If you’re looking for the Best Value for Money Graphics Cards. You have come to the right place! Nowadays everything is so expensive and a lot of us (Including me) are looking for components that won’t break the bank but still want decent performance!
This is not an in-depth guide, the aim is to give basic information and a simple overview of what these Video Cards offer in terms of performance , dimensions, total draw power & recommended processors.
As when starting a new build, I am sure we have all found a new case, wondering if the card we wanted would fit! Or what is the best processor to pair with that particular GPU, instead of googling around extensively to find this information, it is all in one place!
Here are the top 5 GPUs for the best value for money at this moment in time.
Number 5
Intel Arc A580 – Core 3072 8GB GDDR6
Created by Intel on the 10th October 2023, this is a mid range GPU from the Intel’s Arc 5 Series. This is built on a 6nm process and packs a punch for the price. It has DirectX 12 Ultimate hardware capabilities that enable ray tracing support, with 24 RT Cores.
With a price tag around £200/$169.99. It has a 256-Bit Memory bus, 2.0Ghz boost clock & support for DLL/FSR, and intel’s very own XeSS (XE Super Sampling) your ticking all the boxes for team blue.
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Specification Sheet Overview:
Clock Speed – Base 1700, Boost 2000, Memory 2000MHz 16Gpbs Effective
Board Design – Dual Slot, TDP: 175W, Suggested PSU: 450W, 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x Display ports, 2x 8-Pin Power connectors
Recommended Resolutions – 1920 x 1080p
Card Dimensions – L= 222, W= 101 D= 40.9 mm – 742g weight
GPU Equivalents – 6600 XT
Recommended CPUs: AMD Ryzen 5- 5500 / 5600X / 5600g / 3600 Intel i3 12th Gen or Higher
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ARC A580 Gaming Benchmarks
Here are a few benchmarks running games with the Intel Arc 580. This will show it running with a Ryzen 5500(Also a budget CPU). This gives you a general idea of the Frames Per Second (FPS) performance the chip can deliver.
So, any processor with similar or higher performance will deliver roughly the same results, though using better chips can give you a small boost in FPS.
Hogwarts Legacy Intel Arc 580 with Ryzen 5 5500 16gb Ram @ (1080p)
In Hogwarts Legacy, The minimum FPS was around 61, while the average 88 and Maximum FPS hitting 119. (Ray tracing disabled and XeSS balanced enabled)
Apex Legends Intel Arc 580 with Ryzen 5 5500 16gb Ram @ (1080p)
In Apex Legends, performance stayed consistently solid, with lows around 66 FPS, an average of 102, and peaks hitting 144. The experience feels fluid overall, with only minor dips during intense firefights.
Number 4
RTX 4060 – Cores 3072 8GB GDDR6
Created by Nvidia on the 18th of May 2023 this is a mid range GPU from Nvidia’s 40 Series Generation. This bad boy is built on a 5 nm process. which keeps it even cooler and more energy efficient then the Intel Arc A580.
Team green doesn’t hold back with this GPU. It has Third-Gen RT Cores, offering up to double the ray tracing performance. It doesn’t stop there. It also has 4th Gen Tensor cores, offering up to 4x performance with DLSS. This is Nvidia’s AI powered upscaling tech. (and yes, it really does boost performance!) If you’re looking for a budget GPU and do more than gaming, with the RTX 4060 you can’t go wrong!
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Specification sheet overview
Clock Speed: Base 1880 Mhz / Boost 2460 Mhz / Memory Clock 2125 MHz 17 Gbps effective
Board Design: Dual Slot / TDP: 115W / Suggested PSU 450W / 2x HDMI 2.1 ports / x2 DisplayPort 1.4
Card Dimensions: L:170 / W:120 mm / H:40 mm
Recommended Resolutions: 1080p, 1440p
Ray tracing Cores: 24
Equivalents: AMD RX 7600
Recommended CPUs: Ryzen 7 7700x / I5 13600K
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RTX 4060 Gaming Benchmarks
Here are 3 games running on the 4060. This is paired with the Ryzen 7 7600. All 3 games will be running on ultra at 1080. This card is capable of running some games at 2k, but I have not ran any bench mark tests for this.
A quick YouTube search will show you the games that can run at 2k on the 4060.
Cyberpunk 2077 Ultra RTX 4060 with Ryzen 7 7600 16gb Ram @ (1080)
Cyberpunk 2077 minimum FPS coming in at 59, with averages of 68 a maximum FPS of 80.
Hogwarts Legacy Ultra RTX 4060 with Ryzen 7 7600 16gb Ram @ (1080)
Hogwarts Legacy minimum FPS coming in at 39, averages of 64 and maximum of 86 FPS
Number 3
Radeon RX 6750 XT 12GB DDR6
At number 3 created by AMD, the Radeon RX 6750 XT has 12GB of ram and was released on March 3rd 2022. This card is suitable for the 4k gaming space on a budget! If you already have a 4k monitor and you don’t want to spend too much on a graphics card!
It’s built on a 7nm process and has 40 ray tracing cores. (Impressive ey?) In God of War, turning on ray tracing with FidelityFX Super Resolution (AMD’s answer to DLSS) still delivers smooth, playable frame rates. The price brand new for this card is around £300/$300. A steal for you and a win for Team Red!
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Specification Sheet Overview:
Clock Speed: Base 2150 Mhz / Game Clock 2495 Mhz / Boost Clock 2600 MHz / Memory Clock 2250 Mhz 18Gbps effective
Board Design: Dual Slot / TDP 250W / Suggested PSU 600W / 1x HDMI 2.1 / 3x Display ports / 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin power connector
Ray tracing Cores: 40
Card Size- L-267mm / W-110mm / H-40 mm
Recommended Resolutions – 1080p / 1440p
Graphics – 40 Raytracing Cores
Equivalents – RTX 3070
Recommended CPUs: Ryzen 5 5600, Ryzen 7 7700
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Radeon 6750XT Gaming Benchmarks
God of War Radeon 6750XT with Ryzen 5 5700X3D 16GB RAM @(1080)
This is God of War on Ultra settings at 1080p. Lows of 97, average of 115 and maximum of 139 FPS.
God of War Radeon 6750XT with Ryzen 5 5700X3D 16GB RAM @(1440)
This is God of War on Ultra settings at 1440p. Lows of 75, average of 87 and maximum of 104 FPS.
God of War Radeon 6750XT with Ryzen 5 5700X3D 16GB RAM @(4k)
God of War on Ultra Settings at 4k. Lows of around 60Fps, averages of 53 and max of 59 Fps.
Number 2
Radeon RX 6600 – 1792 Cores, 8GB GDDR6
Team Red makes the list again! With a card AMD launched back in July 30th 2021. This card was released 3 years ago, and it’s still a top card for the price. You can snag this card on eBay for around £200/$200. It still delivers good frame rates for some of the newest titles! In my opinion, you can’t go wrong. That’s exactly why it made made number 2 on the list!
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Specification Sheet Overview:
Clock Speed: Base Clock: 1626 / Game Clock: 2044 MHz / Boost Clock: 2491 MHz / Memory Clock: 1750 MHz 14 Gbps effective
Board Design: Dual slot / TDP: 132w / Suggested PSU: 300w / 1x HDMI 2.1 / 3x Display port / 1x8pin Connector
Card Size – L: 190 mm / W: 110 mm / H:40 mm
Recommended Resolutions: 1080p
Graphics: 32 RT Cores
Equivalents: RTX 3060
Recommended Processors: Ryzen 5 5600 / Intel I3 12100
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Hogwarts Legacy Radeon 6600 with Ryzen 5 5500 16GB RAM @(1080)
Hogwarts Legacy has decent FPS with the 6600. It has Lows of 56, an average of 77 and a maximum of 86 FPS.
Sparking Zero Radeon 6600 with Ryzen 5 5500 16GB RAM @(1080)
Above shows the benchmark for Dragon Ball Z sparking Zero. A game released this year. Showing lows of 29, an average of 49 FPS and a maximum of 61 FPS.
Number 1
Radeon RX 6650 XT 2048 cores 8GB
At number 1, the Radeon RX 6650 XT takes the crown as the current value-for-money champion. It was released on the 10th May 2022. You can grab this card for around £200/$200 on Amazon brand new, or on eBay for even less.
This card is around 20% Faster than its 6600 cousin. It has the same amount of RT cores, and you can comfortably game on this card at 2k with decent frame rates, as shown in the gaming benchmarks below.
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Specification Sheet Overview:
Clock Speed: Base 2055 Game / 2410 Boost 2635 MHz / Memory Clock 2190 @ 17.5Gbps effective
Board Design: Dual Slot TDP 176W / Suggested 450W / 1x HDMI 2.1 / 3x DisplayPort 1.4a / 1x8pin
Card Size – L: 190mm / W: 110 mm H: / 40 mm
Supported Resolution: 1080 / 2k
Ray Tracing Cores: 32 RT Cores
Recommended CPUs: Ryzen 7 7600
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6650 XT Gaming Benchmarks
God of War Radeon 6650 with Ryzen 5 5600x 16GB RAM @(1080)
In God of War with FSR turned off, the 6650 XT has lows of 58 FPS, an average of 65 FPS, and a maximum of 81 FPS. Actually, now I think about it I might buy this card myself with benchmarks like these!
Cyberpunk 2077 Radeon 6650 with Ryzen 5 5600x 16GB RAM @(1080)
In Cyberpunk 2077 with FSR turned off, The 6650 XT delivered lows of 43, an average of 57 FPS and a peaks around 67 FPS. Very good for such a demanding title at ultra settings!
Summary
This concludes the top 5 Best Value for Money Graphics Cards. You should have a clear idea which GPUs to get if you are on a tight budget. Since this guide focuses on budget, I have not recommended high end CPUs such as the AMD Ryzen 9 9900x or the Intel I9 14900K. Instead, I’ve listed processors that let you games comfortably, with decent frame rates at 1080p and 1440p.
The guide is aimed more towards gamers, if you’re are a content creator, game designer or video editor. I’d always recommend a Nvidia GPU. Creative software like Unreal Engine, Unity, Blender, and Maya tend to run more reliably on Nvidia hardware thanks to their excellent driver support.
The graphics card I’d recommend is Nvidia RTX 4060 you can’t go wrong gaming or content creating. For gaming specifically, I’d would go for Team Red or Team Blue, as you generally get a better price to performance ratio!
If you’re building a setup on a tight budget, you might also want to check out our guide on the Best Gaming Desktops under £1000, where we compare prebuilt options to custom builds. On a super budget? Yeah, don’t worry we’ve all been there… Check it out here!
Or if you’re just after a general guide on CPUs, here’s one for Team Red and Team Blue!
That’s a wrap, legends. Drop your setup wins in the comments, I’ll see you there. 💬
