Considering the prices of the best graphics cards today, this question is more relevant than ever. I'd like to start with a disclaimer, though: this article isn't about telling people what to do with their money. Of course, you can spend whatever you like on a gaming GPU, but my intention is to analyze multiple factors and arrive at a realistic price that allows gamers to enjoy a reasonable quality of gaming in 2025.

My definition of "reasonable quality" is 60+ FPS at your target resolution in the most demanding titles. This will naturally yield different answers for 55% of gamers who play at 1080p and the 25% who jointly make up the 1440p and 4K camp (according to the latest Steam Hardware Survey).

GPU for gaming: One size doesn't fit all

The story of two kinds of gamers

Not every gamer needs the latest and greatest graphics card to play the latest "next-gen" title at maxed-out settings. Similarly, others aren't satisfied with triple-digit FPS in esports lightweight titles and prioritize high-resolution, high-refresh-rate gaming in the most demanding games. This creates a divide in the community where each camp considers the GPU choices of the other "uninformed" or plain wrong.

Depending on your monitor resolution, the kind of games you play, and your penchant for eye candy, your definition of "acceptable gaming performance" will differ. Even your level of comfort with lower in-game settings and the rest of your hardware will tip the GPU pricing scales one way or the other. The right GPU for you will change based on whether you're building an $800-$1,000 gaming PC or a $1,500-$2,000 one.

With GPU prices piercing the stratosphere, the recommendations for budget, mid-range, and high-end segments have changed considerably. Budget GPUs don't offer the value they once did, while modern mid-range GPUs should rightfully be called premium already. Alas, it is what it is, and the answer to how much you should spend on a gaming GPU has to be given relative to this new normal.

Most gamers should spend no more than $300-$500

Budget and mid-range FTW

Spending $500 on a GPU still sounds like an awful lot, but that's the upper limit I recommend for the majority of gamers. With over half the gamers still gaming at 1080p, even a $300 GPU like the RTX 4060 is enough for most mainstream games. However, the magic number of $500 will get you a graphics card that can drive triple-digit framerates at 1080p Ultra settings and set you up for 60+ FPS at 1440p Very High settings even for demanding titles.

Even in games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake 2, upscaling and frame generation will get you over 60+ FPS at 1440p. Graphics cards like the RX 7700 XT and RX 7800 XT are perfect examples of such cards, with the RTX 4070 now available in the same range after price cuts. The only other advice I would give you is not to buy an 8GB VRAM GPU in 2025. Ideally, get one with 16GB VRAM, or 12GB at the minimum, so that you can enjoy both 1080p and 1440p gaming in the near future.

Others can enjoy near-perfect 4K gaming for $800

Anything over that is overkill

Moving to the next camp of gamers who want no-compromise gaming (almost), the budget will need to be increased to around $800. This would get you something like the RTX 4070 Ti Super, a 16GB VRAM graphics card capable of flawless 1440p ray-traced gaming performance (with DLSS and FG, of course) in the heaviest titles out there.

You can also expect consistent 60+ FPS performance at 4K Medium ray tracing (with DLSS and FG). Even AMD's current flagship, the RX 7900 XTX, can't compete with the RTX 4070 Ti Super in ray-traced scenarios in games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake 2. In everything else, however, it's a beast of a GPU and handily beats the RTX 4070 Ti Super in rasterized performance.

If you intend to spend over $1,000 on the RTX 4080 Super or over $2,000 on the RTX 4090 (if you can find it), I advise that only if money is no object. Otherwise, give those two a pass.

In the world of GPUs, the price is rarely right

I might have blurted out some numbers above, but GPU prices are far from what they should be, even for the level of performance they offer. The post-pandemic prices of PC hardware never went back, and manufacturers became more comfortable charging more and more from consumers who were ready to pay. Many games require more GPU power today to look worse than older games did on much weaker hardware. Again, it is what it is.

These recommended prices will mostly apply in January when Nvidia and AMD announce their next-gen GPUs, but we'll have to wait to see how they stack up against current-gen offerings.