphics cards are usually installed by the end-user, some aspects of the warranty will be affected as a result of this. There are graphics cards to suit any budget, however some of the most powerful graphics cards on the market may cost several thousand dollars or even several thousand dollars.
