Which PCIe DirectX 12 capable Graphics Card to buy in Mar 2024?
This serves as a one-stop location for decision-making for buying graphics cards.
BUYING GRAPHICS CARDS GUIDE
Current Trend
The main stream cards (aka entry-level cards) now come standard with 8GB memory, to support resolution of 4K UHD resolution 3840 x 2160 pixels.
Most graphic cards come with 1 to 2 HDMI ports and up to 3 display ports. High-end graphics cards will require a minimum of 750W/850W (recommended 1,000W or better) power supply on a Desktop PC using a high-end CPU.
Nvidia GTX 40 series Game Ready Driver
GeForce 551.61 WHQL 22 Feb 2024
AMD RX7000 / RX6000 Series
Adrenalin 24.2.1 (WHQL Recommended) 26 Feb 2024
Intel Arc graphics
Version: 31.0.101.5333 (WHQL) 26 Feb 2024
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS for the non-gamers
Nowadays, motherboards do not come with integrated graphics. Instead the specific CPU comes with integrated graphics.
Most Intel processors come with integrated graphics while AMD's CPU with the G designation e.g. AMD Ryzen 3200G has an integrated graphics capability.
Motherboards that support CPU with integrated graphics come with at least a 1 HDMI port to connect to your monitor/screen. It also has a PCIe 16x slot to allow the future installation of a discrete graphics card.
COMPARISON OF CARDS IN TERMS OF GRAPHICAL SPEED/POWER
Intel Cards
Arc A770 16GB and 8GB
Arc A750 8GB - comparable to RTX 3050
Arc A580
Arc A380
AMD Cards
RX7900XTX 24GB - Roughly on par with RTX4080
RX7900 XT 20GB
RX7800XT 16GB
RX7700XT 12GB
RX 7600 8GB - replaces the RX 6700 series
RX6950XT 16GB - slightly faster than RX6900XT
RX6900XT 16GB - outperforms RTX 3800 marginally
RX6800XT 16GB - comparable to RTX 3080
RX6800 16GB -
RX6700 12GB -
RX6600 8GB - Entry model for RX 6000 series
Nvidia Cards
RTX4090 24GB - Fastest Nvidia card to be!
RTX4080 16GB
RTX4080 12GB (cancelled, replaced by RTX 4070 Ti)
RTX4070 Ti 12GB
RTX4070 12GB - roughly RTX 3080 performance
RTX4060 Ti 8 GB
RTX 3090 24GB -
RTX 3080 10GB -
RTX 3070 8GB -
RTX 3060 8GB -
RTX 3050 8GB - Entry model for RTX 30 series
RT (Ray Tracing)
Scenes rendered using ray tracing are more realistic as light, shadows, and reflections work how they would in real life.
Supported hardware:
Nvidia RTX 20, RTX 30, RTX 40 series
AMD RX 6000, 7000 series
DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling)
AI-based technology developed by NVIDIA. This technology relies on the AI processors called Tensor Cores, only found on RTX 20, 30 and 40 series cards.
It uses AI or deep learning technology to upscale images from a lower resolution to a higher one while maintaining (almost) the same level of visual quality. The benefit? Higher frame rates.
DLSS 3.5 - RTX 40, 30, 20 series
DLSS 3.0 - RTX 40 series
DLSS 2.0 - RTX 20, 30 series
FSR (Fidelity FX Super Resolution)
A type of rendering technique that looks to boost framerates in games and enable quality high-resolution gaming developed by AMD. FSR works by rendering frames at a lower resolution and then using an open-source spatial upscaling algorithm to make the game look as though it's running at a higher resolution.
The latest FSR 3.0 has five different modes: Native AA, Quality, Balanced, Performance and Ultra Performance.
FSR 3.0 - transforms gaming experiences with massive and responsive framerates in supported games using a combination of super resolution temporal upscaling, advanced frame generation, and built-in latency reduction technology.
FSR 2.0 - a temporal upscaling technology, which takes motion data from several frames to recompose the image and get as close as possible to the intended graphical quality of the original. It is designed to deliver similar or better than native image quality and boosts framerates in supported games. uses
FSR 1.0 - a simple spatial upscaling technology that renders game visuals at a lower resolution for faster performance, then upscaling the image to fit your monitor resolution.
Works on RX7000 and RX6000 series. Also works on some Nvidia and Intel graphics.
This serves as a one-stop location for decision-making for buying graphics cards.
BUYING GRAPHICS CARDS GUIDE
Current Trend
The main stream cards (aka entry-level cards) now come standard with 8GB memory, to support resolution of 4K UHD resolution 3840 x 2160 pixels.
Most graphic cards come with 1 to 2 HDMI ports and up to 3 display ports. High-end graphics cards will require a minimum of 750W/850W (recommended 1,000W or better) power supply on a Desktop PC using a high-end CPU.
Nvidia GTX 40 series Game Ready Driver
GeForce 551.61 WHQL 22 Feb 2024
AMD RX7000 / RX6000 Series
Adrenalin 24.2.1 (WHQL Recommended) 26 Feb 2024
Intel Arc graphics
Version: 31.0.101.5333 (WHQL) 26 Feb 2024
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS for the non-gamers
Nowadays, motherboards do not come with integrated graphics. Instead the specific CPU comes with integrated graphics.
Most Intel processors come with integrated graphics while AMD's CPU with the G designation e.g. AMD Ryzen 3200G has an integrated graphics capability.
Motherboards that support CPU with integrated graphics come with at least a 1 HDMI port to connect to your monitor/screen. It also has a PCIe 16x slot to allow the future installation of a discrete graphics card.
COMPARISON OF CARDS IN TERMS OF GRAPHICAL SPEED/POWER
Intel Cards
Arc A770 16GB and 8GB
Arc A750 8GB - comparable to RTX 3050
Arc A580
Arc A380
AMD Cards
RX7900XTX 24GB - Roughly on par with RTX4080
RX7900 XT 20GB
RX7800XT 16GB
RX7700XT 12GB
RX 7600 8GB - replaces the RX 6700 series
RX6950XT 16GB - slightly faster than RX6900XT
RX6900XT 16GB - outperforms RTX 3800 marginally
RX6800XT 16GB - comparable to RTX 3080
RX6800 16GB -
RX6700 12GB -
RX6600 8GB - Entry model for RX 6000 series
Nvidia Cards
RTX4090 24GB - Fastest Nvidia card to be!
RTX4080 16GB
RTX4080 12GB (cancelled, replaced by RTX 4070 Ti)
RTX4070 Ti 12GB
RTX4070 12GB - roughly RTX 3080 performance
RTX4060 Ti 8 GB
RTX 3090 24GB -
RTX 3080 10GB -
RTX 3070 8GB -
RTX 3060 8GB -
RTX 3050 8GB - Entry model for RTX 30 series
RT (Ray Tracing)
Scenes rendered using ray tracing are more realistic as light, shadows, and reflections work how they would in real life.
Supported hardware:
Nvidia RTX 20, RTX 30, RTX 40 series
AMD RX 6000, 7000 series
DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling)
AI-based technology developed by NVIDIA. This technology relies on the AI processors called Tensor Cores, only found on RTX 20, 30 and 40 series cards.
It uses AI or deep learning technology to upscale images from a lower resolution to a higher one while maintaining (almost) the same level of visual quality. The benefit? Higher frame rates.
DLSS 3.5 - RTX 40, 30, 20 series
DLSS 3.0 - RTX 40 series
DLSS 2.0 - RTX 20, 30 series
FSR (Fidelity FX Super Resolution)
A type of rendering technique that looks to boost framerates in games and enable quality high-resolution gaming developed by AMD. FSR works by rendering frames at a lower resolution and then using an open-source spatial upscaling algorithm to make the game look as though it's running at a higher resolution.
The latest FSR 3.0 has five different modes: Native AA, Quality, Balanced, Performance and Ultra Performance.
FSR 3.0 - transforms gaming experiences with massive and responsive framerates in supported games using a combination of super resolution temporal upscaling, advanced frame generation, and built-in latency reduction technology.
FSR 2.0 - a temporal upscaling technology, which takes motion data from several frames to recompose the image and get as close as possible to the intended graphical quality of the original. It is designed to deliver similar or better than native image quality and boosts framerates in supported games. uses
FSR 1.0 - a simple spatial upscaling technology that renders game visuals at a lower resolution for faster performance, then upscaling the image to fit your monitor resolution.
To run FSR, the game must support it.Works on RX7000 and RX6000 series. Also works on some Nvidia and Intel graphics.
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