As of November 2024, the fastest current-gen GPUs under $500 are:
- AMD’s Radeon RX 7800 XT, or
- Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4060 Ti.
Since the gen-over-gen improvements with these graphics cards are quite small, it is also worth looking at the previous generation and the used market. GPUs like the Radeon RX 6800 XT (or non-XT) and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti make frequent appearances below $500, for example.
AMD Vs. Nvidia (Vs. Intel) GPUs Under $500
Earlier this year, Nvidia launched Super variants of its high-end and upper mid-range cards in the RTX 4000 series. Unfortunately, the RTX 4060 and 4060 Ti did not get the same treatment and largely remain at their original price points.
As a result, AMD’s Radeon RX 7700 XT and RX 7800 XT are more competitive cards in terms of raw performance.
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The GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB was launched in May 2023 with a $399 MSRP. It offers a rather underwhelming generational uplift and low VRAM configuration, but at least it’s faster than its RTX 3060 Ti predecessor in most cases. A 16 GB version is also available and offer modest performance improvements.
On the AMD side, the Radeon RX 7800 XT dropped later in 2023 with a $499 starting price for the base AIB models. It is a direct successor of the RX 6800 XT and – much like its Nvidia counterpart – only slightly faster than its predecessor. The good news is that the RX 7800 XT is much more affordable (the 6800 XT’s launch MSRP was $649).
Intel’s Arc A770 is included here for comparison purposes. This GPU is significantly cheaper (often under $300) and matches the competition in some games and benchmarks, but is more inconsistent.
Relative Performance of Mid-Range Graphics Cards in 2024
Here’s how the currently best graphics cards under $500 perform in UL’s 3DMark Time Spy benchmark compared to a range of other GPUs.
Time Spy scores have been fairly good at predicting average gaming performance (without ray tracing) over the last few years. However, it is overly generous with the Intel A770, as real-world gaming performance is less impressive even with newer drivers.
The ray-tracing scores from Futuremark’s Port Royal benchmark, on the other hand, show that Nvidia is still a generation ahead of AMD in this area. Even the RDNA 3 cards (RX 7700 XT and 7800 XT) will have trouble keeping up with older Nvidia cards in this area – especially in actual games.
Bottom line: So, what is the best GPU under $500?
There is no question that the $499 Radeon RX 7800 XT offers the best overall performance at this price point. Nvidia’s RTX 4060 Ti is usually more affordable but also much slower in most cases (by about 30% or so).
If you prefer Nvidia, the RTX 4070 or RTX 4070 Super are much more capable but also more expensive. The GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, on the other hand, is also faster than the RTX 4060 Ti and remains a better option at higher settings and resolutions.
And if your choice ultimately depends on the performance of a particular game, then your best bet is to look up individual GPU reviews that examine this game in combination with these cards.
Buy Now or Wait?
A graphics card upgrade is practically always the most effective way to improve your PC’s gaming performance. But what you probably want to consider first (other than getting the best frame rate for the money) is timing release cycles. You certainly don’t want to see a next-gen GPU launch happen right after you purchase a current-gen card.
Nvidia and AMD released high-end GPUs in the RTX 4000-series and RX 7000-series, respectively, in late 2022. The mid-range RTX 4060 Ti and 4060 non-Ti were however launched in late June of 2023. AMD’s RX 7700 and 7800 XT arrived in September.
Next-gen GPUs from both Nvidia and AMD will likely be announced at CES 2025 (January). Historically, these launches have focused on high-end cards, meaning that RTX 5060-series GPUs may launch months later.
Intel is reportedly planning to launch its next generation of Battlemage cards in December 2024, but no performance metrics were available at the time of writing.
Fastest GPU Under $500: Radeon RX 7800 XT
AMD unveiled the new Radeon RX 7800 XT and RX 7700 XT on September 6, 2023, at the Gamescom trade show. With launch prices of $499 and $449, respectively, the RX 7800 XT offers the best value as it’s about 20% faster than the 7700 XT but only 11% more expensive.
On the downside, the card is only slightly faster than the Radeon RX 6800 XT that it replaces. There are some generational improvements, but mostly in terms of ray tracing performance. It is substantially faster than the RTX 4060 Ti, but this card (the 8 GB model) is also $100 less.
The best part is that the RX 7800 XT is reasonably priced, which hasn’t been the case with most other graphics cards from this generation. Its launch MSRP is $150 below that of the 6800 XT.
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Fastest Nvidia GPUs under $500: GeForce RTX 3070 Ti or 4060 Ti
As for the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, this card was something of a disappointment due to the cut-down memory bus and bandwidth. Both the 8 GB and 16 GB versions use a 128-bit bus and the bandwidth is 288 GB/s, compared to its predecessor’s 256-bit bus and 448 GB/s bandwidth.
The card is still faster than the RTX 3060 Ti at 1080p, but the lead is much less impressive (or non-existent) when increasing the resolution and maxing out the quality settings.
It’s not all bad news, of course. In terms of energy efficiency, the RTX 4060 Ti is a lot better. This also means lower temperatures and effortless cooling, resulting in low noise levels. You also get better upscaling thanks to DLSS 3 as well as much improved ray-tracing performance compared to what AMD offers at the same price point.
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Flexible Budget? What You Get for Less Or Slightly More
While the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti are currently the best graphics cards under $500, at least consistently so, it is useful to be aware of GPUs in the neighboring price brackets. Not least because some of these cards may offer better value.
More Expensive Alternative #1: GeForce RTX 4070
Following the launch of AMD’s RX 7800 XT, several AIB models of the GeForce RTX 4070 have dropped in price. Compared to its main AMD rival, the RTX 4070 is quite closely matched in terms of raw performance, but is better at ray tracing. Another difference is that you also get frame generation with DLSS 3.
It is also significantly faster than the RTX 4060 and much better suited for 1440p and 4K gaming – not just thanks to its 12 GB of VRAM, but also because the RTX 4070 is almost 30% faster. Even the 16 GB model of the RTX 4060 is unable to compete.
Due to increased competition in the space (including from the new RTX 4070 Super), some RTX 4070 AIB models have now dropped to around $550, which makes the card a much better option in price/performance terms.
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More Affordable Alternative #1: Radeon RX 6750 XT
Launched in March 2022, AMD’s Radeon RX 6750 XT is an updated version of the RX 6700 XT (Navi 22), with improved clock speeds and higher memory bandwidth. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 video memory (VRAM) runs at 18 Gbps compared to the predecessor’s 16 Gbps. As a result, the RX 6750 XT is about 10% faster than the RX 6700 XT, and it holds about the same lead on average over the Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti with GDDR6 VRAM. It also trades blows with the RTX 3070.
The same cannot be said for ray-tracing performance, where it is usually behind its Nvidia competitor.
In combination with a recent CPU, Any graphics card based on the RX 6750 XT will have no issue running current AAA titles at 60fps with a 1440p resolution, or with higher refresh rates at 1080p. Like other cards in the same performance tier, it may struggle to reach high frame rates at 2160p (4K) resolution, however. In more demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077, you may have to accept average frame rates below 60fps at 2160p even with FSR turned on.
The maximum power draw or TDP (Thermal Design Power) is 250 W and the default power connector configuration is 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin.
Its launch price (MSRP) was $549, but many RX 6750 XT cards now sell for a lot less than $500.
More Affordable Alternative #3: GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GPU was launched in late 2020 and is not really a variation of the RTX 3060. Instead, it is a scaled-down variant of the RTX 3070, with a performance level closer to this card than its non-Ti namesake RTX 3060. It is about 20% faster than the non-Ti model and roughly 15% slower than the 3070.
Since 2022, some RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards come with 8 GB of GDDR6X memory instead of the same amount of slower GDDR6 (without the ‘X’). The newer GDDR6X models are 5% or so faster in actual games compared to cards with GDDR6. As they are often sold at similar price points, it is worth looking for these faster versions.
In terms of performance, the RXT 3060 Ti is usually a bit slower than the RX 6750 XT – even with said memory improvements – but the opposite is often true once you activate ray tracing. It is nevertheless fast enough to offer a great gaming experience in 1080p and 1440p resolutions, but much like its AMD competitor, it will have a hard time reaching 60fps at 4K in somewhat more demanding games.
More Affordable Alternative #4: Intel Arc A770
Intel’s new(ish) Arc lineup of dedicated GPUs was not particularly well received by the PC hardware press at launch. The mid-range A770 and A750 cards mostly failed to live up to the expectations that they would effectively break AMD and Nvidia’s duopoly.
Although quite powerful in theory – as seen in the above 3DMark benchmarks – performance has been inconsistent or downright bad in older but popular titles like Rainbow Six Siege.
A lot has happened since then, however, not least in the form of new drivers that have greatly raised the performance bar in the most affected games.
But what made these cards all the more interesting lately is pricing and availability, which was also holding them back. Intel recently made the reference Arc A750 available for just $250 and this has also had an impact on Arc A770 prices.
At these new prices, the Intel Arc cards really offer great value for those who don’t mind taking a bit of a risk with something different.
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More Affordable Alternative #5: RX 6800 (XT)
Although it shared the same release date (November 18, 2020), the Radeon RX 6800 non-XT has mostly been flying under the radar compared to the XT model. It uses the same Navi 21 GPU but with 3,840 active shading units versus the XT’s 4,608. The game clock has also been reduced to 1815 MHz from 2015 MHz but it offers the same VRAM configuration.
As a result, the Radeon RX 6800 is around 10-15% slower than the RX 6800 XT and faster than the RX 6750 XT by about the same amount. Its closest Nvidia competitor from the same generation is the RTX 3070 Ti. This places the RX 6800 at the bottom of the high-end tier from the previous-gen lineup, but it can also compete with (and often surpass) current-gen mid-range graphics cards.
Select models of the RX 6800 from AMD-exclusive AIB manufacturers PowerColor, XFX, and Sapphire – the PowerColor Fighter RX 6800, for example – often sells for less than $400, which is a real bargain. We have also started to see RX 6800 XT cards for substantially less than $500, which makes it a strong competitor of its 7800 XT successor.
Used Graphics Cards Under $500
Buying a used GPU is always a viable option if you are willing to take the risk of having no long-term warranty versus getting more gaming performance for the money. Something to keep in mind at this time, especially when buying a used mid-range or high-end graphics card, is that it may have been used for mining. That means that the card will likely have been running non-stop for many months, which could have shortened its lifespan considerably.
With that warning out of the way, it’s possible to save 10-20% on current-gen models when buying used. At the time of writing, used Nvidia cards typically come with the best savings, since AMD card prices are currently down significantly in retail. Other than the cards mentioned earlier in this article, some graphics cards under $500 to consider include:
- AMD Radeon RX 6800 – The non-XT Radeon RX 6800 is similar to the RX 6800 XT but comes with fewer shading units or stream processors. Its gaming performance is right in the middle between the RX 6750 XT and the RX 6800 XT, with the former being about 15% slower and the latter 15% faster.
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 10GB – The original RTX 3080 GPU with 10 GB of GDDR6X can sometimes be found for less than $500 on the used market. It is a bit faster than the AMD RX 6800 XT on average and also offers better ray-tracing performance.
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti – A slightly larger variant of the RTX 3070 with a minor increase in shading units and faster GDDR6X VRAM. It is 5-10% faster than the original RTX 3070 but still around 20% slower than the RTX 3080.
Wrapping Up
If you have been looking to upgrade your graphics card in the past couple of years, you will know that it’s been challenging to find anything at a reasonable price.
The GPU market in 2024 is an improvement at least as far as price/performance goes. For now, mid-range AMD cards are leading the race, especially the reasonably priced Radeon RX 7800 XT.
If you prefer Nvidia, the RTX 4070 series offers much better value than 4060-series cards at this time, which makes the 4060 difficult to recommend.
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Any news on when / if there will be a 4060 Ti Super? At any rate the original 4060 Ti should get a prioce cut to match its performance in the new RTX lineup…
No news on any RTX 4060S or 4060 Ti Super yet that I know of. But something of that nature is likely to arrive eventually. The Ti is a slightly cut version of the AD106 GPU so there’s room for improvement.