2021 was a challenging year for GPUs and PC enthusiasts in general. Even if the GPU shortage issue hasn’t yet subsided, improvements are expected in the next months. Yes, it seems like we’ll be able to buy Budget Graphic Cards once more in 2022. Despite the paucity of available pre-existing GPUs, both Nvidia and AMD were able to keep the industry afloat with a number of fresh launches. Since it is safe to assume that there will be a large selection of affordable/budget graphic cards available once the stocks begin to flow through the retail, we wanted to highlight some of the better possibilities.
Despite their lower cost, many of the newest budget graphics cards function adequately. Even the newest games can be played at 1080p with decent graphic settings on the best cheap graphics cards currently on the market. You don’t absolutely need to spend more than $1,000 on a GPU to play games or even create content, despite the fact that the best graphics cards on the market tend to get the most attention. So let’s start with the list and examine the available options.
Best budget graphic cards for 1080p gaming: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super
A dual-fan-equipped MSI GTX 1660 Super graphics card
We still think the GeForce GTX 1660 Super is a competitive 1080p card even after Nvidia updated its entry-level GPU lineup with the RTX 3050 desktop card. In Nvidia’s Turing lineup, the GTX 1660 Super sits between the GTX 1660 and GTX 1660 Ti and offers a significant performance boost over the GTX 1660 GPU. It costs around $200. In fact, it delivers general performance that is around $50 cheaper than the GTX 1660 Ti, making it a great option for those looking to acquire inexpensive graphics cards.
According to its specifications, the GTX 1660 Super features 1408 stream processors and 88 texture units. We’re looking at a 1,785MHz boost clock and a 1,530MHz base clock. Regarding memory configuration, the GTX 1660 Super contains 6GB of GDDR6 video memory with verified memory rates of up to 14Gbps. It comfortably outperforms the cheap graphic cards GTX 1650 and GTX 1660 to establish itself as a dependable performer in the entry-level market. If you don’t really care about ray-tracing or DLSS, the GTX 1660 Super will still be an excellent choice in 2022. Although it’s not the most powerful GPU on the market, it can surely play 1080p games with no issues.
The GTX 1660 draws as much as 130W of power and it’s recommended to use a 500W PSU for a build with this GPU. The GTX 1660 Super shows solid performance in real-world gaming tests too. We’re only looking at a marginal performance difference to the GTX 1660 Ti which makes it excellent value. Just make sure you don’t pay over the odds for one.
Best AMD Budget graphic cards worth checking out: AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT
Along with the Ryzen 7000 desktop CPUs and the Ryzen 6000 series mobile chips, AMD also announced a new desktop graphics card at CES 2022. Given its $199 suggested retail price, the RX 6500 XT is a great value and today’s top news. Therefore, the Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU, which was also unveiled at the same event, is less expensive.
There are 1,024 RDNA 2 cores and 4GB of GDDR6 VRAM in the Radeon RX 6500 XT. In a cheap card, it’s not a deal-breaker, but you’ll frequently reach the VRAM maximum. However, compared to graphics cards like the GTX 1650 and RX 570, it may deliver up to 59% higher gaming performance, which still qualifies it as a reasonable upgrade over less modern hardware.
The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT has 16 processing units and 16 ray accelerators, according to the specs. There are plans for a boost frequency of up to 2,815 MHz and a game frequency of 2,610 MHz. Regarding memory configuration, the RX 6500 XT has 4GB of GDDR6 memory that operates at 18Gbps speeds. It supports memory bandwidth up to 144GB/s through a 64-bit interface. For a configuration employing the 107W total graphics power of the RX 6500 XT, AMD advises a 400W power supply. AMD also unveiled a new desktop graphics card at CES 2022 in addition to the Ryzen 7000 desktop CPUs and Ryzen 6000 series mobile chips. Given its $199 suggested retail price, the RX 6500 XT is a great value and today’s top news. Therefore, the Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU, which was also unveiled at the same event, is less expensive.
Best Intel Budget graphic cards: Intel Arc A750
Only the market segment that is more cost-conscious is targeted by Intel’s first consumer-focused graphics effort in two decades. Although the Arc A750 isn’t cheap, its $289 suggested retail price is affordable enough to provide any low-cost system a sizable amount of power. It is better than both an NVIDIA RTX 3050 and a GTX 1660 Super and has more contemporary capabilities that will be relevant for many years.
The Flagship Arc A770 performs similarly, with just a few less Xe and ray tracing cores. With some modest performance adjustments and an increase in the power limit from the original 190W to a (safe) 225W, the A750 may be made even more similar to its sister. In general, the A750 performs better than the Nvidia RTX 3060 and has a far superior price-to-performance ratio.
The A750 boasts features that not even the RTX 4090 has, such as DisplayPort 2.0 and HDMI 2.1 in addition to performance and ray tracing. The fact that it was among the first cards to include a hardware AV1 encoder makes it the perfect choice for video makers who prefer to be on the cutting edge. Due to a lack of hardware support, older games, especially those that rely on DX9, have certain issues. However, newer technologies like DX12 and Vulkan perform incredibly well on the A750. Due to its 8GB of VRAM, it also boasts better specifications than some of its rivals.
