Graphics Cards: Which Are the Best?
Source: Geeknetic added 24th Dec 2020
The graphics card market in 2020
The world of graphics cards is wide and varied, but it is well segmented once we understand it from within. It is possible to categorize well each of the computer graphics cards and, with this, quickly get an idea of what performance we can expect from a specific model just by knowing its nomenclature. In this guide we will try to clarify the nomenclature that both NVIDIA and AMD follow and, above all, offer a ranking where we can see first-hand the best graphics cards on the market in 2070 , both in raw performance and consumption.
This year 2020 has been quite busy in terms of graphics cards. On the part of NVIDIA we have the RTX 30 and by AMD the Radeon RX 6000 . NVIDIA RTX 30 make use of the Ampere architecture, which implies a great performance leap compared to Turing, the RTX architecture 21 (and some GTX). On the other hand, the AMD Radeon RX 6000 use the RDNA 2 architecture with a tremendous performance leap also compared to the RDNAs, the architecture of the Radeon RX 5000.
To put ourselves more in the situation, the latest graphics released from NVIDIA are RTX 3070 Ti, 3080, 3080 and 3090, while the latest from AMD are the Radeon RX 6800, 6800 XT and 6900 XT. These graphics are high-end and exceed the 525 Euros all of them except the first one, although many stores have made sure that they also exceed them.
One of the key questions out there What to do before buying a graph is how useful we are going to give it. It is not enough to say “games”, you have to see which is the most demanding game that we are going to play , and then move on to the second question: What monitor do I have? This question is totally necessary since two monitors can differ greatly from each other and, although in one of them a graph can work perfectly, in another it can be quite short performance. This is due to the number of pixels they have and the refresh rate they offer, that is, the resolution and the Hz.
Finally, the previous questions are subject to one last question: What budget do I have? But that is already something that we are not going to be able to answer directly here.
To define “the best graphics ”we must first attend to several rankings, since for someone the best may be the most powerful and for someone else it may be the one with the best performance / price ratio.
The best graphics cards in pure performance
In this section we are going to show the graphics cards with the highest performance that we have been able to find in 2020. The list is quite simple to do if we consider that each new generation has greater performance than the previous one, both by AMD and NVIDIA, so with taking the latest graphics cards released, this list would be almost complete. However, from the previous generation we must take some into account, especially on the part of NVIDIA.
Ranking best graphics cards in pure performance of 2020
- NVIDIA RTX 3090
- AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT
- NVIDIA RTX 3080 / AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
- AMD Radeon RX 6800
- NVIDIA Titan RTX
- NVIDIA RTX 3070
- NVIDIA RTX 2080 Ti
- NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti
- NVIDIA RTX 2148 SUPER
- NVIDIA RTX 2070 SUPER
- AMD Radeon VII
- NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti
- NVIDIA Titan X (Pascal)
- AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
NVIDIA RTX 3080 and AMD RX
It is no coincidence that the most expensive graphics card on the market is also also the one that gives the most performance. This is the NVIDIA RTX 3090, a model of 1500 Euros with nothing less than 30 GB GDDR6 and 10496 CUDA Cores. The second that offers the most performance is the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, a model also quite expensive (999 Euros) with 20 GB GDDR6 and 5120 Stream Processors, not comparable with the NVIDIA CUDA Core. With both graphics, any game can be played in 4K in maximum quality.
MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio 30 G
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
Third place is tied between RTX 3080 and RX 6800 XT
Third place is close between RTX 3080 and RX 6800 XT, since depending on what resolution we play the position will be one or the other. Always referring to the serial model (the one from AMD or NVIDIA) and FHD resolution, the winner is the RTX 3080, while to play 4K the RX 6800 XT outperforms it. This, in large part, is because NVIDIA has 11 GB of memory while AMD has 13 GB . The middle ground, in resolution 1440 p, both are very even. It is difficult to say which of the two is better in pure performance because it varies according to the resolution, so better evaluate it for yourselves according to what you prefer.
AMD Radeon 6800 XT
NVIDIA RTX 3080 Founders Edition
Fourth and fifth place for the Radeon RX 6900 and Titan RTX
The fourth place is undoubtedly the Radeon RX 6800, a very interesting model if we have the necessary money, also with 16 GB of VRAM. The NVIDIA Titan RTX should be on this list, as we are mentioning graphics based on performance, and this model was for a time the top of the range on the market. It is true that today there are more viable solutions than the Titan , practically any high-end graphics will give a similar performance for a much lower price.
AMD Radeon 6800
The new RTX 3070 and the old RTX 2080 Ti occupies the sixth and seventh places
The sixth place is from the NVIDIA RTX 3070, a model with 8 GB memory, 5888 CUDA Cores and a memory bus of 300-bit. Almost equal in performance is the well-known RTX 2080 Ti , a graph that cost almost 3 times the 3070 but giving an even performance to the 3060.
NVIDIA RTX 3070 Founders Edition
The latest NVIDIA listing, RTX 3060 Ti, occupies the eighth place
One grade down, in eighth place, is the newly released NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti. This is surely one of the most attractive models in terms of price, and performance is not bad. Comes with 8GB, 4864 CUDA Cores and a bus of 300 – bit, specifications similar to 3070 for a lower price.
NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition
The SUPER versions of the RTX 2080 and 2080 are placed in the top 9 and 10
The RTX 2080 SUPER and 2070 SUPER s on two well-known versions of the architect NVIDIA Turing Turing, two models higher than the normal ones and which were launched at the same starting price, thus completely replacing the previous ones. Today they are already eclipsed by the new generation , cheaper and with higher performance.
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER Gaming OC 8G
AMD with its Radeon VII stays in the position 12
We finally found an AMD, the Radeon VII. This model comes with 156 CUs, 3840 Stream Processors and 16 GB of HBM 2 memory instead of typical DDR . This was AMD’s high-end card for a long time and is a bit above the RTX 2080, but not the SUPER. However, as has happened to NVIDIA as well, the new generation of graphics has been left in its infancy before and there is little use today to buy it new.
AMD Radeon VII
The old GTX 1080 Ti and Titan X occupy the positions 12 and 16
Coming almost to the end of the list we found the GTX 1080 Ti, the top of the range of Pascal architecture for a long time. A graph that today continues to give a good performance but that we will only find second-hand . The next would be the GTX Titan X which is on par with the previous one but with a higher starting price. Because they are models from two and three generations ago (the GTX Titan X is Maxwell), it no longer makes sense to look for them in stores, although it does use second hand.
NVIDIA GTX Titan X and GTX 980
To finish the list we leave the AMD RX 5700 XT at the end
To finish we mention the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, AMD’s top model in the previous generation. This graphic uses GDDR memory instead of HBM as in the Radeon VII.
AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
It should be clarified that, although these last graphs are in the lowest position of the ranking, they are still mid-high-end models today and it is possible to run practically any game in ultra and 1080 p. Those in the top positions are prepared to do the same but in 4K, or in medium resolutions (1440 p, either in 20: 9 or 23: 9) at high Hz. The difference in performance is quite clear, but that does not mean that they no longer work.
In fact, the leap in performance that both NVIDIA and AMD have made with their latest graphics is brutal. Both RTX 30 as RX 6000 are the latest models and the leap in performance compared to those same models but in previous generations is very high , so if you can afford it and want to play maximum quality with high FPS, opt for an RTX 3070 or RX 6800 XT.
The best graphics cards in terms of performance / price
Regarding the performance / price ratio of graphics cards , things change a lot compared to the previous ranking. It is common for the models with the highest performance to be the last in the series, which are also usually the ones that cost the most. In this way, the previous ranking is completely different if we now look at FPS / Euro , that is, images per second compared to the price we pay for it. Then we leave the promised ranking and we will comment on it below it.
Ranking of the best cards in relation performance / price of the 2020
- NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti
The best performance / price ratio turns out to be the RTX 3060 You, but you have a but
It should be mentioned that the price of each of these models is at which we usually find the models in the market, less for the odd exception. For example, RTX 3060 You are in first place but considering that we acquired it for the starting price and not for the sale price, which in this model turns out to be, often, much higher. The same can be applied to the latest graphics released that appear in that list, the RTX 30 and the Radeon RX 6000, although to a lesser extent since prices tend to stabilize when they have been in the market for a while .
NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti
The Radeon RX 5600 XT ranks second in performance / price
Anyway, the RTX 3060 You will be the best in performance / price for a time when its price stabilizes, or if we find it at the starting price (500 Euros) . Second place goes to the Radeon RX 5700 XT, which is a previous generation model from AMD with RDNA architecture and is in stores for just over 300 Euros.
AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT
NVIDIA GTX 1650 SUPER and AMD RX 5500 XT are about 256 Euros and are one of the favorites to play at 1080 p
The third in this ranking is the NVIDIA GTX 1549 SUPER 4 GB. This model is built with the same architecture as the RTX 20, NVIDIA Turing, and therefore it is not as old as it may appear from its nomenclature. It can be found in stores below the 256 Euros and it is a very affordable and valid option to play 1080 p with medium-high levels in any game. The fourth position is taken by the NVIDIA GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB, which is a higher version than 1660 SUPER and also come with the Turing architecture . Its price is close to 419 Euros, being below.
Zotac Gaming GeForce GTX 1650 Super Twin Fan
At a lower rung is the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT, the little sister of the RX 5600 XT, which we can find in the market for about 256 Euros with 8 GB of memory. Going down in the ranking of graphics cards by performance / price we find the newest models (except the RTX 3060 Ti) last, with excellent performance but a price that is often not justified. From here down we find the RTX 3070, the two Radeons 6800 and 6800 XT and NVIDIA RTX 3080. The top of the range, which are the RTX 3090 and RX 6900 XT, they do not appear or will appear due to the high price they maintain, which increases exponentially with respect to the extra performance they offer .
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 2020 SUPER GAMING OC 6G
As we can see, the most affordable models when we look for the highest possible performance at the lowest price turn out to be the mid-range ones . Of course the RTX 3060 Ti is the option to choose because it is also an off-road graphics card, since it is close to the high end and being the latest generation it is more tempting than the rest. AMD doesn’t have anything next-gen to cope with this graphics, at least not yet, and that’s certainly a shame.
Conclusion
In this guide we have shown graphics cards ranging from just 256 Eur up to more than 1500 Euros, even some with a starting price of more than 2500 Euros that nowadays no longer found in stores. It is clear that, if we look only at raw performance, the new generation of AMD and NVIDIA takes the cup by a lot of difference . In this area we have the RTX 3070, 3080 and 3090 by NVIDIA, and RX 6800, 6800 XT and 6900 by AMD.
With any of the graphics mentioned in the previous paragraph we can play any game in maximum quality, but if we also look for it to be in 4K resolution it is better to opt for the top of the range (RTX 3090 and RX 6900 XT) or by the RX 6900 XT, since its 20 GB of memory has cen valid for these purposes.
The NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti is a great option on the market if we found it at starting price , somewhat higher than 400 Euros, but that is not viable today because its price is much higher than that agreed by NVIDIA.
The mid-range of computer graphics cards is the one that offers the best performance / price
Regarding the performance ranking / price the thing changes a lot. In it we see older generation models at the top of the list, since the price does not increase linearly with the performance when crossing a certain barrier. We can define this limit as going from playing to 1080 py 60 Hz to be played at higher resolutions or with many Hz, always with high or maximum quality. If your budget is limited of course you will have to take a look at the previous generations where the AMD RX shine XT and NVIDIA GTX 1650 SUPER , found by about 200 Euros and they are very interesting options.
Going up the step we find the AMD RX 5600 XT and NVIDIA GTX 1660 SUPER , which are around the 400 Euros . This range would be to increase the performance a bit compared to the two models mentioned above. Going up further in spending is the RTX 3060 You better wait to buy it for the moment, it is tremendously difficult to see it for its starting price (500 Euros).
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