We live in exciting times to shop for a new graphics card for gaming or rendering, with the introduction of the RTX 4000 series shaking up the entire GPU market and the subsequent launch of AMD’s RX 7000 series. With older products being phased out and then relaunched while competing for the same price points as older GPUs, navigating what are undoubtedly turbulent times is challenging.
Team Nexus of gaming has you covered on all aspects of your purchase as we conduct the research to assist you in making an informed decision while navigating a turbulent graphics card market in 2023, whether you want the best RTX 4090 SKUs possible, something that offers the best value in the current market, or something to get started with.
ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 White OC 24G
There is no need to introduce the Asus RTX 4090 Strix OC. Currently, it is the fastest Ada Lovelace-based card money can buy, topping the charts on our RTX 4090 comparison chart. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that it tops our list of the best graphics card money can buy.
The Strix OC is anticipated to push limits on a chip that has already pushed the definition of what is possible in this generation of graphics cards. It has a 24-phase VRM, excellent thermals, and a full 600W power limit.
At the same time, system builders who commend the build quality and RGB lighting of the monolithic design around the vapor chamber have discovered its widespread appeal. Additionally, it appears to be much better in white, though most users will likely prefer another color.
XFX Speedster QICK319 Radeon RX 6750XT CORE
The AMD effort to reclaim the mid-range GPU market includes the XFX Speedster QICK319 Radeon RX 6750XT CORE, which is marketed toward consumers looking to spend less than $500 on a GPU to get them through this generation. However, it performs admirably, competing with Nvidia’s noticeably more expensive RTX 3060TI cards.
It is significantly more future-proof than its competitors in the same market segment thanks to its 12GB of GDDR6X VRAM. The QICK319 has a 3-fan cooler installed by XFX, which allows it to maintain a reasonable level of cooling at the expense of system space.
Overall, the RX 6750XT is an excellent GPU that will enable users to game at FHD and 2K resolutions, render at a respectable speed, and future-proof their rigs in terms of GPU VRAM requirements, even though reports indicate that games like Hogwarts Legacy are pushing VRAM requirements at lower resolutions. However, the RX 6750XT’s weaker RT performance limits its value proposition.
ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Trinity OC
Given the close price proximity on both ends of the spectrum—with RTX 4090 SKUs at the higher end and the AMD 7900XTX at the lower end—RTX 4080 graphics cards are difficult to recommend. By having a lower MSRP of $1199 than the competition, where RTX 4080s can sell for as much as $1500 depending on demand and AIB partner pricing, the Zotac RTX 4080 Trinity OC somewhat offsets some of these drawbacks.
Overall, the RTX 4080 is no slouch regarding real-world performance and offers noticeable improvements over the RTX 3080TI, which it replaces at the roughly $1,000 price point, despite being overshadowed by the RTX 4090. While it is anywhere from 30 to 50% faster than its predecessor, it also uses slightly less power, pushing a maximum of 320W as opposed to the 350W of the previous Ampere card generation.
With its entry-level model, Zotac’s take on the RTX 4080 aims to provide minor, aesthetic improvements while maintaining the MSRP of $1,199 that Nvidia demands its FE RTX 4080.
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Gaming OC 12G
The sweet spot for top-tier GPUs is currently held by the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Gaming OC 12G. Since the AMD 7900XT is currently trading at a discount, it is more competitive than the DLSS 3 ‘frame generation’ technology, which, in its current iteration, is far superior to AMD’s own proprietary FSR solution. Despite being slightly slower in rasterization benchmarks than the AMD 7900XT, it sometimes outperforms and even gains the upper hand.
While AMD’s offerings are at least a generation behind Nvidia’s current RT hardware solutions, this usually becomes apparent when handling medium- to high-level ray tracing workloads. The RTX 4070TI, on the other hand, is more power-efficient than its AMD counterpart and also enjoys a significant advantage when rendering Ray-traced content.
However, the RX 7900XT is a more persuading upgrade for users looking for simply better-rasterized performance, making the 4070TI a difficult upsell for its features. This is another reason we tend to favor one of the RTX 4070TI products that is the most reasonably priced on the market (after the Amazon coupon is factored in).
XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6600 CORE
The low-end or entry-level GPU market’s incredibly better value cards have been one of the driving forces behind gaming becoming more accessible to consumers at all price points. Whether one looks at the extremely affordable RX400 and RX500 lineups or just AMD’s overall value proposition with the RX 6000 series lineup, this is a market that AMD has been leading for a while.
One such product is the XFX-badged RX 6600, which clocks in at under $250 and falls between the Nvidia RTX 3050 and the 3060 in terms of performance metrics. It can regularly compete with the latter in some games but has limited ray-tracing potential due to AMD’s disadvantage in this area.
However, given their performance constraints and intended market, neither the RTX 3050/3060 nor the RX 6600 are currently excellent ray-tracing cards. As a result, we can somewhat disregard ray-tracing performance as a significant factor or selling point for the RTX 3000 series cards. The RX 6600 runs hotter than comparable SKUs, but it easily stays within permitted thermal limits.
Well, there you have it! Keep an eye out for the latest content Nexus of Gaming will be posting soon! Stay tuned.
