10 best budget video cards

Having made a lot of reviews about top-end video cards, we seriously thought about the lower segment. Currently, many users are faced with serious budget constraints and a keen desire to have a gaming computer. Additional incentive comes from the ongoing support of some video card series, for example, the software for the GTX 600 and 700 series is updated and maintained by NVidia extremely reluctantly. We decided to choose for you the top 10 best budget video cards in the price range of up to 15,000 rubles.

What should be remembered when choosing in this segment? Below 10,000 rubles, only “stubs” are sold, capable of pulling ordinary and routine office tasks, as well as simple online games. The “low” segment is more represented by distributors - Sapphire, Palit, KFA2, etc. The low price tag on them is due to the design features (as a rule, they have only one fan) and lower frequencies. Also for marketing purposes, produced "model-duck". For example, the GTX 1050 went on sale at 3 GB at an attractive price. It would seem that you need to rejoice, if the bandwidth of the bus and the GDDR4 memory were not cut down to 96 Gb / s, GDDR5 is 2 times slower. Be careful when buying and specify information from sellers.

Top 10 best budget graphics cards

10 ASUS GeForce GT 710

Here is the most budget office video card with passive cooling. It has no fan, the aluminum bar will cool the chip. Therefore, there will be zero noise from it. To many, this will seem like a minus, but let's face it - TDP 19 W does not need a turntable. The recommended power supply is 300 watts.

The range of use of this low-cost model is extremely narrow. To work in Photoshop, to watch the video is its maximum, at which it will show 47 degrees. If you have a GTX 650 and its performance is sufficient, then an inexpensive GT710 will be an excellent successor. The low-profile model takes up only 1 slot. There is support for DirectX 12. Another plus is the ability to connect old VGA monitors. Do not go beyond the scope of operation and the card will last for many years. Warranty period - 3 years. If you want to play, then STALKER or Need For Speed ​​Pro Street will be most relevant here.

9 Gygabite GeForce GT 730

GT 730 deservedly takes place in most office assemblies. It can draw a 4K image, the video memory frequency is an impressive 1800 MHz with a 64-bit bus width. The stumbling block for games will be GDDR3, which is probably enough for projects until 2008.

This low-cost model has become a compromise between 1030 and 710, receiving similar characteristics from the last and a fan in addition. The big plus is the many slots for connecting monitors - VGA, DVI, HDMI. The card is recommended to be used when processing primitive graphics or creating electronic databases or maps.

8 ASUS Radeon R7 240

It is difficult to say why the Radeon R7 240 was released. It is located at the junction of two worlds. For normal use, its capabilities may be redundant, but for games it is extremely difficult to use.The decisive factor will be the cost of the market. It is created in a low-profile format and is equipped with an active cooling system with high-quality element base. Included are 2 standard interface panel plugs, that is, the R7 240 will feel good in compact assemblies.

The small dimensions of the cooler are not designed for long-term stress tests and it is generally not recommended to “fry” the card, otherwise the temperature will rise to 77 degrees. The card is a direct competitor to the GT730 and bypasses it somewhat in performance.

7 ASUS Radeon RX 470 Mining

If you see the RX 470 on the counter - boldly grab and run to the ticket office. The chip card is that it can be reflashed and actually turned into 570, after saving money. At the same time, this is a professional card, which means that you will not find the HDMI port for new monitors. 4 GB of video memory together with 7000 MHz in frequency with a 256-bit bus width are asked to test it in games. The graphics processor has 926 MHz frequency with a boost of up to 1206 and limits the gaming potential of “RyKS”.

A professional card is made of it by 2048 universal processors with 128 texture units. Additional power is also required, which is connected via an 8-pin connector. The card is characterized by the classic excess heat - 120 watts. The card is well suited for working with graphics. For games, it is not suitable. As for mining, the question is controversial. Buyers in their reviews were divided into 2 camps - someone considers it a profitable investment, and someone a useless stump.

6 Gigabyte Radeon RX 550

550 model caused a storm of emotions and disputes among customers with the question: "Game or office"? Let's just say that by running it you can get 35-40 frames in AAA projects, and we will not focus on popular network games at all. Many consider it the main competitor of 1050 and are surprised at the constant losses of 550. In fact, it is more logical to put this card against 1030, which is true for the price range and element base.

At its core, this cheap card has the Polaris 12 architecture, which can be paired with 2 or 4 GB of video memory. A plus of the card is a compact active cooling system, a cooler with enhanced wear resistance and dust protection. Among the plug-in interfaces, it is nice to highlight all 3 currently popular digital connection ports. It does not require additional power; it uses only 8 of the 16 PCI-E ports, which may cause problems with old platforms.

5 Gygabite GeForce GT 1030

Workers in the office or just lovers drive tanks or ships on the minimum salary, this cheap option is best suited. Paying about 6000 rubles, you get 2 GB of video memory with a reduced bus to 64 bits and a reduced frequency of 6008 MHz. Due to its modest characteristics, power consumption is also low and is only 30 watts. For such a little enough power supply for 300 watts. It is worth noting that this is a low-profile card, which means that it will easily fit into any building, the main thing is not a game card, because performance is bad.

Do you want to play - save up for GTX 1050 Ti or be content with a playable frame rate in undemanding projects - PUBG or Fifa 2018 it masters. Performance is similar to the outdated GTX 750 Ti. With games until 2016 she will cope, with the exception of AAA projects. We will not recommend buying for games - this is not her destiny.

4 ASUS Radeon RX 560

The “Reds” noticeably shook their heads, spoiling the life of NVidia and releasing an analogue of the GTX 1050 Ti at a lower price. Despite the “game” status of the card, it can be called such a stretch. Yes, she has 4 GB of video memory on board, and the memory bus width is 128 bits. The number of universal processors reaches 1024, 64 texturing units, and 16 rasterization blocks. Immediately, the need for additional power through the 6-pin connector and TDP is higher than that of a competitor and is 80 watts. Will require a more powerful power supply - from 400 watts, 450 is better.

Of the benefits - ASUS has a very high opinion of its products, which is why the warranty on the card is already 3 years. If desired, you can connect 3 monitors to it and organize a small working studio. In general, it is very similar to the GTX 1050, only the amount of memory here is more. By the way. There are also “chopped” versions from Sapphire on the market - they are cheap, more beautiful, but there are only 896 universal processors.

3 Palit GeForce GTX 1050

The “junior” budget version has 2 GB less buffer, which is already extremely small for games. At the same time, it is still possible to play Free-to-Play projects and start The Witcher 3 at medium settings and ultra with a small resolution. At one time, the model became the savior of the players, especially during the mining boom, when it was hard to buy a productive solution. In idle time it warms up to only 28 degrees, because of which she received the title of the coldest card more than once.

Despite one turntable and its rotational speed of only 35% of the maximum, it heats to only 60 degrees. The actual core frequency in the boost reaches 1734 MHz, but at maximum load it can reset to 1696 MHz. In theory, in a single player, Battlefield 1 can show a playable FPS, but you shouldn’t count on it much. It can be recommended for use in the office, but for games it is better to dig for 1050 Ti. Analog from Gygabite or ASUS will cost 500-1000 rubles more expensive, but there won't be much difference. Overpay for the brand - you decide.

2 Gygabite GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

1050 Ti has become a walking legend and a favorite of most buyers due to its relatively low price and good performance. In the piggy bank, let's add not a big heat pack, lack of additional power and simplicity in maintenance. In order to keep up with the times, the company has deprived the DVD-D output card, which will make it impossible to connect old VGA monitors or have to buy an adapter.

If you do not play toys, then you can generally forget about the noise, since passive cooling works up to 60 degrees, after which the turntables start to connect, accelerating to a maximum of 1,300 rpm. Install a program for overclocking and be able to get up to 2000 MHz for the frequency of the memory. In general, cheap, cheerful and for the initial gaming systems fit perfectly. Dota 2, Counter-Strike and other popular games will start without problems. Paired with a high-frequency processor, the card will draw Fallout 4 and Need for Speed ​​2015. Today, this is the minimum that can be recommended for gaming, but the card does not lose relevance, taking leading positions on Steam.

1 MSI Radeon RX 570 8 GB

The best card up to 15,000 rubles in the world is not found. The fall is due to the release of new-generation cards from competitors with a large price tag, which is why AMD decided to go from the rear and conquer the consumer market with low prices. The Power Armor version has a huge video memory capacity of 8 GB, but this is still the “average” card. When buying it, you should immediately prepare for high temperatures, because despite the 2 turntables there is only 1 heat pipe here. The hum from fans becomes audible at 50% of the load, so it is recommended to acquire a “deaf” casing, high-quality headphones, or immunity to outside noise.

Will delight the owner of the card and the possibility of overclocking. However, in order to resort to full overclocking, an additional fan will be required for cooling, which will have to be screwed, since there is no additional power supply on it. It is weaker than 1060 by 6 GB, but for such a price it is a sin to complain. If you wish, you can put your hand to the memory, increasing the frequency to 8800 MHz. Appearance is an amateur, someone will like it, some will not. On the other hand, if you are not going to put it on the shelf as a souvenir, then the appearance can be neglected.

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