With the advent of the RTX 4000 series that shook up the entire GPU market and the subsequent RX 7000 series launch by AMD, we live in exciting times to be looking for a new graphics card for gaming or rendering purposes. It is difficult to navigate what are surely turbulent times with old products being phased out and relaunched, even as newer GPUs vie for greater balance between power and price to compete in a strained market.

Whether you want the best of the best RTX 4090 SKUs possible, something that offers the best value in the current market or something to get started with, Team GameRant has you covered on all aspects of your purchase as we do the research to help you make an informed choice while navigating a turbulent graphics card market in 2023.

The Asus RTX 4090 Strix OC needs no introduction. It's currently named the best performance RTX 4090 on our RTX 4090 comparison guide and to date is the fastest Ada Lovelace-based card money can buy. It is therefore of little surprise that it tops our list as the best overall graphics card that money can buy. Even the monolithic design around the vapor chamber has found mass appeal with system builders who praise its build quality and RGB lighting. The fresh white finish also arguably looks much better than more standard and sleek black finishes, but that comes down to personal preference for most users.

What's not up for debate is the fact that the ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX™ 4090 is packed with genuine top of the line specs. Built with a 24-phase VRM, excellent thermals, and a full 600W power limit, the Strix OC is expected to push boundaries on a chip that already pushed the definition of what is possible in this generation of graphics cards. This 4090 graphics card additionally features 4th Generation Tensor Cores and 3rd Generation RT Cores, doubling both the AI and ray tracing performance from previous versions. At the same time, the framing and backplate is more durable than ever and pairs with an overall improved design that maximizes airflow and heat dissipation.

AMD's Radeon RX 6600 XT aims to offer the very best 1080p experiences and heartily accomplishes its goal. Gamers won't find a GPU that provides this much bang for the buck. Plus, with its low power consumption and excellent thermal performance, you won't have to worry about upgrading your whole rig to accommodate this card. After all, AMD threw some of its best specs at this GPU, including DirectX raytracing (DXR) using RDNA2 architecture support.

Although it isn't the absolute cheapest graphics card that can get the job done most of the time, it is the best budget GPU overall. AMD doesn't skimp on features, but rather spends its resources wisely. For example, the RX 6600 XT uses a silencing heat sink design contoured to help direct airflow, while an anti-bending strap creates an affordable increase in durability. Plus, players willing to wait for a sale, which happen often, can get this graphics card at even lower prices.

RTX 4080s are hard cards to recommend given the close price proximity on both sides of the aisle with RTX 4090 SKUs at the higher end and the AMD 7900XTX at the lower end. The Zotac RTX 4080 Trinity OC somewhat negates some of these negatives by being available at a more affordable MSRP of $1199 versus the competition where we see RTX 4080s trading for as much as $1500 based on demand and AIB partner pricing.

All in, despite being overshadowed by the RTX 4090, the RTX 4080 is no slouch in real-world performance and delivers significant gains versus the RTX 3080TI, which it replaces at the $1000ish price point. While it is anywhere between 30 to 50% faster than its predecessor, it also has a slightly lower power profile, pushing at a maximum of 320W vs the last generation Ampere card clocking in at 350W.

Zotac's take on the RTX 4080 via its entry-level is to offer marginal aesthetic gains while offering better-tuned clocks while staying true to the MSRP of $1,199 that Nvidia commands for its FE RTX 4080.

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The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Gaming OC 12G currently commands the sweet spot for high-end GPUs. While it is slightly slower in rasterization benchmarks versus the competing AMD 7900XT (which is more competitive given the fact that it currently trades at a discount), it does even the odds, sometimes even gaining a lead thanks to DLSS 3 'frame generation' tech coming into play; This, in its current iteration is far superior to AMD's on proprietary FSR solution.

The RTX 4070TI however is more power efficient than its AMD counterpart, It also has a considerable lead when it comes to rendering Ray-traced content; Nvidia's current RT hardware solutions are at least a generation ahead of AMD's own offerings and this tends to show when handling medium-to-high ray tracing workloads.

The 4070TI does have a tough upsell tho for its features as the RX 7900XT tends to be a more compelling upgrade for users looking for simply better-rasterized performance to boot. This is also why we lean towards one of the most cost-effective RTX 4070TI units available in the market (after the Amazon coupon is factored in).

As gaming continues to be more accessible to consumers at all price points, part of the driving force has been immensely better value cards at the low-end or the entry-level GPU market. This is a market that AMD has been spearheading for a while, whether one considers the extremely well-priced RX400 and RX500 lineups or simply AMD's overall value proposition with the RX 6000 series lineup.

The XFX-badged RX 6600 is one such entrant that clocks in at the sub $250 price bracket while sitting somewhere between the Nvidia RTX 3050 and the 3060 in terms of performance metrics; It can regularly trade blows with the latter in some games but does have limited ray-tracing potential given AMD lags behind in this department.

Currently, however, neither the RTX 3050/3060 nor the RX 6600 are great ray-tracing cards given their performance limitations as well as target market, which somewhat allows us to ignore ray-tracing performance as a major factor or selling point for the RTX 3000 series cards. While the RX 6600 does run slightly hotter than similar SKUs, it stays within proscribed thermal limits with ease.

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FAQ

Q: What GPU should I get for the best ray-tracing experience?

All Nvidia RTX series cards generally outperform their AMD counterparts for raytracing. If that is a comparable RTX card, it generally will deliver more favorable performance out of the box.

Q: Should I wait to get a new GPU in 2023?

The computer hardware landscape is ever-changing. But the uptrend in prices has been visible since the last generation as GPUs move to higher price points. Part of this is due to more expensive silicon, more elaborate cooling as well as higher margins by the chipmakers. That does mean that prices might not necessarily drop significantly throughout 2023 despite higher initial prices for most GPUs.