The best graphics cards 2024 for gaming in Full HD, WQHD and 4K

So that you don't spend a lot of money unnecessarily on a new graphics card and find the optimal model quickly and easily, we will help you with recommendations for every budget.

The resolution in which you play is particularly important.The reason: The higher it is, the faster (and more expensive) the appropriate graphics card has to be.

We therefore sort our recommendations according to the most important resolutions: Full HD (1920x1080), WQHD (2560x1440) and 4K (3840x2160). Let's go!

How to find the best graphics card for you

Everything else you need to know:

Which Full HD graphics card should I buy?

Savings Tip:
Intel Arc 750 (8 GB)

• Preis:that. 200 euros
• Recommended power supply power:500 Watt

Our recommendations

Our recommendations begin with the Arc A750 from Intel with 8.0 GB of VRAM.

Intel's drivers are not (yet) as sophisticated as those from AMD and Nvidia. However, Intel is constantly improving the situation with updates, so that Arc graphics cards are a serious alternative.

Other options?If you would rather buy a graphics card from AMD or Nvidia, we recommend the Radeon RX 6600 in this price range, which also has 8.0 GB of VRAM. It is just as fast as the Arc A750 and comparably more expensive.

Price-performance tip:
Radeon RX 7600 (8 GB)

• Preis:that. 260 euros
• Recommended power supply power according to the manufacturer:550 Watt

Our recommendations

As a performance tip for Full HD, we recommend the Radeon RX 7600 with 8.0 GB, which is currently available from around 270 euros.

Its big sister, the RX 7600 XT, has twice the amount of video memory, but is also 70 euros more expensive. Since you can usually get along well with 8.0 GB of VRAM in Full HD and the performance increase of the RX 7600 XT is small compared to the RX 7600, we recommend the latter.

Other options?Nvidia can't really score points in this price range; Geforce models only become really interesting from around 300 euros (see also the following performance tip).

Performance tip:
Geforce RTX 4060 (8 GB)

• Preis:that. 290 euros
• Recommended power supply power according to the manufacturer:550 Watt

Our recommendations

The RTX 4060 from Nvidia offers a lot of performance for Full HD for 290 euros. It also supports modern features such as.

Without this extra, the performance gain compared to the last generation RTX 3060 with 4.0 GB more VRAM is limited. Since the prices are close to each other and, as mentioned above, 8.0 GB is still mostly enough for Full HD, we recommend the newer RTX 4060.

Other options?Intel's Arc A770 with 16.0 GB of VRAM has recently fallen in price again and is currently available at a similar cost to the RTX 4060. Anyone who particularly values ​​a lot of video memory will find a potentially attractive alternative here.

Which WQHD graphics card should I buy?

Savings Tip:
Radeon RX 6750 XT (12 GB)

• Preis:that. 320 euros
• Recommended power supply power according to the manufacturer:650 Watt

Our recommendations

The Radeon RX 6750 XT offers a lot of performance and 12.0 GB of VRAM for around 320 euros, making it an attractive option for playing in WQHD.

The biggest catch: Offers at this price are rare, even if they have been reliably available in the last few weeks. If you are interested in buying, it is advisable not to wait too long.

Other options?Nvidia's RTX 4060 Ti is a little faster, especially when it comes to ray tracing. However, for around 370 euros you only get 8.0 GB of VRAM, which we can no longer fully recommend in WQHD.

At around 80 euros, the surcharge for the RTX 4060 Ti with 16.0 GB still tends to be too high compared to the 8 GB model, also taking into account the following price-performance tip.

Price-performance tip:
Radeon RX 7700 XT (12 GB)

• Preis:that. 400 euros
• Recommended power supply power according to the manufacturer:700 Watt

Our recommendations

With the Radeon RX 7700 XT (12.0 GB VRAM), AMD provides our current price/performance tip for gaming in WQHD.

The very rare Radeon RX 6800, which is hardly slower and even has 16.0 GB of VRAM, deserves a special mention at this point. The reason for this is the following offer for only 389 euros. If it is still valid, you are in the right place with the RX 6800.

Buy XFX Radeon RX 6800 SWFT 319 Core Gaming 12 GB at Mindfactory

Other options?Nvidia's RTX 4060 Ti struggles against the RX 7700 XT. The cheaper model for 370 euros has 8.0 GB of VRAM, which is borderline low on memory for playing in WQHD.

The RTX 4060 Ti with 16.0 GB of VRAM, on the other hand, costs significantly more at 450 euros. It is particularly interesting if you place particular value on ray tracing and extras such as Nvidia's frame generation.

Performance tip:
Radeon RX 7900 GRE (16 GB)

• Preis:that. 560 euros
• Recommended power supply power according to the manufacturer:650 Watt

Our recommendations

As a performance tip for WQHD, we choose AMD's Radeon RX 7900 GRE. It was originally only intended for the Chinese market and then for complete PCs. The GPU has now officially made it into local stores for individual purchase.

Their price has also slowly but surely fallen to just 560 euros. In addition to the fair costs and the high performance, it particularly scores with its generous VRAM configuration of 16.0 GB.

Other options?Nvidia has the RTX 4070 and the new RTX 4070 Super on offer in this price range. Without ray tracing, both are usually a little slower than the RX 7900 GRE, and at the same time they have 4.0 GB less VRAM. We therefore recommend the Radeon model.

If you want a slightly cheaper GPU, the RX 7800 XT is also an option. It currently costs just under 500 euros and, like the RX 7900 GRE, has a future-proof 16.0 GB of video memory.

Which 4K graphics card should I buy?

Savings Tip:
Radeon RX 7900 XT (20 GB)

• Preis:that. 700 euros
• Recommended power supply power according to the manufacturer:750 Watt

Our recommendations

With a price of around 700 euros, an impressive 20.0 GB of VRAM and lots of performancecurrently the best choice for gaming in 4K if you don't want to pay 950 euros or more for a new GPU.

Other options?The RX 6950 XT has long been our savings tip for 4K. However, very good offers in the 650 euro range are now so rare that you cannot reliably rely on them.

At almost 800 euros, Nvidia's RTX 4070 Ti is now too expensive in a duel with the RX 7900 XT. The RTX 4070 Ti Super takes its place for around 820 euros. It is a good alternative, especially for playing ray tracing titles, but the overall package is a little more coherent with the RX 7900 XT.

Price-performance tip:
Radeon RX 7900 XTX (24 GB)

• Preis:that. 950 euros
• Recommended power supply power according to the manufacturer:800 Watt

Our recommendations

AMD's current top model RX 7900 XTX offers even more performance and VRAM than the RX 7900 XT. Your 24 GB of video memory is probably oversized even in 4K and in games in the long term. But with VRAM, as is often the case in life, it's better to have it than to need it.

Other options?Nvidia is currently charging at least 1,000 euros in this performance range. Without ray tracing it is only slightly ahead of the RX 7900 XTX, with ray tracing its lead increases.

The RTX 4080 without the Super addition is now more expensive than the RTX 4080 Super and is rarely available. Therefore, buying the RTX 4080 is no longer recommended.

Performance tip:
Geforce RTX 4090 (24 GB)

• Preis:that. 1,760 euros
• Recommended power supply power according to the manufacturer:850 Watt

Our recommendations

Choosing a performance tip for gaming in 4K has long been very easy: Nvidia'sAlthough it is incredibly more expensive, it is also unrivaled in terms of performance.

Other options?They don't exist in this performance class. They follow in the next placesand the, which can beat the RTX 4090 by around 20 to 30 percent. An impressive lead that comes at a price.

What if I play in a different resolution?

Resolution determines how many pixels need to be calculated for each image. The more pixels, the more work for the GPU. The number of pixels is therefore the decisive factor when choosing a suitable graphics card.

So that our recommendations can help you even if you don't play in any of the three basic resolutions in the 16:9 ratio, we list the pixel amounts of other popular resolutions in the tables below for comparison.

Resolutions with a relatively similar number of pixels are assigned to one of our three basic resolutions Full HD, WQHD and 4K, as they also place similar demands on the performance of your graphics card.

Basic resolution Full HD

Base resolution WQHD

Base resolution 4K

Basically:If you play at a resolution with fewer pixels than the base resolution highlighted in italics, the GPU of your choice may be slightly slower. However, if more pixels need to be displayed, a faster model is recommended.

The higher the resolution, the more video memory you tend to need. You can find out more about the important topic of how much VRAM there should be and at what resolution in the following article:

Better a graphics card from AMD, Intel or Nvidia?

There is no universal answer to this. From our point of view, the most important thing is that the performance and price are right and that the graphics card fits your needs - no matter which manufacturer the GPU comes from.

However, there may be factors that tip the balance in favor of a particular manufacturer.Do you own one?, you need an Nvidia graphics card to fully benefit from it.

Geforce RTX models also have certain performance advantages when playing. The AI ​​upscaling DLSS 3 or thebrings significantly more FPS in supported titles and only runs on RTX 4000 GPUs.

AMD now has FSR 3 andFluid Motion Framesfollowed up. The technology can be used with all current GPUs if it can be activated via the game menu. But this only applies in a few games. You can find out more about this here:.

When buying an Intel graphics card, you should also keep in mind that the corresponding Arc GPUs have slightly less sophisticated drivers. This can lead to performance disadvantages, especially in older titles without DirectX 12. However, Intel is diligently making improvements with fresh drivers.

These graphics cards are currently available to buy new

In the following overview we limit ourselves to models that are reliably new and available in stores at reasonable prices. As a result, many models from the last generations from AMD (RX 6000) and Nvidia (RTX 3000) no longer appear in the overview.

In addition to the name and the amount of storage, we also mention the price and give a short summary.

AMD Radeon RX

AMD currently has two GPU series on the market at the same time: the current RX-7000 series based on the RDNA-3 architecture and the RX-6000 series based on RDNA-2. The latter are slowly but surely being sold off and are therefore becoming increasingly rare (and more expensive).

Radeon RX 7000 graphics cards

Rdeon RX 6000 graphics cards

Nvidia Geforce RTX

In our opinion, at Nvidia only the current RTX 4000 series including the new super GPUs has a real right to exist.

The models from the other two still available series, RTX 3000 and GTX 1600, are now almost without exception too expensive for the performance offered.

Geforce RTX 4000

Intel Arc

Intel's first generation GPU with the nameArcis currently limited to three different models in the desktop area, one of which is available with a different amount of memory.

Just upgrade the GPU or the entire PC?

That depends on what other hardware is in your computer. First of all, it is important that your power supply offers enough power. We therefore include the officially stated values ​​in our recommendations.

In many cases, a new graphics card alone will provide a large increase in performance if it is faster than the previously installed model. In order to roughly estimate the performance of older GPUs, our performance classes from the following article will help:

When switching to a higher performance class, you have to consider the following:The older the other components fail, the less there is left of a performance boost from a new GPU.

Upgrading the graphics card alone therefore only makes sense under the following conditions:

Upgrade graphics card checklist

1. Your PC has at least 16.0 GB of RAM
2. Your CPU has at least six cores and is not older than four years
3. You use an SSD instead of a hard drive for Windows and games

In order for a new graphics card to be able to fully develop its performance, the processor and RAM, but also the data storage medium, are particularly important. We will clarify why exactly in the following sections.

1. The RAM question

As long as you have at least 16.0 GB of RAM, you are largely on the safe side..

However, if you still have a PC with only 8.0 GB of RAM or even less, we recommend that you upgrade the RAM when you buy a new GPU. Make sure you can use it in fast dual-channel mode, i.e. use either two or four memory modules.

2. The CPU question

When it comes to the processor, it's a little more complicated, as even fast quad-core CPUs can still offer a lot of performance. However, we advise you to use at least a processor with six cores that is not older than four years. Otherwise, upgrading the CPU may also make sense.

However, keep in mind that you will often need a new mainboard and possibly new DDR5 RAM.

3. The SSD question

It is also generally recommended to use SSDs instead of slow HDDs. In the future, particularly fast PCI Express models in M.2 format with the NVMe protocol will become increasingly important.

You will also notice major advantages over an HDD with magnetic disks with the widely used SATA models for the AHCI protocol.

Upgrade the entire PC

If you not only want to upgrade the GPU, but also put together a completely new PC, we can also help you.

In the articleYou will find everything you need to know about it and many configurations in different price ranges.

What about ray tracing, DLSS and used GPUs?

Raytracing

The technology is used to make games look more realistic and better. How exactly it is used and how well it works varies greatly from case to case and depending on the level of detail chosen - if the technology is supported at all.

In some cases, ray tracing only improves shadows, only global illumination, or only reflections. There are also mixtures of these. So-called path tracing goes one step further and is intended to completely replace classic rasterization. But one thing always applies: Ray tracing costs a lot of FPS.

Ray tracing is more commonly used in large productions like Cyberpunk 2077, but the technology is gradually becoming more popular. Overall support loudlyPCGamingWikicurrently over 220 games ray tracing.

General information about how it works can be found in the article.

The video above shows an example of what ray tracing can do visually. Ultimately, only you can judge for yourself whether the technology is important to you despite the FPS loss.

DLSS and other upscaling methods

DLSS (Nvidia), FSR (AMD) and XeSS (Intel) all primarily have the same, very desirable goal: to ensure more FPS with the same or even better optics. This can be very important, especially in combination with the performance-hungry ray tracing.

To do this, the game is internally calculated at a lower resolution and then scaled up again to be as visually convincing as possible. You can find out more about how it works in the articleand in the following video:

Nvidia's DLSS tends to work best (still), also thanks to additional hardware units for the necessary calculations.

However, the differences are not too big and, depending on the title and quality level, all techniques can produce different convincing results and sometimes even graphical errors.

For DLSS you always need an RTX graphics card. FSR, on the other hand, can be used with all graphics cards.

Intel's XeSS can also work with GPUs from all manufacturers, but the best levels sometimes require an Arc graphics card with suitable AI accelerators, such as into see.

Frame generation and fluid motion frames

Going beyond pure upscaling are Nvidia's Frame Generation (also referred to as DLSS 3) and AMD's Fluid Motion Frames (also referred to as FSR 3). Completely new images are added using AI calculations, but there are potential problems.

These include the relatively small number of games that natively supported these technologies (especially in the case of FSR 3) and a potentially sluggish gaming experience. In addition, this AI upscaling usually only works well at 60 FPS or more and without V-Sync.

Used graphics cards

In this purchase advice, we limit ourselves to new GPUs that can be reliably purchased from regular retailers. In principle, used graphics cards are also a good option if you want to save money.

Also interesting:

A gaming GPU can continue to provide good service for many years even if it has already been used by another gamer. However, there are a few general things you should consider before purchasing. You can find out more about this in the article linked above.

Now you should know everything you need to know before buying a new graphics card. If you still have any questions, please use the comment function.