The Best Budget Graphics Cards

Technology has taken the whole world to whole new levels, and the taste of modernism the computer hardware manufacturers have introduced to the market is inevitable to resist. Thus opting for the top-end pieces of hardware like the best cheap graphics card is the only thing you can do to keep your performance up to par. You can be the best-in-town gamer even without having to spend a fortune on high-end components like a graphics card since the market has the best budget graphics card ready for you. GPU manufacturers went against the track and made pocket-friendly items while retaining high performance and admirable quality. To understand the best tactics for the game that you adore, you need to enjoy it and immerse in it without facing distortion in the pixels or any lagging in the in-game movement. But before that, let’s have a quick overview of a graphics card we also term a graphics controller.

The item you choose to be your best graphics card is responsible for rendering images onto your computer screen and handling graphical tasks in games or other jobs like video editing, streaming, and content creation. The primary factor that immensely affects the in-game performance; thus, the gamer should always choose the best low profile graphics card yet the most suitable one to shine in the gaming arena. But you do not always have to spend a fortune for that purpose like we already mentioned, so today, we will be finding the best graphics card for 1080p 144hz for you that makes your system work flawlessly and goes easy on your pocket. So for your next budget-oriented build, we have made a list of the top-class products amongst which you can easily find the one that pleases you the most. So scroll down and let your hunt begin since it will be the ultimate GPU selecting guide for you.

Our top picks

Quick Shopping Tips:

Do not forget to look at the shopping tips mentioned below. All these points are crucial to know when you are out in the market finding the right card, so read them carefully and keep them in mind.

VRAM: The VRAM of a card which is the abbreviation of video RAM, is one of the essential points that you should note before choosing what card to buy, as it is the total memory of the card. It determines the speed and a lag-free experience as it fetches the essential data while you play a game. The amount and rate of memory o fetching the stored data affect the performance. You must go for 4GB at the very least if you are building a gaming rig.

TDP: The TDP of a graphics card, short for thermal design power, shows the maximum power required to run smoothly. You should choose a card with low TDP so the overall system may stay power-efficient and budget-oriented. The higher the TDP, the higher power the card will suck, which would affect the bills. Most budget cards come with the least possible TDP, making them low-power consumers.

Form Factor: The form factor shows the measuring of dimension ns of a card to call it the size. Cards come in various sizes and dimensions as they can be giant and robust or small and sleek. You should choose one according to your needs and your computer case’s clearance. There are many small cards for the compact rigs, and they work equally well. As for the gigantic instances, you can opt for a humungous card if that pleases your needs.

Overclocking: Overclocking refers to increasing the system’s performance by tweaking its clock frequencies. It can boost gaming performance to an unbelievable extent and matters a lot to pro gamers. That is why choose a card that supports overclocking; however, your priority should be the basic clock speeds, not the ones that overclocked ones give.

Resolution and Refresh Rate: You must keep the specifications of the rest of the components in mind, especially the monitor of your system. The highest resolution it supports and the refresh rate it offers play a role in choosing the right card. So one should not spend additional money on the high-end cards that support more resolution, and faster refresh rate than your monitor can handle.

The Best Budget Graphics Cards: First look

The Best Budget Graphics Cards: In-depth Review

If you are on a quest for an item that not only keeps the graphical processes of your computer in check but also provides you with a fantastic price tag, the MSI GAMING X Radeon RX 5500 XT 8G is what you should be choosing. This product is an excellent blend of two top-notch hardware manufacturing brands and carries the most acclaimed traits of both. It has a pitch-perfect style that makes it the right thing for gaming and multi-tasking. This cheap graphics card is the best solution for all the gamers daring to win esports titles. The dual fan configuration plays its role in making this product an efficient thing and the top-slot item, among plenty others.

This card comes in a small form factor thus is the right choice for anyone looking for a compact GPU for his rig, which does not have much room for the gamers who tend to play at 1080p resolution and do not want to ruin their gaming experiences due to lagging and delayed responses. It comes with 8GB video RAM, which is not the least a gamer should have; thus, processing big modern games would not be a nerve-wracking task for this best budget graphics card. It features commendable boost and base-clock frequencies that enable it to work seamlessly even under pressure, and you can also tweak them a bit. So if you want to spend a bit higher than the low-cost and much lower than the high-cost graphics cards, this product should be your priority.

Now we will jump to the top-tier yet low-priced graphics card, the XFX GTS Radeon RX 580, which has made it to this list due to its sheer performance. The company based this item on Polaris architecture which is quite an acclaimed one amongst the mid-end entries in the GPU market. This product is the most suitable choice for gamers who want higher FPS on 1080p resolution. 8GB of video RAM and GDDR5 one at that it’s pretty good for anyone who tends to play modern games; thus, this card is undisputedly the best runner-up budget graphics card. As you get down to the details of this item, you will know more pros than cons, and that is an excellent reason to spend a few bucks on this item.

Moving on to the features and specifications of this graphics card, we would mention the unprecedented build quality and the modern technologies that the manufacturers have incorporated in this item. This product’s heatsink is an efficient factor that helps the thermal performance boost by many folds. It is a value-for-money thing that works well even under intense loads; thus is the best budget GPU. This GPU is a great thing for the gamers who want to experience the details of their favorite games keenly on undistorted picture quality. As for the video editors out there, this card is a great pick and will do the task faster than most of its rivals.

XFX Radeon RX 570 is an excellent option for everyone who wants to spend a bit less on a GPU but desires the best product in town. The manufacturers have made the top-tier performance far more accessible with this card and have featured it with the latest technologies a modern gamer would demand. The Polaris architecture has been a revolutionary entry in the GPU market since it brings top-class performance down to an affordable price for the masses. The company has put together a solid work that does equally well as the highly-priced products. Let’s discuss what this card offers to the mainstream users in the tech world while not wreaking havoc on their budget.

With its breakneck clock speeds, this item is one of the fastest items present, and it does not let anything hinder its way to achieving the title of the best sub-$150 budget graphics card. The manufacturers have made this item wise as the fans work when you need them and are quiet when the system is no longer under stress. Since it comes VR-ready, it offers an excellent virtual experience, so the gamers must give it a try. The top-quality performance it provides keeps your favorite games away from any choppy experience and enables the user to immerse himself in deep and smooth gameplay. So going for this graphics card should not be a hard choice.

Even among the best value cards, some items cost even lesser but work just fine, and the XFX Radeon RX 550 is one of them. XFX has always stayed ahead of its rivals by providing the users with the most pocket-friendly products, which keeps its legacy intact. This cut-down product is out-and-out the top-shelf thing you might have been looking for to accompany it with your low-end rig. It works efficiently and runs cool even when the user puts forth a lot of pressure during video editing or content creation. It offers the masses far more features than any other item would do at this price, so choosing this card is truly worthwhile.

Now that we are at it let’s not omit that this product comes with class-leading specifications for the gaming community. E-sports do not usually demand a sturdy card since the games are pretty much about the gamer’s expertise. Still, the gamer’s capabilities shine with a friendly and productive product like this cheap graphics card. Furthermore, AMD lets the users crank the graphics settings to get a clear and lag-free display. Many modern ecosystems and media features make it the best entry-level graphics card. So not only for the gamers who are after esports titles, this product is an excellent choice for the home theatre PC owners who want to view vivid picture quality with perfect pixel rendering. The VRAM is not attractive enough, but it would do the job for the esports players.

Next up and probably the most breathtakingly fantastic item on the list is EVGA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER. NVIDIA released this one of the GTX entries not long ago, and it is already a hit in the market. Masses have been going gaga over this graphics card. Not only is it the most suitable thing for most gamers who spend plenty of hours in front of their screens gaming recklessly, but it is also the best sub-$200 budget graphics card. It does not keep your performance limited as it has the fastest chips and runs pretty cool. Another great thing about this cad is that it comes overclocked right out of the box, so you do not have to spend any extra effort on it.

The idle fan stops, affecting energy consumption, making it a power-saving item. It might cost a little higher than other budget items, but its efficiency makes it top the charts. Furthermore, this product is the best budget GPU that satisfies the user entirely. But it has a few drawbacks that may keep you from marking it as a flawless item as there is no hardware support for RTX and DLSS yet. However, it holds the title of an efficient performer and does quite well in AAA titles. In a nutshell, this product is the most suitable option for those looking for an elite-class option in the budget-oriented market.

PNY GeForce GTX 1650 is an exciting entry into the GPU market. It is a thick yet small item that will easily fit into your system no matter how compact it is and how much clearance you have. The company is not ragingly famous, but it has always manufactured top-class products that work well. This item being a well-known 1650 yet a cheap graphics card, this item is already much acclaimed by the masses, and the satisfied users recommend it too. This item by the company is a shot that they had given to the mainstream consumers. Its design is most useful for the users who do not want to deal with the cable-routing max; plus, it fits wherever you want to set it.

Despite its small size, it is sturdy as it has the excellent build quality and nuanced performance. However, this best single-fan budget graphics card runs rather hot at times, which is not readily justifiable for its size, but one can easily manage this issue with a compact cooler. Some of the competitors might take the lead with their thermal performance, but the overall features of this item are pretty astonishing. The solid overclocking performance it delivers is commendable as you can take its performance to a whole new level by playing a bit with its clock speeds. At this price point, you may not expect it to smash the records of the high-end GPUs, but it did not let us down in any area.

While looking around the tech market, how come you would not keep Gigabyte in your mind? The company has been around for ages and has been manufacturing top-tier hardware products, so having a Gigabyte item up your sleeve is the best strategy you could make being a PC builder. The Gigabyte GeForce GT 1030 is one of their high-quality yet low-priced products, and they have embellished it with all the features that the best budget GPU should have. This item comes at a pocket-friendly price and is the best pick for the gamers who want to be esports pro players. Another excellent trait of this product is the low-profile form factor that helps the users fit it into their tiny rigs the right way.

Having NVIDIA’s architecture, this item comes all set to challenge its rivals. You get this item fully packed with features that allow your rig to do its level best while you pressurize it, yet it still lasts longer than most other graphics cards in the market. The clock rates of the best low-profile budget graphics card are already impressive enough, and the manufacturers further astonished us by providing ease of overclocking via AORUS Graphics Engine. In a nutshell, this ATX card is just the right thing for you to opt for if you plan on getting a little powerhouse that may share the burden with your system’s processor as it makes 4K gaming and HTML5 web browsing a breeze.

Since the MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 Super has come on to the scene, PC users are going head over heels for it since it works effortlessly well. With a graphics card on hand, games like Far Cry New Dawn and Shadow of the Tomb Rider will not be much of a task for the gamer. It is the best 1080p cheap graphics card that stirs up serious competition amongst the best yet affordable items. The company has been around for several decades and has proved itself with the excellent reviews that the users give. MSI proved its reliability and provided the users with another masterpiece, a go-to option for pro players.

Not only does it slay the gaming performance, but it also keeps the power consumption in check. The relatively low TDP justifies the statement that we have mentioned earlier. People were looking for a high-class performer while not exceeding the budget allotted to your tasks. This item being a cheap graphics card that performs well, filled that void and has made a mark in the market and a pretty strong one at that. The absence of raytracing technique and DLSS makes it a little off-putting, but it is still one of its kind. It is not only in terms of performance but also aesthetically pleasing. The black build is elegant, and the gamer’s capabilities increase by a thousand folds. This product is a bit pricier than others, but it has worked well for many years with a warranty.

Final Words

PC gaming is now a vogue that has stayed here for quite a long time and has taken over the tech world. There is nothing more crucial than the in-game movement for a gamer after esports titles and has been working on his capabilities and system for so long. A gamer truly despises any lag while playing his favorite game. Thus, he should pick each part of his custom-built PC with utter care. An amateur gamer or one who does not play the most high-end games, the best budget graphics card dies the job pretty well. A graphics card must be of admirable quality, and it must have enough VRAM in a form factor that suits the user. It controls all the graphical processes inside a computer and delivers outstanding picture quality with highly-defined pixels and high FPS on high resolutions.

It must come with the technologies that most modern games require these days. There is a common notion that to get all the features mentioned above in an item, one needs to spend a sky-high price. But keeping the users' demands in mind, many of the major manufacturers have created a lineup of high-quality yet low-priced products which have been exciting the masses. It is not impossible to find a masterpiece that works precisely as the manufacturer claims. To help you out with this, we decided to suggest a pocket-friendly graphics card. Each of them is in a class of its own and is pretty praiseworthy in all aspects. We hope that you have made up your mind to go with one of the most acclaimed yet least-priced products and are ready to order it so that it comes right to your doorstep shortly.

Frequently Asked Questions