Where To Buy Cheap Graphics Cards [UPD]
Finding the best cheap graphics card prices shouldn't be overlooked if you're looking to build your own gaming PC. As the beating heart of any respectable setup, it's incredibly important to make sure you're getting the right GPU and paying the right price for it. While costs continue to fluctuate from region to region, we've rounded up all the best graphics card prices and deals into one handy page right here, factoring in US, UK, and Australian retailers.
where to buy cheap graphics cards
While Nvidia cards are still a little pricey (demand remains high), many AMD cards are actually falling below their recommended launch MSRP currently. This means it's possible to get some best graphics cards on the market without completely breaking the bank at the moment - something that was unheard of just 12 months ago. Overall, it's a great time to be building a gaming PC, although we'd always urge that buyers weigh up their options carefully before committing.
That's where our graphics card deals page comes in handy. Not only do you have the best prices here but you'll also find a ton of unbiased no-nonsense buyers' advice should you be unsure about what card to go for.
We've rounded up the best graphics card prices we've found this week just down below. This chart is particularly handy if you want a quick overview of the market as a whole right now. Note, prices can still fluctuate rapidly from day to day now so allow for a bit of wiggle room with the following table - it's not uncommon to see cards fluctuate $10 to $20 up or down on a regular basis.
However, the burning question is whether graphics card prices have more wiggle room to fall even further. Personally, we think it's likely that we'll see prices fall quite a bit over the next few months. Not only do we have the next generation of Nvidia cards looming now (the RTX 4000 series), but the much-hyped Ethereum shift to proof of stake has just shipped as of mid-September. In a nutshell, this is a one-two punch that should have a knock-on effect in driving prices of the soon-to-be older RTX 3000 cards down. Note the should here. We're cautiously optimistic overall but we think demand will remain high for a while, even if there's a sudden glut of older and second-hand cards at the big retailers.
That said, no one can deny that the popularity of PC gaming hasn't boomed over the past few years. For context, Steam, the world's biggest online PC gaming platform saw a 20% increase in the number of titles purchased via its store in 2021 and a staggering 50% increase in hours played. Subsequently, it's no surprise that graphics cards - the most vital component in any respectable gamers rig - were in short supply.
Yes and no. One glance at the above graphics card prices chart will tell you that some cards are still overpriced whereas some (particularly AMD cards) are actually below MSRP in some regions. We're in a weird place right now thanks to the continuing popularity of Nvidia's cards - which is the case due to their slight edge in Ray-Tracing performance versus their AMD counterparts.
Generally speaking though, we're headed in the right direction. For context, our sister site PCGamer published a piece recently stating that graphics card prices have fallen a whopping 50% on average in the past year. With the average price dropping so dramatically, we've got hopes that Nvidia cards will fall in more line with AMD prices by the end of 2022.
Right now, we're liking the look of the mid to upper-range AMD cards for outright value. In particular, the slightly older RX 6700 XT and RX 6800 are offering fantastic bang for the buck for their asking prices of around $369 (opens in new tab) and $559 (opens in new tab) (329 (opens in new tab) and 529 (opens in new tab) in the UK). Compared to their RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 counterparts, these cards are offering equivalent performance for around $200 / 120 cheaper, which is an absolute steal if you're not fussed about the slight drop in Ray-Tracing chops.
If you're really on a budget, then it's also difficult to overlook the standard RX 6600, which retails for around $269 (opens in new tab) / 250 (opens in new tab) currently. This fantastic (and slightly older) card is the closest thing we have to a truly cheap graphics card deal right now if you're looking to build a machine in the sub $800 / 800 range.
We can finally report that there are actually good cheap graphics card deals, and it feels really good to be able to type that. Of course, the latest GPUs of Nvidia's RTX 40-series and AMD's RX 7000-series is prohibitively expensive, but genuinely powerful 1080p graphics cards are available at the sub-$250 mark. And by the way, Intel is definitely in the fray at the budget end of the market now that it's sorted out its drivers.
There are savings on pretty much all of the last-gen graphics cards, but it's a tougher sell for the likes of the RTX 3080 and above. Those cards are still priced high enough to get close to the latest generation of GPUs. We know both AMD and Nvidia will launch more affordable versions of their RDNA 3 and Ada Lovelace architectures in the coming months. That makes those expensive old cards even harder to recommend unless the deal is truly a steal.
Intel Arc A750 8GB 28 Xe Cores 2,050MHz $289 $224.99.99 at Newegg (save $65 with promo code PAX323B) (opens in new tab)The Intel discrete graphics cards have only gotten more relevant since their inauspicious launch. With successive driver releases increasing performance and now a significant price drop, the A750 is now one of the most tempting budget GPUs around. It's a bit more power hungry than AMD's RX 6600 but is a super capable 1080p card knocking both RTX 3050 and RTX 3060 out of the value GPU stakes.
ASRock Phantom Gaming D RX 6600 XT 8GB GDDR6 2,048 shaders 2,607MHz boost $274.99 $269.99 at Newegg (save $5) (opens in new tab)Another nice budget offering now it's seen a price drop, this card will beat the RTX 3060, and while its not as fast as the RX 6650 XT on our best graphics cards list it's a great budget alternative, especially at that price.
Intel Arc A750 8GB 28 Xe Cores 2,050MHz $289 249.95 at Overclockers (opens in new tab)The Intel discrete graphics cards have only gotten more relevant since their inauspicious launch. With successive driver releases increasing performance and now a significant price drop, the A750 is now one of the most tempting budget GPUs around. It's a bit more power hungry than AMD's RX 6600 but is a super capable 1080p card knocking both RTX 3050 and RTX 3060 out of the value GPU stakes.
Zotac RTX 4090 Trinity 24GB 16,384 shaders 2,520MHz 1,929.99 1,689.99 at Overclockers (save 240) (opens in new tab)I know, I know, cheap graphics card deals, lol. But if you want to grab a third-party RTX 4090 for near the base MSRP of the card here you go. And the Zotac cards are gorgeous versions of the most powerful graphics card available today. If you can afford it, this is the card to buy right now.
It's also worth noting that the previous generation of graphics cards do still have something to offer, with something like the GTX 1650 Super able to outpace a more modern RTX 3050 in most benchmarks.
Here's a list of the manufacturer set retail prices (MSRP), or recommended retail price (RRP), for most the latest graphics cards. For the most part, these are the set prices for the stock or reference versions of these cards, if applicable, and not representative of overclocked or third-party graphics cards, which may well be priced higher.
You can expect decent performance from a cheap graphics card starting at around $199, if the Radeon RX 6500 XT has taught us anything. Should you want to go cheaper than the $200 range, you're going to struggle to play games competently at 60 FPS in 1080p, so we recommend starting your search at this budget.
Cheap graphics cards are geared primarily around stable performance in lower resolutions such as 1080p. Really, it's only the higher-end GPUs from both Nvidia and AMD that are capable of decent performance in Ultra HD. That's not to say that 1440p isn't possible with a cheap graphics card, it certainly is, but 4K is out of this budget's reach.
Today's cheap graphics cards are going to be able to keep up with the latest games for at least this current GPU generation (around two years). Because of how quickly the PC gaming scene moves, it's difficult to predict how competent these cards will be by then, but, for now, they are ideal to bridge the gap.
The best cheap graphics card deals in July help you to power the latest games in 1080p and 1440p without breaking the bank. As video cards overall are becoming cheaper, and substantially easier to find, we're seeing some of the prices on some of our favorite models in the US and the UK to date.
While these graphics card deals primialry focus on the budget side of the scale from AMD and Nvidia, we've done our best to find some suitable mid-range models at rates in line with current market trends. If your sole interest is to game in 1080p utilizing the latest in upscaling technology, then our handpicked selection is sure to suffice. While our offerings here might not match that of the best graphics cards on the market, you'll still be able to get by in the latest games if you're careful with your settings sliders.
MSI Ventus GTX 1650 XS OC $220 $189.99 at Newegg (opens in new tab)Save $30 with rebate card - This is a great price on a very capable model which continues to be one of the most popular video cards for a reason. At well under $200, this MSI Ventus graphics card is perfect for entry-level gaming.
If you're after a current-generation cheap graphics card aimed squarely at 1080p then the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT can manage to keep up with modern games despite its lower spec. The biggest advantage to this particular GPU is the fact that is that RX 6500 XT stock is available in both the US and UK for its respective starting MSRP of $199 / 179. 041b061a72