Staff, Courtesy of Nvidia
A powerful graphics card, or GPU, is the lifeblood of any efficient gaming or creative PC. Without one, you can kiss gaming or video production needs goodbye. With dedicated graphics cards becoming more mainstream each generation, the latest and greatest in graphics is more accessible than ever.
At least it would be—if not for the nasty combination of a global chip shortage, incredibly high demand, and COVID-19. We get into the nitty-gritty and give you the lowdown of the current graphics card landscape, as well as the best graphics cards for your specific needs.
Extreme GPU Shortages
While this latest generation of graphics cards are powerful and affordable on paper, in reality, they are nearly impossible to buy. Incredibly high demand, very low supply, and COVID-19 have all combined together to make finding and buying any graphics card difficult. Because of such limited supply, scalpers have run amok, reselling new GPUs for double or triple their suggested retail price.
While GPU supply seems to be slowly increasing, future availability is still looking grim and uncertain. Because of these extraordinary circumstances, you will probably have a hard time finding our recommended graphics cards, especially at suggested retail price, aka MSRP. As such, we are including the MSRP for all our recommendations, and hoping that supply increases soon.
What to Consider
With graphics cards, there is a lot to consider. To start, keep in mind that there is no “best” graphics card. Your perfect GPU depends on a combination of your computer and your needs. An expensive, cutting-edge graphics card may be powerful, but it will quickly become bottlenecked if the rest of your computer is 10 years old.
First, consider the monitors you will be using with your computer. Your monitor is a deciding factor in what video resolution your computer can display. If you have a 4K resolution monitor, you should select a powerful graphics card that can easily render 4K graphics.
Second, decide on a “target resolution.” A target resolution is basically what graphical resolution you would like your computer to display. Again, this is partially dependent on your monitors. For example, if you plan on using an older, 1080p monitor, your target resolution is 1080p, an easy target for budget GPUs. A target resolution of 4K, however, will require a newer, more powerful GPU.
Lastly, take into consideration video outputs and power requirements. Most graphics cards today (and those on our list) connect via HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort 1.4a, so make sure your computer monitor has those connections. Graphics cards also need to connect to your computer’s power supply. Make sure your power supply has enough wattage output to power your new GPU.
How We Selected
We strive to rigorously test every product we recommend. For those products we can’t test ourselves, we perform intensive research, reviewing content from expert sources like PC Gamer, The Verge, Eurogamer, CNET, Tom’s Guide, and others, as well as thousands of consumer reviews from online storefronts on Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. As for the products themselves, we evaluated them on performance, design, compatibility, and (retail) price.
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