Best Budget Graphic Cards 2025

The headlines are dominated by the RTX 5090, a behemoth of a card that costs as much as a used car. But for the average gamer, that level of power is overkill. The Steam Hardware Survey tells the real story: 1080p is still the most popular resolution. If you are building a PC on a budget in 2025, you have some fantastic options that offer incredible price-to-performance.

The AMD Radeon RX 8600

AMD continues to be the king of value. The RX 8600 is a 1080p monster. It handles modern titles at high settings with ease, often exceeding 100fps. It features 12GB of VRAM, which is becoming the new minimum for longevity. It lacks the top-tier ray tracing performance of Nvidia, but for pure rasterization, it cannot be beaten at the $250 price point.

Nvidia RTX 4060 (Price Cut Edition)

With the 50-series launch, the 40-series has seen significant price drops. The RTX 4060 remains a solid choice, primarily because of DLSS 3. Frame Generation is a game-changer for budget cards, allowing you to play demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077 with smooth framerates by using AI to insert frames. It's efficient, cool, and fits in almost any case.

Intel Battlemage B770

Intel's second attempt at discrete graphics has matured beautifully. The drivers are now stable, and the B770 offers performance rivalling the 4060 Ti for significantly less money. It also has the best video encoding engine (AV1) in the class, making it a secret weapon for budget streamers.

The Used Market Goldmine

Don't ignore the used market. Cards like the RTX 3080 and RX 6800 XT are flooding eBay as enthusiasts upgrade. These former flagships still crush modern games at 1440p and can be found for bargain prices if you are willing to take the risk of buying second-hand.