Looking for the most powerful GPU for gaming? The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is a fantastic alternative if you’re searching for something more reasonably priced.

What is the most powerful GPU for gaming?

Suppose you’re a PC gamer or a content creator who depends on the speed of your graphics-accelerated software. In that case, your video card is the engine that drives what you can do—or how loudly you can brag.

Choosing the powerful GPU for gaming for your computer might seem complicated, or figuring out if you need one, but it’s not. Still, high-end cards are an investment, so you should know a few things before you buy one. If you’re going to buy a new card, it’s hard to say that you shouldn’t buy the best one you can afford. Our guide will help you determine the most powerful GPU for gaming, what you need to know to improve your system, and how to tell if a card is a good buy.

Here are our top picks for the best cards from AMD and NVIDIA.

Our choices are based (in ascending order) on the game quality you want to play at, and we choose the best NVIDIA and AMD cards for each use case (unless one brand is the clear winner). After our recommendations, you’ll find a detailed guide on choosing the most powerful GPU for gaming for you and a breakdown of the specs of our top choices. Let’s dig in!

1-  NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Super

Why We Went With It?

NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1650 Super became a budget card from the start, and even though supplies of graphics cards have steadied, it’s still a rock at the low end. Of course, the card’s speed isn’t good enough to run games at 4K, and it won’t run every game you throw at it with the graphics settings turned up to a maximum or even high. Even so, it still has enough processing power for 1080p play, and if you keep your expectations in check, you can have an enjoyable time with it. (We tried out a Zotac Twin Fan model.)

Who’s Getting It?

This card is best for gamers on a tight budget who want to play games in 1080p. You can get a lot more graphics power for a little more money. It may not be able to run everything at high graphics settings, but the GTX 1650 Super can run many games at high graphics settings. When running newer games, you should be ready to turn the settings down to medium or even low. If that doesn’t bother you and you want to play new AAA games without worrying about getting the best graphics, the GeForce GTX 1650 Super should keep you happy for less than $200.

2-  The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti from NVIDIA

Why We Chose the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti?

The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti from NVIDIA is a well-rounded card that can play 1080p games well without spending a lot. It doesn’t have a lot of newer features, like support for ray tracing and DLSS. But for classic games that don’t have these choices, the GTX 1660 Ti is more than enough to give you a fun gaming experience, and if you stick to 1080p, you can even crank up the detail levels. (We tried a model called MSI Gaming X 6G.)

Who’s Getting It?

The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is a good choice if you want to play pretty new games but only have a little money. With this long-lasting card, most games should run well at 1080p resolution, even if the graphics settings turned up. Lower-end GeForce RTX cards can’t take advantage of the RTX line’s ray tracing performance, so if you have little money, the GTX line is still a good option.

3-  AMD’s Radeon RX 6600

Why We Chose the AMD Radeon RX 6600?

AMD’s Radeon RX 6600 is a reliable midrange card that supports current graphics features like ray tracing and AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) upscaling. It’s one of the least expensive in the chipmaker’s Radeon RX 6000-series, and the card’s features give it an edge over competitive solutions like the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, two years older. (We tried an XFX Speedster SWFT version.)

Who’s Getting It

If you play games at 1080p, this card should make you happy. At that resolution, it won’t max out every game, especially if you have a gaming monitor with a high frame rate, but most games should run smoothly.

4-  AMD Radeon RX 7600

Why We Chose the AMD Radeon RX 7600?

Based on AMD’s RDNA 3 architecture, the Radeon RX 7600 gives great speed at 1080p resolutions. Compared to its predecessor, it has better ray-tracing ability, a more significant number of cores, and a faster clock speed. The card also has 8GB of GDDR6 RAM, which is great for gaming in 1080p. You can get the card for as little as $269, much less than many other faster choices.

Who’s Getting It?

The Radeon RX 7600 is best if you want to get the most out of a 1080p game monitor for as little money as possible. Even though its performance at 1440p and 4K isn’t as good as we’d like, at 1080p, you can run most games with all settings maxed out and still get a decent 60fps. To run at higher framerates, you only need to slightly turn down the graphics settings or turn on AMD’s FSR technology in games that allow it. You’ll have to decide whether you want amazing graphics or faster refresh rates at Full HD, but this card will readily give you either (and, in some games, both).

5-  NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

Why We Chose It?

Out with the Old, in with the New, the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is much better than the earlier RTX 3070 and RTX 3070 Ti graphics cards. It also costs less than the RTX 3080, which often ties in with performance. Even though it costs more than the RTX 3070 and isn’t as suitable for gamers on a budget, it may still be NVIDIA’s most powerful GPU for gaming 1440p games.

Who’s Getting It?

The RTX 4070 is an excellent choice if you want to play games at 1440p with the best graphics settings. Its ray-tracing speed is perfect for the price, and because it’s part of the new RTX 40 Series, it also supports DLSS 3, which makes games that can use it run much faster. It means the RTX 4070 can also play 4K games well.

6-  AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT

Why We Went With It?

At the time, the Radeon RX 6750 XT might be AMD’s best midrange graphics card. It’s better than the standard Radeon RX 6700 XT, which was already good enough for 2K games. Also, it has a lot of RAM, making it suitable for moderate 4K games as long as the graphics settings aren’t too high. (We tried a model of the MSI Gaming X Trio 12G.)

Who’s Getting It?

If you like AMD and want to play games at a 2K resolution, this card is still a good choice. As new cards from AMD and NVIDIA come out slowly in 2023, it might be better to wait a little longer if you are shopping in this price range unless you can’t wait and see the RX 6750 XT on sale. Since the RX 7900-series cards are already out, the next-generation RX 7700-series cards will likely come out later this year.

Conclusion

The most powerful GPU for gaming in 2023 is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Super. It offers the best performance in terms of raw speed, and it also supports the latest technologies like ray tracing and DLSS. However, it is also the most expensive GPU on the market, so some may have better choices.

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is a fantastic alternative if you’re searching for something more reasonably priced. It supports ray tracing and DLSS and provides good performance for the price. Ultimately, your best GPU will depend on your budget and gaming needs.