How To Buy A Gpu In 2025

One of nan trickiest parts of immoderate caller machine build aliases upgrade is uncovering nan correct video card. In a gaming PC, nan GPU is easy nan astir important component, and you tin hamstring your acquisition by buying nan incorrect model. The buying process tin beryllium frustrating, pinch galore manufacturers trading their models supra their suggested unit price. In this guide, we'll thief you navigate nan marketplace and find nan correct GPU for your needs.

Table of contents

How to bargain a GPU

There are a batch of things to see earlier buying a graphics card. We'll spell done everything successful extent below, but here's a TL;DR database of what you should consider: nan types of games you play, nan magnitude of VRAM successful nan graphics cards you're considering, nan beingness size of nan paper and really overmuch powerfulness it requires, nan manufacturers that make nan GPUs connected your shortlist and, finally, your fund for a caller GPU. We person immoderate of our favorites recommended astatine nan extremity of this guide, but it's important to retrieve that location isn't 1 champion graphics paper for everyone — nan champion GPU will you will dangle mostly connected really you scheme connected utilizing it, pinch what wave and really overmuch you're consenting to spend.

It's each astir nan games

The first mobility to inquire yourself is what benignant of games do you want to play. Competitive shooters for illustration Valorant, Overwatch and Marvel Rivals were designed to tally connected older hardware. As such, moreover entry-level GPUs for illustration nan GeForce RTX 5060 tin push those games astatine 120 frames per 2nd and supra astatine 1080p (more connected why that's important successful a moment).

By contrast, if you want to play modern, single-player games pinch ray tracing and different graphical extras, you'll request a much powerful GPU. Just really overmuch much powerful will dangle connected nan solution of your monitor.

A 1440p show has 78 percent much pixels than a 1080p screen, and a 4K show has much than doubly arsenic galore pixels arsenic a QHD panel. In short, moving a crippled astatine 4K, particularly astatine thing supra 60 frames per second, is demanding, and astir GPUs will request to usage upscaling techniques for illustration NVIDIA's Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) to push caller games astatine precocious refresh rates.

While we're connected nan taxable of resolution, it doesn't make consciousness to walk a batch of money connected a 4K show only to brace it pinch an inexpensive GPU. That's a look for a bad experience. As you're shopping for a caller video card, you should deliberation astir nan solution and framework complaint you want to play your games. If you're successful nan marketplace for some a GPU and display, beryllium judge to cheque retired our guideline to nan best gaming monitors.

If your fund allows, a bully stake is to bargain a midrange paper that tin comfortably render each but nan astir demanding games astatine 1440p and astatine slightest 144 frames per second. Put different way, you want a GPU that tin saturate a show astatine its autochthonal solution and refresh complaint successful arsenic galore games arsenic possible. That will springiness you nan smoothest imaginable acquisition successful position of mobility clarity, and let you to dabble successful some competitory shooters and nan latest single-player games arsenic nan temper strikes you.

NVIDIA vs AMD and Intel

One of nan confusing aspects of nan GPU manufacture are each nan players involved. What you request to cognize is that location are 3 main players: AMD, Intel and NVIDIA. They creation nan cards you tin buy, but delegate nan manufacturing of them to alleged add-in committee (AIB) partners for illustration ASUS, XFX, Gigabyte and others.

As you tin astir apt imagine, this creates immoderate headaches. The astir annoying of which is that AMD, Intel and NVIDIA will often group recommended prices for their schematic cards, only for their partners to waste their versions of those GPUs supra nan manufacturer's suggested unit value (MSRP). For example, NVIDIA's website lists nan RTX 5070 pinch a starting value of $549. On Newegg, location are nary 5070s listed astatine that price. The only models anyplace adjacent to $549 are unfastened container specials. If you want 1 that comes sealed, that will costs you at slightest $600.

As for what institution you should bargain your caller GPU from, earlier 2025, NVIDIA was nan undisputed king of nan market. Specific GeForce cards whitethorn person not offered nan champion rasterization capacity successful their value range, but betwixt their capacity successful games pinch ray tracing and nan truth NVIDIA was up connected features for illustration DLSS, an RTX GPU was a safe bet.

However, pinch this year's RTX 50 bid release, different than models for illustration nan RTX 5080 and 5090 wherever there's nary competition, it's safe to opportunity NVIDIA missed nan people this generation. If you're successful nan marketplace for an entry- aliases mid-level GPU, AMD and Intel connection amended value, pinch cards that travel pinch capable VRAM for now and into nan future. That said, location are still a fewer reasons you mightiness see an NVIDIA GPU, starting pinch ray tracing.

Ray tracing

For decades, developers person utilized rasterization techniques to approximate really ray behaves successful nan existent world, and nan results person been commendable. But if you cognize what to look for, it's easy to spot wherever nan illusion falls apart. For that reason, real-time ray tracing has been a extremity of manufacture for years, and successful 2018 it became a reality pinch NVIDIA's first RTX cards.

In immoderate games, effects for illustration ray-traced reflections and world illumination are transformational. Unfortunately, those features are costly to run, often coming astatine a important frame-rate driblet without upscaling. Since ray tracing was optional successful galore games earlier 2025, you could prevention money by buying an AMD GPU. For example, moreover if nan RX 7800 XT was worse astatine ray tracing than nan RTX 4070, nan erstwhile was often cheaper to buy, had much onboard VRAM and was arsenic bully aliases amended rasterization capacity successful galore games.

However, you can't disregard ray tracing capacity anymore. We're starting to spot releases for illustration Doom: The Dark Ages wherever nan tech is an integral portion of a game's rendering pipeline, and much are apt to travel successful nan future. Thankfully, AMD's newest cards are overmuch amended successful that regard, though you'll still get an separator moving an NVIDIA model. For that reason, if ray tracing is important to you, NVIDIA cards are still nan measurement to go.

Refresh rates and framework rates

If you're caller to nan world of PC gaming, it tin beryllium tricky to wrap your caput astir refresh rates. In short, nan higher nan refresh complaint of a monitor, nan much times it tin update nan image it displays connected surface each second, thereby producing a smoother moving picture.

For example, moving elements connected a show pinch a 240Hz refresh complaint will look amended than connected 1 pinch a 120Hz refresh rate. However, that's each contingent connected your GPU being capable to consistently render a crippled astatine nan due framework rates. In nan lawsuit of a 120Hz monitor, you want a GPU pinch capable headroom to thrust astir games astatine 120 fps. Realistically, astir video cards won't beryllium capable to execute that successful each game, but it's a bully baseline to purpose for erstwhile shopping for a caller GPU.

Upscaling and latency

I've mentioned DLSS a fewer times already. Alongside FSR and Intel XeSS, DLSS is an illustration of what's known arsenic an image reconstruction technology. More and more, autochthonal rendering is going retired of manner successful crippled design. With ray tracing and different modern effects enabled, moreover nan astir powerful GPUs tin struggle to render a crippled astatine 1440p aliases 4K and a playable framerate. That’s why galore developers will move to DLSS, FSR aliases XeSS to eke retired further capacity by upscaling a little solution image to QHD aliases UHD.

Upscaling successful games is thing new. For example, nan PS4 Pro utilized a checkerboard method to output games successful 4K. What is different now is really modern GPUs spell astir it. With DLSS, NVIDIA pioneered an attack that uses instrumentality learning to recreate an image astatine a higher resolution, and successful nan process, addressed immoderate of nan pitfalls of past upscaling methods. If you're delicate to these sorts of things, there's still blur and shimmer pinch DLSS, FSR and XeSS, but it's overmuch little pronounced and tin lead to important capacity gains.

To DLSS, NVIDIA later added azygous and multi-frame generation. DLSS is only disposable connected NVIDIA cards, and pursuing nan caller merchandise of DLSS 4, wide considered to connection nan champion image quality. That's different logic why you mightiness take an NVIDIA paper complete 1 of its competitors. However, if you determine to spell pinch an AMD GPU, don't consciousness for illustration you're missing out. The institution precocious released FSR 4. While it's not rather connected par pinch DLSS 4 successful position of support and image quality, it's a awesome leap complete FSR 3 and FSR 2.

While connected nan taxable of DLSS, I'll besides mention NVIDIA Reflex. It's a latency-reducing exertion NVIDIA introduced successful 2020. AMD has its ain type called Radeon Anti-Lag, but present again Team Green has a flimsy separator acknowledgment to nan caller merchandise of Reflex 2. If you're superior astir competitory games, Reflex 2 tin importantly trim input lag, which will make it easier to nail your shots successful Counter-Strike 2, Valorant and different shooters.

Driver support

Previously, 1 of nan reasons to prime an NVIDIA GPU complete nan title was nan company's coagulated way grounds of driver support. With 1 of nan company's video cards, you were little apt to tally into stableness issues and games failing to launch. In 2025, NVIDIA's drivers person been abysmal, pinch group reporting predominant issues and bugs. So if you attraction astir stability, AMD has a flimsy separator correct now.

VRAM

As you're comparing different GPUs, particularly those successful nan aforesaid tier, salary adjacent attraction to nan magnitude of VRAM they offer. Modern games will eat up arsenic overmuch VRAM arsenic a GPU tin offer, and if your paper has a debased amount, specified arsenic 8GB, you're apt to tally into a capacity bottleneck.

If your fund allows for it, ever spell for nan exemplary pinch much VRAM. Consider, for instance, nan quality betwixt nan $299 RTX 5060 and $429 RTX 5060 Ti. I cognize spending an other $130 — adjacent to 50 percent much — connected nan 5060 Ti is going to beryllium a batch for immoderate people, but it's nan quality betwixt a paper that is hardly capable for immoderate caller merchandise and 1 that will past you for a fewer years, and it each comes down to nan magnitude of VRAM offered successful each. Simply put, much is better.

A flimsy caveat to this is erstwhile comparing models that person different representation bandwidths. A GPU that tin entree much of its representation faster tin outperform 1 pinch much memory, moreover if it has little of it outright. Here, you'll want to publication reviews of nan models you're comparing to spot really they execute successful different games.

Size and powerfulness draw

Modern GPUs are big. Most caller cards will return up astatine slightest 2 PCI slots connected nan backmost of your motherboard. They tin besides alteration dramatically successful length, depending connected nan number of fans nan AIB has added to cool nan PCB. To beryllium safe, beryllium judge to cheque nan magnitude of nan paper you want to bargain against nan maximum clearance listed by your lawsuit manufacturer. If you person a radiator astatine nan beforehand of your case, you will besides request to facet nan size of that successful your measurements. The past point you want is to bargain a paper that doesn't fresh successful your case.

Lastly, beryllium judge to cheque nan recommended powerfulness proviso for nan paper you want. As a norm of thumb, unless you cognize what you're doing, it's champion to conscionable instrumentality pinch nan manufacturer's recommendation. For instance, NVIDIA suggests pairing nan RTX 5070 pinch a 750 watt PSU. So if you're presently moving a 650 watt unit, you'll request to facet successful nan value of a PSU upgrade pinch your caller GPU.

Should you bargain a utilized GPU?

It depends. If you tin find a woody connected an aged RTX 40 bid GPU, past yes. NVIDIA's RTX 50 bid don't connection greatly improved capacity complete their predecessors, and pinch astir models trading for much than their suggested unit price, it's not a awesome clip to bargain a caller NVIDIA card.

That said, I fishy uncovering a bully woody connected a utilized GPU will beryllium difficult. Most group will cognize nan worth of what they have, and considering nan existent market, will astir apt effort to get arsenic overmuch arsenic they tin for their aged card.

You whitethorn find amended deals connected older AMD and Intel GPUs, but I deliberation you're amended disconnected spending much now connected a caller exemplary from 1 of those companies since nan generational gains offered by their latest cards are overmuch much impressive. Simply put, nan 9070 XT and B580 are 2 of nan champion cards you tin bargain correct now.

Anything older than a paper from NVIDIA's 40 bid aliases AMD's RX 6000 family is not worthy considering. Unless your fund is highly tight aliases you mostly play older games, you're overmuch amended disconnected spending much to bargain a caller paper that will past you longer.

When is simply a bully clip to bargain a caller GPU?

If you've publication up to this point, you're astir apt wondering if it's moreover worthy buying a GPU correct now. The reply is (unsurprisingly) complicated. There are a fistful of awesome cards for illustration nan Intel B580 and Radeon 9070 XT that are perfectly worthy buying. The problem is uncovering immoderate GPU astatine prices approaching those group by AMD, Intel aliases NVIDIA is really tough. To make things worse, uncertainty astir President Trump's tariff policies is apt to push prices moreover higher. If you ain a comparatively caller GPU, you're astir apt champion disconnected trying to clasp onto your existent paper until things settee down.

However, if your GPU isn't cutting it anymore, you look a difficult decision: overpay now, aliases hold and perchance salary moreover much later. As overmuch arsenic I'm reluctant to urge a prebuilt PC, if you're already readying to build a caller computer, it's worthy exploring your options location since you mightiness extremity up redeeming money connected a video paper erstwhile it's bundled together pinch each nan different components you need.

Best GPUs for 2025: Engadget recommendations

Entry-level (1080p) GPUs

As we mentioned above, if you're only aiming to play basal competitory shooters for illustration Valorant and Overwatch 2 in 1080p, an entry-level GPU whitethorn beryllium each you need. While 1080p isn't an perfect solution erstwhile it comes to sharpness, galore gamers for illustration it since it's easier to scope higher framerates. And it besides helps that 1080p gaming monitors, for illustration nan AOC 24G15N 24-inch we recommend, thin to connection speedy refresh rates for betwixt $100 and $200. When you're zipping done matches, you apt won't person clip to return a activity and admit nan item from higher resolutions.

Here are our recommendations for entry-level video cards.

Midrange (1440p) GPUs

While entry-level cards tin dabble pinch 1440p gaming, it's worthy stepping up to thing a spot much powerful if you really want to execute higher refresh rates. For astir gamers, 1440p is nan champion equilibrium betwixt sharpness and precocious framerates. It looks noticeably amended than 1080p, and doesn't require nan horsepower overhead of 4K. (And there's a bully chance you won't really spot a ocular quality pinch nan jump to 4K.)

Here are our recommendations for midrange GPUs.

High-end (4K) GPUs

If you want nan astir of what modern PC games person to offer, including 4K and each of nan benefits of ray tracing, past beryllium fresh to walk large bucks connected a high-end GPU. If you're going this route, though, beryllium judge you're besides gaming connected a high-end monitor that befits these powerful GPUs.

Here are our recommendations for premium GPUs.

Super high-end/Money isn't existent GPUs

Listen, there's only 1 prime present and it's NVIDIA's enormously powerful and fantastically costly RTX 5090. It's an absolute beast, pinch 32GB of VRAM and nan astir hardware NVIDIA has ever stuffed into a user GeForce GPU. The RTX 5090 doesn't make consciousness for 99 percent of gamers — particularly since it's now going for $3,000, up from its $2,000 motorboat value — but if you person nan rate to spare, it'll surely gain you bragging rights. (Check retired our NVIDIA RTX 5090 review.)