Ever since the performance leaks about Nvidia's RTX 50 series started coming in, gamers knew that AI-generated frames aside, Blackwell wasn't going to be a revolutionary upgrade over Ada Lovelace. And with the third-party reviews of the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 now out in the open, calling them the RTX 4090 Ti and RTX 4080 Ti Super respectively is more accurate.
If you're in the market for a new GPU right now, and don't want anything to do with Nvidia's expensive and underwhelming GPUs, there are quite a few older GPUs that are excellent options. Not considering the used market, I've settled on 7 graphics cards that offer great performance per dollar and will stay relevant even after the launch of AMD's RX 9000 series in March.
You'll see many familiar names missing from the list since almost none of the RTX 30 and RTX 40 series GPUs are available anymore at their original prices.
7 AMD Radeon RX 6600
Budget trooper below $200
AMD launched the RX 6600 over 3 years ago as a slightly overpriced (at the time) budget graphics card. However, in today's market, it's one of the best budget GPUs available, considering the performance you get for $190-$200. If you're at 1080p, which is a fair assumption in this segment, you'll have no issues running titles like Spider-Man Remastered, Elden Ring, and Forza Horizon 5 at a consistent 60+ FPS.
With FSR enabled, you can even take things up a notch to 1440p, as the RX 6600 is capable of delivering playable framerates in many newer titles. Of course, ray tracing isn't meant for a GPU of this class, so you'll need to temper your expectations. Besides, there's nothing by Nvidia in this segment that can hold a candle to the RX 6600. The cheaper RTX 3050 comes up too short in several departments.
Which GPU should you buy in each $100 price bracket?
There's something here for everyone, regardless of whether you're a budget user or a gaming enthusiast
6 Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
The most popular GPU has only increased in value
Nvidia's RTX 3060 is the most popular GPU in the world, even in 2025. It provided gamers with respectable performance at launch (at 1080p and 1440p), shipped with plenty of VRAM (a shocker), and was priced right. Today, you can find the RTX 3060 for under $300, cheaper than its original MSRP. At this price, there aren't many older GPUs that can compete with it.
AMD's RX 7600 might be faster in rasterized performance, but the RTX 3060 isn't behind by much. When you factor in the superior ray tracing performance, and the overall feature suite of Nvidia, it makes sense to spend $40 more and get a more well-rounded GPU. Intel's new Arc B580 is an excellent offering at $250, but you can rarely find it at that price. Besides, it suffers from a big performance dip when paired with older CPUs, something I'm guessing will happen a lot in this segment.
What's the state of budget GPUs in 2024?
Sadly, current-gen budget graphics cards are rife with disappointing price-to-performance ratios
5 AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT
Still one of the best RDNA 2 performers
AMD's return to the high-end segment with RDNA 2 was celebrated by many. The RX 6750 XT might not have been the fastest of the lot, but it was certainly the most interesting. It was comfortably faster than the RTX 3060 Ti at launch but was priced way higher than the Nvidia card. Today, however, you can buy the RX 6750 XT for only around $300. The RTX 3060 Ti isn't even available brand-new for less than $450.
If you want an affordable ray-tracing GPU from AMD, the RX 6750 XT is the clear favorite. While costing the same, it matches the RTX 3060 in ray tracing while beating it comfortably in rasterized performance. AMD might lag behind Nvidia in ray tracing at the high end, but the RDNA 2 cards in the budget segment are still killing it, especially from a value standpoint.
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4 AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT
RDNA 3? Not too bad
Moving up to the lower mid-range segment, I would have to give the win to AMD's RX 7700 XT instead of Nvidia's RTX 4060 Ti 8GB. While both the GPUs are available for $400 today, the RX 7700 XT is noticeably faster in raw performance. Plus, in this segment, you would want to experience 1440p gaming as well, where the AMD card shines due to its 12GB VRAM compared to the 4060 Ti's 8GB.
Even in ray tracing performance, the RX 7700 XT isn't much slower than the Nvidia GPU, offering a nearly identical experience. Considering the rumors that many of AMD's FSR 4 advancements will be arriving on previous-gen cards too, the RX 7700 XT will likely age better than the RTX 4060 Ti, especially if you factor in that additional VRAM.
The RTX 40 and RX 7000 series have established a new normal in gaming GPUs
The days of generational improvements to performance and value are done, and there's not much we can do.
3 AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT
A close win for AMD
Another RDNA 3 GPU on the list, the RX 7800 XT is a mid-range champion, thanks to its impressive 1440p performance compared to, say, the RTX 4070. The RX 7800 XT is currently available for under $500, whereas you can only find the RTX 4070 brand-new for around $570. You will find the AMD GPU performing up to 20% better than the Nvidia GPU in this contest, making it a no-brainer in terms of raw performance.
Coming to ray tracing, the RX 7700 XT is significantly slower in the most demanding titles, such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake 2. If ray tracing is a must for you, then you'll have to go with the RTX 4070, but from an overall standpoint, the RX 7800 XT will offer faster performance in more varied scenarios. You'll also get 16GB of VRAM on the AMD card compared to the 12GB on the Nvidia offering.
Light your money on fire instead of buying these 7 graphics cards
If you're considering any of these GPUs, think again before you flush your money down the drain.
2 Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super
The best mainstream GPU for ray tracing
Beyond $500, you've entered the high-end GPU segment, in my opinion. If you're comfortable spending around $600-$650 on a new GPU, then I begrudgingly recommend the RTX 4070 Super. While it should be priced around $550 or lower, it's hard to argue against the performance of this card. Whether you look at rasterized or ray tracing performance, the RTX 4070 Super is perhaps the only contender in this segment.
For those who can't do without ray tracing in the latest titles, Nvidia's DLSS upscaling and frame generation help make the RTX 4070 Super a worthy alternative to even the RTX 50 series. The upcoming RTX 5070 with an MSRP of $500 will likely follow the example of the RTX 5080, delivering disappointing gen-on-gen gains. Plus, you'll be hard-pressed to find it at MSRP.
3 reasons I'll be skipping Nvidia's RTX 50 series
Nvidia's RTX 50 series is a fantastic series of graphics cards, but
1 AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
The most you should spend on an older GPU
At the same price as the RTX 4070 Super, there's a case to be made for the RX 7900 XT. It can perform up to 30% faster than the Nvidia GPU in a variety of titles and features an impressive 20GB of VRAM compared to the 12GB on the 4070 Super. For gamers who simply want the most bang-for-buck GPU without spending a bomb, the RX 7900 XT represents the ceiling, in my opinion.
If you're a die-hard fan of ray tracing, however, the RX 7900 XT will struggle with demanding titles, so that issue still remains. As for the upcoming RX 9000 series, we still don't know whether AMD will price the RX 9070 XT at $600 or $800. Every other rumor claims something else, so if you want a high-end GPU and can't wait, the RX 7900 XT is the maximum I'd recommend spending on.
5 reasons I'm excited about AMD's next GPUs
AMD might be targeting the mid-range with its next-gen Radeon GPUs but that's okay by me
Conclusion
If you're buying a previous-gen GPU (in the case of Nvidia) or an RX 7000 GPU from AMD, I don't recommend looking at the GPUs priced around $1000 or more. At that point, the value of these older GPUs starts evaporating, and you're better off with one of the newer models, even if you have to spend around $200 more on the newer model.
If you're comfortable buying used components, then GPUs like the RTX 3080, RTX 3080 Ti, and RTX 4070 Ti are available in the $400-$600 range on sites like eBay. I didn't include pre-owned GPUs on the list, since they involve a fair bit of risk, and you need to do your due diligence before parting with your hard-earned money.