One of the perks of PC gaming is that you can build something that caters to your needs and suits your budget. With GPU pricing coming down there are plenty of budget graphics cards out there that you can buy for 1080p and even 1440p gaming. In this article, we are going to go over some of the best budget graphics cards that you can buy right now in 2022.
Best Budget Graphics Cards 2022
The following are some of the best budget graphics cards that you can buy right now in 2022:
XFX RX 6500XT Speedster QICK210 – Best Card Under $200
GPU: Navi 24 | GPU Cores: 1024 | Boost Clock: 2,825 MHz | VRAM: 4GB GDDR6
The XFX RX 6500XT Speedster QICK210 is an impressive budget graphics card that you can get for under $200. This model comes with 2 fans and is actually one of the best-looking variants out there. This is a budget graphics card so you do not get anything fancy and there is no RGB lighting but it does come with a backplate.
While the card does not use a lot of power, you still need a 6-pin power connector in order to power it. The 4GB GDDR6 memory and 1024 GPU cores are ideal for 1080p gaming but you will need to turn down the settings in intensive titles. The 4Gb of VRAM is a bit limiting so this is not a particularly future-proof card.
All things considered, the XFX RX 6500XT Speedster QICK210 is a great graphics card if you want to game on a budget. It might not be future-proof but it will get the job done.
The Breakdown
The following is what we like and dislike about the XFX RX 6500XT Speedster QICK210:
Pros:
- Budget-friendly
- 1080p medium performance
- Current generation
Cons:
- 4GB VRAM is limiting
- Only two video output ports
- needs a 6-pin power connector
Asus Dual RTX 3050 OC – Best Budget Card Overall
GPU: Turing (TU116) | GPU Cores: 2560 | Boost Clock: 1,852 MHz | VRAM: 8GB GDDR6
Asus is known for making some of the best gaming gear that you can buy right now and the Dual RTX 3050 OC is no exception. It has a dual fan design which is ideal for cooling and there is minimal RGB lighting. The design of the card is stealthy and it should blend in well with the rest of your build.
The RTX 3050 is the best overall graphics card that you can buy on a budget as it offers great 1080p performance and 8GB of VRAM which makes it future-proof. Not to mention the reasonable price tag. You also get the added benefit of DLSS which can improve FPS even further.
While this is a budget graphics card, it does come with a backplate. You will need a single 8-pin connector to power the card.
The Breakdown
The following is what we like and dislike about the Asus Dual RTX 3050 OC:
Pros:
- Relatively reasonable price
- Budget RT and DLSS
- Compact design
- 8GB VRAM
Cons:
- Not ideal for VR
Asus Phoenix RTX 3060 V2 – Great Value For Money
GPU: Ampere (GA106) | GPU Cores: 3840 | Boost Clock: 1807 MHz | VRAM: 12GB GDDR6
The Asus Phoenix RTX 3060 V2 is one of the cheapest variants that you can buy right now. The RTX 3060 offers excellent 1080p gaming performance. You can play pretty much any game at 1080p with all the settings maxed out. It also does well at 1440p. It comes with 12GB of VRAM which is ideal for future-proofing.
The RTX 3060 offers great value for money keeping in mind the performance that it has to offer. It has performance similar to that of the RTX 2070. The design is very compact and there is a single fan so overclocking is fairly limited. It is ideal for small form factor gaming PCs.
While this is a budget graphics card, it still comes with a backplate. You will need a single 8-pin connector to power the card.
The Breakdown
The following is what we like and dislike about the Asus Phoenix RTX 3060 V2:
Pros:
- Good 1080p/1440p performance
- Plenty of VRAM for the future
- Great value
- RTX 2070 performance
- Compact design
- Ideal for small form factor PCs
Cons:
- 192-bit bus
XFX Radeon RX 6600 Speedster SWFT 210 – Best Card For 1080p
GPU: Navi 23 | GPU Cores: 1792 | Boost Clock: 2,491 MHz | VRAM: 8GB GDDR6
The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the best graphics card for 1080p gaming if you are not interested in features such as ray tracing or DLSS. It offers great rasterization performance but the ray tracing performance is not good at all. Chances are that if you are looking for a budget graphics card then ray tracing is not all that important to you, that is where the XFX Radeon RX 6600 Speedster SWFT 210 comes in.
The card offers decent value for money and has one of the best designs out there right now. It only has 8GB of VRAM which is not a lot keeping in mind that the competition is offering more but it should be enough for 1080p gaming.
While this is a budget graphics card, it does come with a backplate but there is no RGB lighting. You will need a single 8-pin connector to power the card.
The Breakdown
The following is what we like and dislike about the XFX Radeon RX 6600 Speedster SWFT 210:
Pros:
- Power efficient
- Excellent 1080p performance
- Great value
- Clean design
Cons:
- 8GB VRAM
- Poor ray tracing performance
These are some of the best budget graphics cards that you can buy right now in 2022. You can also check out our recommended AMD X570S motherboards and RGB fan kits.