12 best video cards

Nowadays, you can play video games on almost any device - from the usual stationary and portable consoles to smartphones and televisions. But a huge number of people are convinced that the really cool games go exclusively to personal computers. Well, let's not get involved in controversy, and pay attention to the most important part of any gaming computer - the video card.

Of course, for high performance in games, it is necessary to have not only a GPU, but also a sufficiently powerful CPU, a relatively large amount of RAM, a nimble hard drive (and better SSD), and a power supply that will “take out” all this stuff. However, it is the video adapter in the modern system that undertakes the basic calculations, and therefore it should be given special attention. In our ranking you will find the best models of video cards, but first, let's remember the top three best manufacturers.

Top video card manufacturers

This question is both simple and complex. It is simple because at the moment discrete video cards are being developed by only 2 large companies - AMD and NVIDIA. These are the so-called "reference" models. They stand out with the most reliable, if you can put it that way, frequencies and weak cooling. Further, based on this basic model, component manufacturers create their own versions with higher frequencies and better cooling. Here we will talk briefly about them.

• Asus. This Chinese company is known by many of our readers. In addition to excellent laptops and smartphones, Chinese from Taipei produce a large list of computer components. Video cards stand out for quite good overclocking potential (especially the ROG series), synchronized backlighting and relatively low cost.
• Msi. Undoubtedly, one of the leaders of gaming accessories. The company was founded in 1986, and for the field of gaming parts and peripherals, thirty years of experience can be considered simply tremendous. MSI is producing motherboards, video cards, gaming laptops, all-in-one PCs, desktop PCs, and even VR backpacks! A distinctive feature of their video adapters is just a great cooling system. Due to the large number of blades and their special shape, the air is blown very quickly, but it does not create a lot of noise.
• GIGABYTE. The company is not only a neighbor of MSI, but its peer. It is not so much experience in the gaming industry, but the general list of components and devices is much wider. Like the above competitors, GIGABYTE works with NVIDIA and AMD. Cooling is also commendable. True, this is achieved through the use of more cumbersome cooling systems, which should be taken into account when buying.

The best inexpensive video cards: a budget of up to 10,000 rubles.

Starting a rating is logical with the most budget video cards. However, it is not necessary to assume that for this money you will receive a model that is capable only of simple casual cases. No, modern cards of this class do quite well with most of the fresh games at low or medium settings in FullHD.Of course, the reserve will be enough for just a couple of years, and it’s impossible to play 2K or higher.

3 Palit GeForce GT 1030

Let's start with the most budget video card from Nvidia. Appearance is not credible - well, what can such a baby!? Miniature motherboard and cooler, takes up only one slot. It seems that the model is only suitable for drawing office applications, but this is not at all the case. Yes, in FullHD, it will only play at minimum settings, but in tests with a resolution of 1680x1050 pixels the card showed the following results: Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands - 32 fps, BattleField 1 - 35 fps, FarCry 5 - 31 fps. And in all games, the quality of graphics is set at "high"! If you only periodically play CS: GO or DOTA 2, the GT 1030 will suit you unconditionally.

Of the features worth noting the ability to connect only two monitors (there is one HDMI and one DVI input). The maximum supported resolution is 4096x2160 pixels. The video card chip is made on 14 nm process technology, which ensures maximum energy efficiency - the device requires only 30 watts of energy.

Advantages:

• Very affordable price
• Acceptable performance even in modern games
• Low profile design
• Low power consumption
• 2 GB of video memory
• Support for major modern standards: DirectX 12, OpenGL 5

2 GIGABYTE Radeon RX 550

At the time of this writing, the 500th series from AMD is the most up-to-date, but it should be borne in mind that the updated models differ only slightly from last year’s, and therefore there should be no significant increase in performance. RX 550 is suitable only for playing unpretentious indie on medium-high settings, or for top-end projects, but already at the lowest graphics settings. But what really surprises the model is the low temperatures for AMD. Thank for this is the proprietary cooling system from GIGABYTE. Due to this, you can overclock the card strongly enough without fear of overheating. Finally, it is worth noting the connection via PCI-E x8 without using additional power.

Advantages:

• Lowest cost
• Excellent cooling
• Good overclocking potential
• AMD APP support
• Connection via PCI-E x8

Disadvantages:

• Relatively low performance

1 Palit GeForce GTX 1050

The leader of the rating is the most productive model in the class. The 1050th became the real bestseller of the updated line of video cards from NVIDIA.Compared to the 900 series, power consumption has been reduced so much that the chips can be easily installed in desktops and laptops without making any changes. Card performance is enough to play even demanding games like Battlefield 1, Hitman and Rise of the Tomb Raider. True, FPS is unlikely to exceed 30 frames per second, and therefore for playing shooters you will have to lower the settings as much as possible.

The model from Palit stands out with very compact dimensions, which does not interfere with effective cooling and low noise. It is also worth noting that the card does not require additional power, which will allow installing it even in relatively old systems.

Advantages:

• Best class performance
• Compact size
• Low noise and low temperatures
• Does not require additional power (according to the “passport”, a power supply unit with a power of only 300 W is required)

The best middle class video cards: a budget of up to 25,000 rubles.

I do not get tired of repeating that middle class devices are suitable for the vast majority of users. Video cards, of course, will be the exception. Models from this category can produce comfortable FPS on most modern games at resolutions not higher than FullHD. Yes, they are also suitable for 2K if you are ready to put up with a decrease in the frame rate, but for 4K gaming you should not choose them. Is that if you take a couple of these things to create an SLI or CrossFire system.

4 MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

We have already considered the usual GTX 1050, but the Ti version traditionally has a significantly higher performance. At the same time, the cost jumped not so noticeably, and therefore this video card from MSI should be put in a separate category between the budget and middle classes. With FullHD resolution, the card in most games gives around 50-60 fps. Drawdowns occur only in Watch Dogs 2, Anno 2205, Fallout 4 and some other "heavy" games, and even then only up to 30 frames. Finally, it is worth noting that MSI did not spare the coolers and screwed on a relatively cold card a proprietary cooling system with two coolers, which makes it possible to keep the temperature below 65 degrees. But up to 60 fans are in principle inactive.

Advantages:

• Lowest cost
• Very cold
• Relatively compact size

Disadvantages:

• Productivity is still not quite enough for all modern games.

3 ASUS Radeon RX 570

In the market of computer components, there have always been and there are top models that provide maximum performance. But productivity growth does not always keep up with the price tag - spreading twice the amount you are unlikely to get a two-fold increase in power. Because of this, models are the best choice, such as the bronze medalist of the rating - RX 570 from the company Radeon. Briefly about the characteristics: the model uses a slightly overclocked 14 nm chip (1300 MHz), GDDR5 video memory 4 GB, bus width is 256 bits.

In practice, this means the following: all tested games with FullHD resolution at maximum graphics settings give out at least 30 frames per second, and the average value varies around 60 fps, which is quite enough for comfortable gaming. In games with good optimization - for example, BattleField 1 - you can even play 4K!

Advantages:

• Excellent price / performance ratio.
• Effective (in the stress test, the temperatures did not exceed 70 degrees) and a quiet (up to 26 dB) cooling system.
• The possibility of overclocking through proprietary utility.

2 GIGABYTE Radeon RX 580

Any product must be considered inseparably from its value. In a good device should be combined high performance and adequate price. With this, the RX 580 is fine, as testers and regular users have often said in reviews. In terms of performance, the map is in many ways similar to the leader of the rating - it all depends on the game in which the comparison is made. But the GIGABYTE model has clear advantages. First, it is a wide memory swap bus - 256 bits. Secondly, support for crossfire.The only problem with a GPU is the high cost.

Advantages:

• Excellent performance
• Uses 256 Bit Bus
• CrossFire support

1 Palit GeForce GTX 1060

Once again, NVIDIA's GeForce GTX graphics card occupies a leading position. GTX 1060 can be safely attributed to the so-called upper mid-end class. Its performance is even higher than the old GTX Titan, which cost about $ 2,000! In some games, the leader of the rating still loses slightly to the solution from AMD, but a much lower cost does its job. In addition, the 1060th, even at a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, produces stable 45-50 frames per second in AAA games, like Battlefield 1, Fallout 4, etc. The only thing to consider is not the best cooling specifically in this model from Palit, and therefore, if finances allow, pay attention to models from more experienced companies.

Advantages:

• Excellent performance
• Excellent price / performance ratio
• 6 GB of video memory

Disadvantages:

• Temperature is too high

Best top video cards

Finally, we got to the most powerful gaming solutions. Talking about performance in 1080p and 1440p resolution is no longer relevant, the frame counter will go off-scale - give these monsters 4K! Of course, for such power will have to pay and appropriate.

4 Sapphire Radeon RX Vega 56

Opens the ranking of top gaming graphics cards new from AMD. With a new line, the manufacturer is trying to impose competition on the most powerful Nvidia cards. And they really turned out. The graphics processor, made on 14 nm process technology, operates at a frequency of 1266 MHz (in Boost mode - 1550 MHz) and can be overclocked through a simple utility by anyone. Video memory type HBM2, providing almost twice as high performance compared to GDDR5 due to the widest bus in 2048 bits, 8 GB. This set provides at least 100 fps in any game on FullHD resolution. In 2K play is also very comfortable. But with UltraHD, the situation is somewhat worse than that of competitors: in most games, the fps counter holds a confident 30 frames, but projects like Total War: Warhammer II only show a slide show of 15-18 frames per second.

Special attention in this model deserves the cooling system. Yes, it is massive, which is why the card will not fit in every case, but three 100mm fans provide temperatures in the stress test no higher than 65 degrees on the core. At the same time, the rotation speed is only 1150 rpm, which means that the noise will not disturb you.

Advantages:

• Excellent performance for its price
• Overclocking capability
• Low temperatures and noise
• Least energy consuming card in class - only 210 W required

Disadvantages:

• Large dimensions - length 310 mm

3 MSI GeForce GTX 1080

 

GTX 1080 in the GeForce lineup is only one step lower than 1080 Ti, which you can read about below. Of course, some users claim that all the games they have are fine and in 4K, but still the 1080th is more suitable for resolutions not higher than 2K. With this quality, you can unscrew the graphics settings for ultra and not worry about drawdowns fps below 50-60 frames.

It is also worth noting that MSI has managed to develop an excellent cooling system, which, even with only 2 fans, keeps the temperature in an acceptable range. The only drawback that is worth attention is the lack of backlighting when using a non-MSI motherboard. A kind of computer racism ...

Advantages:

• Excellent performance for this price.
• Lowest TDP - 180 W

2 GIGABYTE Radeon RX Vega 64

If you do not take into account the cooling system, individual for each manufacturer, the Vega 64 is extremely similar in technical characteristics to the Vega 56 discussed above. But in fact, such a gain is clearly visible. In games like FarCry 5, Assassin's Creed: Origins with UltraHD resolution and maximum graphics settings, the difference with the leader of the rating is only 2-5 fps, which can be attributed to measurement error.In Total War: Warhammer II, the difference is more obvious on the same settings: 25 frames for Radeon versus 37 fps for Nvidia. But it is worth remembering that the Vega 64 is an average of 15 thousand cheaper!

About cooling. The above Vega 56 flaunted three efficient fans that provide low temperatures. GIGABYTE engineers went a different way, preferring compactness, which is why temperatures in the stress test are quite high - 74-75 degrees. There is also a slight throttling.

Advantages:

• High performance with adequate price tag
• Compact dimensions - length 274 mm
• Large set of connectors: 3x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort

Disadvantages:

• Relatively high temperatures
• High TDP - 295 watts.

1 ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

Talking about the power of the leader of the rating can be long, but if to put it simply, it is the most powerful card in the world! And the situation is unlikely to change dramatically in the next six months. 1080 Ti without problems pulls games on ultra-graphics settings in 4K with a frame rate of around 55-60 fps. Lower resolutions are processed without any drawdowns at all. Of course, there was a gaming graphics card without beautiful backlighting.

In the cons can be written only a couple of things. The first is high temperature, at peak the map warms up to about 72 degrees. The second is gluttony - the video card needs 250 watts, which it receives from two 8-PIN connectors.

Advantages:

• Best performance
• Beautiful lights
• 11264 MB of video memory
• 352 bit memory bus

Disadvantages:

• High temperature, as for the GPU from NVIDIA
• High power consumption
• Takes 3 slots

Top Professional Graphics Cards

 

It is considered that video cards are needed exclusively for "toys", but this is not quite so. There are special models, sharpened by working with 3D-modeling, engineering design, rendering and other tasks. The cost of such components is very high, but for professional animators and engineers - an indispensable thing.

1 PNY Quadro M4000

 

The first and final participant in the rating is the video card from the NVIDIA Quadro series. If judged solely by numbers, power is not amazing, especially considering the cost. However, the developers of professional software over the past year since the announcement have released new versions of programs, in which optimization and productivity have significantly increased. It is also worth noting that a video card with very good performance takes only 1 slot.

Advantages:

• 4 outputs DISPLAYPORT
• FSSA 64x
• Takes only 1 slot

Popular vote - who is the best video card manufacturer
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MSI

ASUS

Gigabyte

Palit

Sapphire

PNY

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