It's no secret that GPU pricing has been far from ideal in the last few years. Flagship graphics cards are getting pricier every year, with the RTX 4090 rarely selling at its MSRP even years after its launch. Plus, whatever hope that gamers had for more affordable graphics cards was trampled by products like the RTX 4060 Ti and RX 6500 XT, one of the worst GPU launches in recent memory.

GPU manufacturers like Nvidia and AMD have increasingly distanced themselves from the budget segment with underwhelming offerings and ridiculous prices. Nvidia has performed worse in this regard, but AMD isn't completely innocent either. It's still too early to comment on Intel here, at least until we see what their Battlemage cards have in store. All of this makes budget GPU purchases worse than ever, as you stand to lose a lot more than you're saving.

4 Disappointing price to performance

Budget GPUs just don't go that hard anymore

One of the most glaring issues plaguing modern budget graphics cards is the rapidly declining value. Just a few years ago, budget gaming used to mean something — it had its own standing, with manufacturers launching stand-out budget products like the RX 580, GTX 1060, and GTX 1660 Super in the $200-$250 range.

Budget gamers weren't made to feel like second-class citizens, unlike today where every budget GPU comes with more compromises than you can count. You either have to make do with unimpressive cards like the RTX 4060 Ti that can't even beat their predecessors, or get used to the fact that features like ray tracing are essentially unusable on cards like the RTX 3050.

3 Terribly low VRAM

Holding the best of them back

Outfitting graphics cards with cripplingly low VRAM isn't unique to the budget segment. In fact, Nvidia has been depriving even $800 cards of sufficient VRAM for years now. But, this problem becomes exacerbated when you consider the budget GPUs. Not only do gamers have to contend with disappointing performance for the price, but they also can't extend the life of their GPU by hoping to run games at 1440p instead of 1080p.

Due to low VRAM, budget graphics cards quickly hit a performance ceiling at 1440p, and sometimes even at 1080p, depending on the game. Even if the card is capable of driving playable framerates at higher resolutions, the insufficient framebuffer ends up being the bottleneck, leading to dropped frames, half-loaded textures, and an overall poor experience.

In 2024, we frequently hear that 16GB VRAM should be the minimum for mid-range graphics cards. But, even for budget GPUs, there should be some standards for the amount of VRAM manufacturers need to provide — anything less than 12GB on a $300 card should be considered lacking.

2 Poor longevity

You'll end up paying more in the long run for replacements

Let's be real, budget GPUs exist for a reason. It's for people who don't consider GPUs luxury products, and don't want to spend an arm and a leg on them. They simply want something that packs enough performance for a playable and worthwhile gaming experience. But, with the way things have been progressing (or regressing), it seems that that's too much to ask.

You might be saving hundreds of dollars in the short term, but it's probably not a good idea to spend again on a new card just a year down the line because you weren't satisfied with the performance. In such cases, buying a mid-range card in the first place turns out to be the smarter decision. You'll have to spend more at the time of purchase, yes, but you'll also get a superior experience in the latest games, and it will last longer without needing an upgrade.

1 Barred from the latest gaming visuals

Budget GPU buyers have been priced out

Finally, even though you can save money by opting for a budget GPU, and can even play most titles at decent framerates (at 1080p and even 1440p), you'll still have to forego the latest and greatest games with the best graphics. I had a GTX 1660 Ti in my previous gaming PC, but when Cyberpunk 2077 came out in late 2020, I instantly knew my GPU wouldn't stand a chance against it.

In fact, even my existing GPU, the mighty RTX 3080, struggles to run the game at 60+ FPS if I crank the settings too high. This happened again with Alan Wake 2, where I was able to run the game at 40-50 FPS at medium-high settings, but to truly experience all the game had to offer, I knew I needed a high-end RTX 40 series GPU. The game runs beautifully in all its glory on my brother's RTX 4070 Ti system, by the way.

While it's true that the latest games always used to struggle on budget systems, the situation has gotten so bad that you can't even think of running some games on budget GPUs. With features like ray tracing, frame generation, and others outside of the scope of many budget cards, it's easy to see that things will only get worse from here.

Budget PC gaming needs a revolution soon

If things are going to improve, budget graphics cards will need something revolutionary. I know that might be too much to hope for, considering that the priorities of GPU manufacturers are firmly focused on AI chips at the moment, and gaming GPUs are bringing in less and less money every year. But, the upcoming generation of graphics cards from AMD and Intel might have something promising for budget gamers.

Intel's Battlemage GPUs have me excited due to their potential to reinvigorate the entry-level and budget GPU segments. Plus, AMD seems to be focusing solely on mid-range and budget cards this time around, so we might see some truly impressive offerings from Team Red. With Nvidia continuing to rule the high-end segment unopposed, we might see a 3-way battle royale for desktop GPUs cleanly slicing the market into three distinct segments.