The Best Budget Graphics Cards in 2022

If you’re the type who uses your PC for gaming, 3D animation, or video editing, you most likely need a graphics card that performs well. Graphics cards ensure that you get the best image quality from your screen. Most top-performing graphics cards have a hefty price tag, but they often guarantee premium quality, efficiency, and longevity. Not everyone is willing to spend big bucks on their graphics card, and fortunately, many budget-friendly options on the market will satisfy you with their performance. Since there is tight competition among graphics card manufacturers like AMD and NVIDIA, more and more models are dropping their prices. But you have to act fast when purchasing a graphics card because of the GPU shortage right now. If you see a model you like is in stock, you should add it to your cart and check out immediately because chances are the graphics card will be sold out in a few days. We know it can be time-consuming to scan through all the available graphics cards at the moment, so here are the best budget-friendly options you can buy in 2022.

The MSI Gaming AMD Radeon RX 6600 is ideal for those who plan to do a lot of 1080p gaming. Its AMD Radeon RX 6600 chipset delivers superb performance, and you get a boost clock of 1792 MHz. It features DirectX Raytracing that makes all your games look realistic by enhancing illumination, shadows, and reflection. The graphics card will elevate your game’s visual effects because of its fantastic AMD RDNA 2 architecture. You can expect a 2.4x increase in your frame rates because of the AMD Fidelity FX. You get up to 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 promises excellent airflow and heat management thanks to its heatsink design, core pipes, and thermal passing. Its fans automatically stop and stay silent when the temperature is low; they only turn on when your system gets hot. Users can rest assured that their graphics card will be safe once installed because of its PCB design and anti-bending capabilities. The MSI Gaming AMD Radeon RX 6600 has limited availability, but you can still find one online if you look hard enough.

Pros

• Superb 1080p performance
• 8 GB of GDDR6 memory

Cons

• Limited stock

Specification

• Price $389.00
• Chipset Radeon RX 6600
• Memory Clock Speed 1792 MHz
• Video Memory 8 GB GDDR6

When you’re loyal to NVIDIA and want the best among their more affordable offerings, you should go for the MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3050. It features the Ampere architecture of NVIDIA, and you will love its ray-tracking capabilities. It’s pretty seldom to find a budget-friendly option with such a feature. Even though this graphics card still doesn’t match the RT performance of more high-end options, it still guarantees a superb performance for 1080p gaming. The GeForce RTX 3050 has a 128-bit memory interface and a video memory of 8 GB GDDR6. It even comes with one HDMI 2.1 port and three DisplayPort 1.4. The graphics card has a memory clock speed of 1780 MHz and a base clock of 1550 MHz. Users can achieve AI-based DLSS upscaling with the graphics card because of its Tensor cores. NVIDIA recommends that you have a 550-watt PSU to get the best performance possible from this card. You can get an excellent deal for the GeForce RTX 3050, but the GPU shortage caused its stock to be limited. Thankfully, you can still find it on Amazon.

Pros

• Impressive performance
• Great for 1080p gaming
• Ray-tracing feature

Cons

• Limited availability

Specification

• Price $388.94
• Chipset NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
• Memory Clock Speed 1780 MHz
• Video Memory 8 GB GDDR6

The ASUS GeForce GTX 1660 Super is another fantastic option for those who want top-notch 1080p gaming on a budget. This graphics card features NVIDIA Turing, and it has 1408 CUDA cores. It has a core base clock of 1520 MHz, a core boost clock of 1785 MHz, and a memory clock of 1400 MHz. The GeForce GTX 1660 Super has a DVI-D port, a DisplayPort 1.4, and an HDMI port, so you can connect up to three monitors. Some GPUs can get pretty noisy, but this one has a quiet operation because of its dual-fan cooling system. You can expect it to have enhanced speed and longevity thanks to its auto-extreme technology. Monitoring the graphics card’s performance will be convenient thanks to the GPU Tweak II utility. You can also broadcast your gameplay hassle-free because the hard graphics cards have a dedicated hardware encoder that works wonderfully with the Open Broadcaster Software. The graphics card will remain safe no matter how many times you install or remove it from your system because it comes with a protective backplate. Unfortunately, this GPU isn’t perfect; it has limited ports and lacks RT cores.

Pros

• Fantastic 1080p performance
• Dual-fan cooling system

Cons

• Could use more ports
• Lacks RT cores

Specification

• Price $439.99
• Chipset GeForce GTX1660 SUPER
• Memory Clock Speed 1400 MHz
• Video Memory 6 GB GDDR6

If you’re a gamer who needs a graphics card that will do everything in its power to enhance your gameplay, you should check out the XFX Radeon RX 570 RS XXX Edition. It has 2048 stream processors, 8 GB GDDR5 memory, and an impressive clock speed of 7000 MHz. The graphics card will always have an optimized performance level because of the XFX True Clock technology that uses its hardware to control your card’s clock speed. It is even XFX OC+ capable, so you can achieve speeds beyond True Clock. Heat won’t be an issue for the XFX Radeon RX 570 RS XXX Edition because it has fantastic memory and VRM cooling technology. It will even decrease your card’s dB noise by about 5%. This graphics card isn’t good for just gaming; it’s also powerful enough for cryptocurrency mining. An important thing to note about the XFX Radeon RX 570 RS XXX Edition is that it has a 500-watt minimum power supply requirement. Customers will receive a driver CD and a quick install guide upon purchasing the graphics card.

Pros

• Excellent for gaming
• Superb cooling system
• XFX True Clock technology
• XFX OC+ capable

Cons

• Could use hard swap fans

Specification

• Price $379.00
• Chipset AMD RX 570
• Memory Clock Speed 7000 MHz
• Video Memory 8 GB GDDR5

The GIGABYTE Radeon RX 5500 XT is a valuable graphics card that costs just under $600. It features 7 nm Radeon RDNA architecture, and its Radeon Image Sharpening & FidelityFX capabilities deliver accelerated game fidelity. The graphics card comes with an 8 GB GDDR6 128-bit memory, so its speed won’t disappoint you. Users can expect immersive gameplay with excellent motion handling because of its FreeSync & FreeSync 2 HDR technology. The graphics card has a 1647 MHz base clock and an 1845 MHz boost clock, while its memory clock speed reaches 14,000 MHz. The GIGABYTE Radeon RX 5500 XT features the WINDFORCE 2X cooling system, giving you two alternate spinning blade fans for better heat management. Its cooling capabilities go a step further thanks to its 3D active fan functionality, three composite copper heat pipes, and heat-piper direct touch. Your VRAM will get the necessary cooling it needs because the heat pipes cover it using a sizeable metal plate. The graphics card is about eleven inches, so you will have to check your case beforehand to make sure it will fit. It’s pretty challenging to find available stock of the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 5500 XT, but if you move fast enough, you can buy one on Amazon.

Pros

• WINDFORCE 2X cooling system
• FreeSync & FreeSync 2 HDR technology
• 8GB video RAM

Cons

• The graphics card might be too big for some cases
• Limited stock

Specification

• Price $599.99
• Chipset AMD Radeon RX 580
• Memory Clock Speed 1845 Mhz
• Video Memory 8 GB GDDR6

The GIGABYTE Radeon RX 580 isn’t the cheapest among its competitors, but it’s still an excellent budget pick for gamers. While other graphics cards come with basic designs, this one will fit your gaming aesthetic because it has a trendy design with built-in RGB lighting that is fully customizable. The graphics card’s core clock reaches 1340 MHz using gaming mode and 1355 MHz in OC mode. It features 8 GB of graphics RAM, and it has a memory clock speed of 8000 MHz. The Radeon RX 580 has GIGABYTE’s WINDFORCE 2X system, so you can expect it to manage heat well. Its unique fan blade design has 3D stripe curves and a triangle edge to help airflow. The GPU’s direct contact care is maximized through its three uniquely-shaped copper heat pipes. These heat pipes balance phase transition and thermal conductivity well, resulting in the card having a better cooling capacity. It’s easy to tell when the graphics card’s fans are active or not because they come with LED indicators.

Pros

• Decent gaming GPU for its price
• Stylish design
• RGB lighting
• Superb cooling system and heat management

Cons

• Competitors are cheaper

Specification

• Price $421.91
• Chipset AMD Radeon RX 580
• Memory Clock Speed 8000 MHz
• Video Memory 8 GB GDDR5

The XFX Speedster QICK210 Radeon RX 6500XT will undoubtedly give you the most savings because it costs less than $250. It’s a fantastic choice for those who don’t need 4K resolution gaming because it performs well when set to 1080p at 60 fps. You get what you pay for with this one, and it’s why you’re limited to a VRAM of 4 GB and a 64-bit memory bus width. The graphics card features a PCI Express x16 graphics card and hardware interface, and it has a memory clock speed of 18 GHz. It comes with a boost clock speed of 2815 MHz, and you will get to maximize it by using this GPU with a Ryzen 3000/5000 CPU. The Radeon RX 6500XT has 1024 GPU cores and uses a Navi 24 graphics processor. Aside from its highly affordable price tag, another selling point of this graphics card is its wide availability online.

Pros

• Fantastic 1080p at 60 fps performance
• 18 GHz memory clock speed
• Low price
• Tons of stock available

Cons

• Memory bus width is only 64-bit
• VRAM of 4 GB is pretty low

Specification

• Price $229.99
• Chipset AMD RX 6500 XT
• Memory Clock Speed 18 GHz
• Video Memory 4 GB GDDR6