When it comes to graphics cards, we go in-depth. Year in and year out we test dozens of GPUs from Nvidia, AMD (and also Intel) to see which are worth your money, and which are dead on arrival.
The Best GPUs: Early 2023 Update
- Thread starter Steve
- Start date
I sadly got the Radeon 6600 at $300, and then upgraded to a 1440p165 monitor. It's a stop gap for me, and will go into an older build. I was actually waiting for Intel Arc but they took too long.
I flat out refuse to spend $400+ on a 2+ year old GPU. I'll continue waiting for the 40 series to drop a mid-range 1440p card. It doesn't look like that will be soon but I might just sit on the 6600 longer in that case, it plays what I need well enough, although I could definitely get an upgrade there.
Thing is with VRR anything over 90ish or so is going to be smooth, that is the biggest upgrade a lot of people can make. I'm not sure why there isn't more discussion about that, it's probably because the GPU companies don't really want people to figure that out and stop spending absurd prices every few years on a GPU.
I flat out refuse to spend $400+ on a 2+ year old GPU. I'll continue waiting for the 40 series to drop a mid-range 1440p card. It doesn't look like that will be soon but I might just sit on the 6600 longer in that case, it plays what I need well enough, although I could definitely get an upgrade there.
Thing is with VRR anything over 90ish or so is going to be smooth, that is the biggest upgrade a lot of people can make. I'm not sure why there isn't more discussion about that, it's probably because the GPU companies don't really want people to figure that out and stop spending absurd prices every few years on a GPU.
Couple of notes about the 4090. The 4080 at 1200-1300 leaves a lot to be desired so if you are already in the market with 1300 bucks for GPU it is better to put 300 more and get the top dog. Nvidia intentionally or not made the 4080 and excuse to buy the 4090.
Some factors driving the skyrocket prices of flagship gpus except the chip shortages is also about lack of SLI/Crossfire. If those technologies were implemented well that would have kept the prices of flagships in check. If the flagship is too expensive just buy two of the lower cards and achieve the same or more performance.
Imagine 3090ti costs 2000 or more. But you can get for some reason the 3070ti or better the 3080 at 800 bucks a piece. You just buy two of those and absolutely destroy the flagship card, maybe in the expense of some power usage. But the lack of SLI/Crossfire means that you have a single slot for GPU and at the top end for some people even 5% of performance increase justifies 50% price increase
Some factors driving the skyrocket prices of flagship gpus except the chip shortages is also about lack of SLI/Crossfire. If those technologies were implemented well that would have kept the prices of flagships in check. If the flagship is too expensive just buy two of the lower cards and achieve the same or more performance.
Imagine 3090ti costs 2000 or more. But you can get for some reason the 3070ti or better the 3080 at 800 bucks a piece. You just buy two of those and absolutely destroy the flagship card, maybe in the expense of some power usage. But the lack of SLI/Crossfire means that you have a single slot for GPU and at the top end for some people even 5% of performance increase justifies 50% price increase
Nobina
Posts: 4,500 +5,492
Currently, the best GPU is the one you already have in your PC.
godrilla
Posts: 1,363 +893
FYI, the 7900 XT is a slight price reduction to $879.99. Hopefully foreshadowing things to come.
XFX Radeon RX 7900XT Gaming Graphics Card with 20GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA 3 RX-79TMBABF9 https://a.co/d/7pC3ouZ
XFX Radeon RX 7900XT Gaming Graphics Card with 20GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA 3 RX-79TMBABF9 https://a.co/d/7pC3ouZ
kiwigraeme
Posts: 1,991 +1,403
Probably the people who snapped up a Radeon RX 6800 XT on a super deal
or those who got the 4090 at msrp are probably very happy
that $1000 bracket - just wait AMD drivers/memory and cooling problems on some cards need to be sorted
Plus should be safe to say prices will not go up - most likely down for 4080 and 7900XTX
V2 7900XTX in sales in 10 months for $700 or less will be a great buy
or those who got the 4090 at msrp are probably very happy
that $1000 bracket - just wait AMD drivers/memory and cooling problems on some cards need to be sorted
Plus should be safe to say prices will not go up - most likely down for 4080 and 7900XTX
V2 7900XTX in sales in 10 months for $700 or less will be a great buy
Mr Majestyk
Posts: 2,058 +1,903
4080 going for $2300-2500 in Australai, criminally insane as based on currency it should be around $1700 max. Looking at second hand MSI Gaming Trio X 6900XT for $1K as best value currently I can find. I also need a lot more than 8GB for my photo editing. If the 7900XT was poor value I'd buy that for sure, but not until I see large performance boosts.
To summarise this article....
If you can only afford low end graphics cards get an ancient 6600/6650 XT
If you can afford 'mid range' look for an ancient 6800.
Any other price point the only offerings are newer cards and so are massively overpriced and not worth buying.
If you can only afford low end graphics cards get an ancient 6600/6650 XT
If you can afford 'mid range' look for an ancient 6800.
Any other price point the only offerings are newer cards and so are massively overpriced and not worth buying.
StrikerRocket
Posts: 225 +186
Other solution: wait and snap up a second hand flasgship for a bargain on eBay.
I just got an Asus ROG Strix 3080 OC gaming for 620 euros, practically brand new, bought by a company that used it for less than a year for... word processing...? Card came with barely any trace of use and dust on it. It was not event broken-in, cooling actually improved after some *real* use of the card. Does not even break a sweat at 63°C max in Cyberpunkwith RT on inside my Cooler Master HAF X (yes, the old one).
Card was not registered with Asus, I have the invoice, registered it in my account, and I'm good to go for 2+ years of warranty.
You have to be patient, and know how to spot good deals on the second hand market, I always do that now. I did the same for my 5900X, and I'm quite happy. You have to accept the fact that you're not on the bleeding edge, but that's ok for me, I don't like being a beta tester anyway...
I just got an Asus ROG Strix 3080 OC gaming for 620 euros, practically brand new, bought by a company that used it for less than a year for... word processing...? Card came with barely any trace of use and dust on it. It was not event broken-in, cooling actually improved after some *real* use of the card. Does not even break a sweat at 63°C max in Cyberpunkwith RT on inside my Cooler Master HAF X (yes, the old one).
Card was not registered with Asus, I have the invoice, registered it in my account, and I'm good to go for 2+ years of warranty.
You have to be patient, and know how to spot good deals on the second hand market, I always do that now. I did the same for my 5900X, and I'm quite happy. You have to accept the fact that you're not on the bleeding edge, but that's ok for me, I don't like being a beta tester anyway...
m3tavision
Posts: 1,437 +1,222
People can say what they want.....
All anyone needs to do is look at the 16 Game averages/24 Game averages or ANY review where the XTX & 4080 go head to head. The XTX is the clear winner by a long shot... and it's $200 cheaper.
My logical thinking is if NVidia's cards are $200 more and offer less performance, then I can afford to spend a little more and get a beefy XFX/PowerColor, etc. (And still be ahead of the game)
Arguably, the best dGPU of the year would be the $649 6900xt. And AMD would really make a splash if they priced the XT $50 lower.... and entered the market at $849.
All anyone needs to do is look at the 16 Game averages/24 Game averages or ANY review where the XTX & 4080 go head to head. The XTX is the clear winner by a long shot... and it's $200 cheaper.
My logical thinking is if NVidia's cards are $200 more and offer less performance, then I can afford to spend a little more and get a beefy XFX/PowerColor, etc. (And still be ahead of the game)
Arguably, the best dGPU of the year would be the $649 6900xt. And AMD would really make a splash if they priced the XT $50 lower.... and entered the market at $849.
CapNemo72
Posts: 34 +64
Let's be honest:
The biggest problem are on our side, we are buying the cards at those absurd prices thus validating the positioning the companies are taking.
They are in there for the money, and for the most they can get. When mining was in the full spin, they saw people were buying their product at higher prices, but from scalpers!
How would you feel, having invested billions in your product to make less money than some guy who just happened to buy your product and then resell it at 200% or higher markup?
You would say "Hell no!" And you would price your products to that level already. Even if scalpers get their hands first on them, you are still the one making the most, not the scalper.
And they will wait and see. If they sell good, the prices will stay there. If sales go down, prices will go down too. It is a market, and we (as in buyers, thought not all) did screwed ourselves.
Take is as you will, but that is raw reality of the things.
The biggest problem are on our side, we are buying the cards at those absurd prices thus validating the positioning the companies are taking.
They are in there for the money, and for the most they can get. When mining was in the full spin, they saw people were buying their product at higher prices, but from scalpers!
How would you feel, having invested billions in your product to make less money than some guy who just happened to buy your product and then resell it at 200% or higher markup?
You would say "Hell no!" And you would price your products to that level already. Even if scalpers get their hands first on them, you are still the one making the most, not the scalper.
And they will wait and see. If they sell good, the prices will stay there. If sales go down, prices will go down too. It is a market, and we (as in buyers, thought not all) did screwed ourselves.
Take is as you will, but that is raw reality of the things.
Neatfeatguy
Posts: 1,613 +3,045
That's a pretty good deal on the 3080, compared to what else is out there and prices folks are asking for them.
I got my 5900X two years ago (a few months after it launched) and I had a lot of crashing issues, but thankfully an updated BIOS for my MB was released 2 days after I got my 5900X and it released with a new AGESA 1.2.0.0 and all my crashing issues vanished. I'm not too keen on wanting to be an early adapter for new tech testing. If that updated AGESA didn't come out I may have outright just returned the CPU and washed my hands of it. It was honestly the first and only time I had issues with any CPU....I've had DOA motherboards and faulty RAM, but never a CPU issue. Out of all the past AMD and Intel CPUs I've used in builds, this 5900X almost turned me away from AMD this time.....lesson learned, avoid brand new tech and wait a while to make sure issues are hammered out.
Beerfloat
Posts: 846 +1,571
In any kind of business, some companies win by offering the most desirable product. Some win by being the cheapest. And some just sort of subsist and never really move the scales all that much. Hi AMD GPUs!
StrikerRocket
Posts: 225 +186
Yes, bad timing for AMD on this one, but a couple of days to solve the problem is okayish, I guess... but not anymore for me. I always wait a couple years to upgrade when I do it. I buy my photo gear like that too, in fact pretty much everything, and it's perfectly ok for an amateur. A pro would say otherwise, but for a pro, it's a work tool that can make a difference, so not the same needs.
Idk where you find good deals, they all sell at the similar prices. I know because I ve been monitoring used GPUs for some time. 900 for 3090, 500-650 for 3080
Neatfeatguy
Posts: 1,613 +3,045
"Good deal" is a relative term, the phrase varies from person to person. What you might not see as a good deal for getting a 3080 on the second hand market for $600, someone else might think it's a steal!
With how pricing is right now with the 4080/4090 and 7900XT/XTX - coupled with what the 4070Ti should be releasing at ($799 and if they sell well or not) - will continue to shape the used market prices.
If the 4070Ti sells well and they start selling for $1000+ from third parties, expect to see the used market for 3080s and 3090s to go up more. People will want a card that's not far off from the 4070Ti (which, until proven otherwise, I think will be right around a 3090 performance on average), spending $900 on a used 3090 with more VRAM might be the better deal for people and getting a $650 3080 that's only about 15% behind a 3090 might be a helluva deal for people instead of $1000+ 4070Ti from third parties.
In the end, we just have to wait and see how things unfold. Maybe the 4070Ti won't sell well and the used market will stay stagnant with pricing or even drop some. I mean, who'd really want to spend $900 or so on a 3090 when they can have a newer model 4070Ti that give similar (or slightly better) performance for $800?
StrikerRocket
Posts: 225 +186
I agree with neatfeatguy, that's what I wanted to say. I think, when comparing the average second hand prices for a 3080, that 620 euros for an ASUS ROG Strix OC GAMING is a pretty good price, given the fact that the one I got was practically brand new, as I said. I could buy a 4080 or 4090 if I wanted, but I simply refuse to be gouged like that, so now, I always get my gear second hand 1-2 years after it came out. I partially avoid being scammed and I also avoid being a beta tester. After all, this hobby is just a... hobby, so spending so much money is a little overkill, for me at least.
You have to monitor prices on a daily basis and look for one that is advertised at a significant discount compared to others, that's what I do, and if you're patient enough, there's always an item that comes up over time.
Avro Arrow
Posts: 3,721 +4,821
"We can complain about the price of high-end GPUs all day, but ultimately it's going to change nothing if people keep buying them, and buying them they are, on mass it seems. Right now there isn't a single RTX 4090 to be found at most retailers, with most stores showing several different makes and models and none of them are in stock -- even the Asus ROG Strix one that sells for $2,000."
I agree with this totally but there is one thing that must be taken into account. A lot of those cards didn't get bought by gamers, they were bought by scalpers. According to pcpartpicker, the RTX 4090s ARE available but suspiciously, only on Amazon and even more suspiciously, for far more than anyone else had them listed at. Check this out:
ASUS TUF RTX 4090:
Best Buy & ASUS: $1,800 - no stock
Newegg: $1,810 - no stock
Amazon: $2,348+ - IN STOCK (and not from Amazon)
PNY XLR8 Gaming VERTO EPIC-X RGB GeForce RTX 4090:
B&H, GameStop, Best Buy, Newegg: $1,600
Amazon: $2,020+ - IN STOCK (and not from Amazon)
MSI GAMING TRIO GeForce RTX 4090:
GameStop: $1,600 - no stock
Newegg: $1,609 - no stock
Amazon: $2,078.21+ - IN STOCK (and again, not from Amazon)
There are MANY more but I think that you get the idea.
So, I think that the "sales" numbers of the RTX 4090 have been inflated by these scalpers buying them at regular price only to gouge people for an extra $400-$500. This is yet another reason why I won't buy from Amazon. These "3rd-party sellers" probably buy them from Amazon only to mark them up further and Amazon allows it.
I agree with this totally but there is one thing that must be taken into account. A lot of those cards didn't get bought by gamers, they were bought by scalpers. According to pcpartpicker, the RTX 4090s ARE available but suspiciously, only on Amazon and even more suspiciously, for far more than anyone else had them listed at. Check this out:
ASUS TUF RTX 4090:
Best Buy & ASUS: $1,800 - no stock
Newegg: $1,810 - no stock
Amazon: $2,348+ - IN STOCK (and not from Amazon)
PNY XLR8 Gaming VERTO EPIC-X RGB GeForce RTX 4090:
B&H, GameStop, Best Buy, Newegg: $1,600
Amazon: $2,020+ - IN STOCK (and not from Amazon)
MSI GAMING TRIO GeForce RTX 4090:
GameStop: $1,600 - no stock
Newegg: $1,609 - no stock
Amazon: $2,078.21+ - IN STOCK (and again, not from Amazon)
There are MANY more but I think that you get the idea.
So, I think that the "sales" numbers of the RTX 4090 have been inflated by these scalpers buying them at regular price only to gouge people for an extra $400-$500. This is yet another reason why I won't buy from Amazon. These "3rd-party sellers" probably buy them from Amazon only to mark them up further and Amazon allows it.
StrikerRocket
Posts: 225 +186
This is probably the case, and this is why I never buy the most expensive computer parts froms amazon, apart from SSDs and small components. In fact, I never buy GPUs brand new any more, same with CPUs BTW.
For people who don't understand the concept of turning graphics down, yes, PC gaming will be dead. For everyone else, they'll just be enjoying games at lower settings and remembering that graphics don't make a game good.$200 used to buy you a decent mid-range card, but now you need to spend $500. You're getting into the territory of a console price for just the graphics card. Unless price and supply correct themselves, PC gaming will be dead soon.
godrilla
Posts: 1,363 +893
GeForce Now upgraded to 4080 and dlss3
www.pcgamer.com
FYI.
Nvidia bringing RTX 4080s to GeForce Now with DLSS 3 and 240Hz mode support
Nvidia's game streaming service is also expanding to new regions across the globe.
