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Our editors’ graphics card recommendations – June 2023
30/6/2023
Translation: Megan Cornish
Need a new graphics card? You’re in the right place. Read on to find out what I’d buy right now – on budgets ranging from paltry to princely.
It’s 2023. Unfortunately, because even cheap graphics cards cost a lot this year. They were cheap in 2014. Back then, high-end models cost around 580 US dollars. Adjusted for inflation, that would be 745 US dollars today. However, the current fastest graphics card – the RTX 4090 – costs over 1,500 francs/euros (as of 30 June 2023). That’s steep, and it’s why the first category of this guide is entitled «Money’s no object».
Before we get started, you should consider this as a guide rather than conclusive truth. I’ll give you recommendations for graphics cards that are in the stated price ranges and available at the time of publication. The graphics card market is also currently changing and prices are going down. However, it’s difficult to say how low they’ll go and how long it will last. Have other recommendations? Let me know in the comments. I’ll try to keep the article as up-to-date as possible and update it completely in the event of any major changes.
Money’s no object: the RTX 4090
If you want the fastest card out there right now, go for the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090. The current cheapest model costs over 1,500 francs/euros. For that price, you could buy three Playstation 5s. Admittedly, the RTX 4090 also manages eight times as many teraflops as Sony’s console, but you also need all the other PC components in addition to the cost of the card.
In short, the RTX 4090 is really fast and really expensive. It’s the only card that can play current AAA titles in UHD resolution with maximum details and 100 frames per second – and without frills such as AI upscaling or frame generation. It also offers the best performance in editing and 3D graphics programs.
If I had the money, I’d go for the water-cooled model from Inno3D. The price is fair compared to air-cooled models and I like to cool my devices with water.
You can find all RTX 4090 models here
The 1,000 club: the RTX 4080 or the RX 7900 XTX
First of all, the graphics cards in this price range give you fewer frames per franc/euro than the RTX 4090. If you set your limit at 1,300 francs/euros, you have to go with the Nvidia RTX 4080 or the AMD RX 7900 XTX. If you want to play with ray tracing, the slightly more expensive RTX 4080 is worth it. If you don’t care about fancy light and shadow effects, you’re better off with the RX 7900 XTX. This will save you some money, which you can invest in other PC components, a great DIY keyboard or food. If you need the card for rendering or complex video projects, the RTX 4080 would be a better fit.
You can go with your preference in terms of a manufacturer. If you’re a fan of Noctua, you can get an RTX 4080 with fans and design by the Austrian cooling expert. As far as AMD cards go, I recommend a Sapphire model. According to our statistics, they have a higher warranty score than other manufacturers, but most cases are settled within three days.
You can find all RTX 4080 models here and all RX 7900 XTX models here.
The new mid-range: the RX 7900 XT or the RTX 4070
If you have around 800 francs/euros to spend, I’d recommend the RX 7900 XT. It has 20 GB of memory, offers more performance than the comparably expensive RTX 4070 Ti in classic rasteriser games and also offers competitive ray tracing. Depending on the productivity application, the AMD card and the Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti sometimes have the edge. I don’t recommend the latter because I find its 12 GB memory too small for the price.
If your budget is around 600 francs/euros, Nvidia’s RTX 4070 has no competition for the time being. AMD doesn’t have anything comparable. Only the RX 6960 XT from its previous generation offers a similar level of performance. However, the few models currently available are too expensive. As soon as they’re cheaper, they’ll quickly sell out. The RTX 4070 is also significantly more power efficient. If you absolutely need a card in the same performance and price range as the Nvidia GPU, there’s no way around it. I’d advise you to wait a little if you can. I think the RTX 4070 will get cheaper in the near future as sales aren’t exactly racing along. And as soon as AMD brings out competition with an RX 7800 XT, things will change again anyway.
You can find all RX 7900 XT modelshere and all RTX 4070 models here.
Entry-level card or PlayStation 5: the RTX 4060 Ti or the RX 6700 XT
Getting into PC gaming is expensive in 2023. You have to shell out almost as much for a GPU as you would for a console to get reasonable frame rates. My current recommendations up to 500 francs/euros are an RTX 4060 Ti from the current Nvidia generation or an RX 6700 XT from the previous AMD generation. At the moment, the RTX 4060 Ti costs between 400 and almost 500 francs/euros, depending on the model and manufacturer. The RX 6700 XT is a bit cheaper – apart from overpriced slow sellers.
My biggest criticism of the RTX 4060 Ti is the finely calculated memory. 8 GB is currently sufficient for maximum details in 1080p resolution in most games. But things get critical in 1440p. In the future, games in 1080p should also require more graphics memory, so I wonder if the card is future proof. The ray tracing performance and the upscaling technology DLSS 3 are positives for the Nvidia card. AMD simply has nothing comparable. The RX 6700 XT offers more memory with 12 GB, better preparing you for future games. The cards don’t use anything in classic rasteriser games.
You can find all RTX 4060 Ti cards here and all RX 6700 XT cards here.
Even budget cards cost a lot: the RX 7600 A750
Budget graphics cards still exist – but, again, you’ll have to dig deeper than before at 250 to 300 francs/euros. AMD and Intel both offer models in this segment. Compared to the Intel Arc A750, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 offers around 12 per cent more performance. Depending on the model and manufacturer, this roughly matches the difference in price. If you find an RX 7600 for less than 300 francs/euros, it’s preferable to the Arc A750. Otherwise, the A750 offers solid performance in 1080p resolution.
You can find all RX 7600 cards here and all Arc A750 cards here.
Kevin Hofer
Senior Editor
kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.chFrom big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.