The 8 Best Graphics Cards For A Gaming PC In 2020
Are you putting together a monster gaming PC this year? Then you’re going to need a graphics card that’s capable of handling the immense load you’ll be putting on it. Coronavirus lockdown means more of us are turning to gaming as a pastime than ever before. Even online gambling is enjoying a boom; just check out this extensive list of new Australian online casinos as proof.
While you won’t need a powerful graphics card to handle online casino gaming, it’s still worth having one because some casino games are quite graphically intensive. Whether you’re casino gaming or playing some competitive multiplayer games, a solid graphics card is more important in 2020 than it’s ever been, but you won’t necessarily need to break the bank. Here are the 8 best graphics cards you can get for your gaming PCs this year.
Best overall: Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080 Super
You will hear many PC gaming pundits telling you that the RTX 2080 Ti is the best graphics card on the market right now. While that’s certainly true in terms of raw power, the RTX 2080 Super balances budget and performance perfectly, so you can still get a massive kick out of your games without needing to re-mortgage your home. The RTX 2080 comes in at a fraction of the 2080 Ti’s monstrous asking price, and can still easily manage ultra settings in most PC games at 1440p resolution. If you’re looking to play games in 4K with fully maxed-out settings, the RTX 2080 Super may not be your card, but this is still a relative rarity in PC gaming, so for our money, the 2080 Super is the best graphics card in 2020.
Best when money is no object: Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080 Ti
The RTX 2080 Ti is the head honcho of graphics cards. It puts out an absolutely astonishing level of power and can happily render most games in 4K at either high or maximum settings. If you’re looking for the ultimate solution for graphical fidelity and buttery-smooth 60 FPS performance, then the RTX 2080 Ti is still the market leader. Both the 2080 Ti and the 2080 Super support Nvidia’s new ray tracing technology (that’s the RT in RTX), allowing for super-realistic lighting and rendering, but the RTX 2080 Ti will be able to handle this tech without a hiccup. Be warned, though: it is prohibitively expensive for most people.
Best AMD: Radeon RX 5700 XT
There’s no real question that Nvidia rules the roost when it comes to graphics card technology, but rivals AMD certainly put out some stiff competition. The RX 5700 XT doesn’t have ray tracing capabilities on either the hardware or software side, but it compensates for this deficiency by running DX12 games much more optimally than Nvidia’s cards do. It’s also not quite as much of a power hog as Nvidia’s cards can sometimes be, so if you’re running on a budget and looking for a competitive card that can still make games look gorgeous, the RX 5700 XT is a solid option.
Best 1080p: Nvidia Geforce RTX 2060 Super
The RTX 2060 Super won’t trouble a 1440p or 4K setup, so if your monitor is capable of those display resolutions, put this card far out of your mind. However, if – like the majority of gamers – you still prefer to play games in 1080p, the RTX 2060 Super will more than suffice. You’ll be able to run pretty much any game you can think of at 1080p resolution with ultra settings using this card, provided the game itself is well-optimised (we’re looking at you, Red Dead Redemption 2). For most gamers running 1080p displays, the RTX 2060 Super represents the best compromise between performance and price.
Best budget option: Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650 Super
A caveat before we start: if you buy the 1650 Super, you’re probably not going to reach maximum settings on many modern games, even at 1080p resolution. The GTX 1650 Super is not a high-end card and it won’t produce high-end results, but if you’re running a gaming PC on a budget, it’s an extremely attractive option. You might need to tinker with some settings to ensure a smooth, consistent framerate, but once you’ve done that, you’ll find the GTX 1650 to be a reliable workhorse. It only sports 4GB of VRAM, though, which will make demanding games like Grand Theft Auto V or Metro Exodus cry. This is only an option for those who don’t plan to tax their gaming machines.
Best budget AMD: Radeon RX 5600 XT
The RX 5600 XT provides an excellent budget option for those who are phobic of Nvidia’s ecosystem. It outperforms Nvidia’s GTX 1660 Super despite punching in the same weight class, and thanks to some emergency updates from AMD for this card’s BIOS, it now runs at very respectable speeds even when compared to the higher-end RTX 2060 Super. Again, it doesn’t have ray tracing, so if you’re looking for cutting-edge visuals to make your jaw drop, this card won’t offer them. However, if you don’t want to break the bank but you still want admirable performance, the RX 5600 XT should be on your shopping list.