Best GPU for 8K: our best graphics card for the 8K resolution
8K isn't really a thing yet, is it?
WePC is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
When it comes to running such high resolutions, you need some serious power, as such, the best GPU for 8K is going to be one at the top end of the scale. It’s only recently that the best graphics cards have reached the capabilities to run this resolution but performance may vary between them. You’re probably going to need the help of upscaling technologies to get you playable framerates. With that being said, 8k is still technically doable.
Some of the new graphic cards can reach 8k levels of performance, in particular, the RTX 4090 is the top contender for the best gaming GPU for 8K gamers. FPS might not be the highest you’ve ever seen, likely won’t break 30FPS. However, there are some manufacturers and third-party technologies that can help out with that.
Products at a glance
-
Best GPU for 8K
ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4090 OC
- Core Clock Speed: 2,640 MHz boost
- CUDA Cores: 16,384
- Memory Size: 24GB GDDR6X
- Dimensions: 357.6 x 149.3 x 70.1mm
- PSU Required: 1000W
- TDP: 450W
-
Runner UP
ASUS TUF Radeon RX 7900 XTX OC
- Core Clock Speed: 1,895 MHz base, 2,395 MHz shader & game, 2,565 MHz boost
- Stream processors: 6,144
- Memory Size: 24GB GDDR6
- Dimensions: 352.9 x 158.2 x 72.6 mm
- PSU Required: 850W
- TBP: 355W
-
Budget Pick
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
- Core Clock Speed: 1.5 GHz base, 2 GHz game, 2.4 GHz boost
- Stream processors: 5,376
- Memory Size: 20GB GDDR6
- Dimensions: 276 x 135 x 51mm
- PSU Required: 750W
- TBP: 315W
How we test the best GPUs for 8K
Here at WePC, we put each product we recommend through its paces to ensure it does what we say it does. There aren’t many 8K monitors around yet, so we had to make do with the artificial resolution provided through Super-resolution settings. This still forces the GPU to render as if we are using an 8K display, but it is not native 8K. We take the results of that test and weigh them up against other considerations like price, and aesthetics.
Having said that, there are exactly 4 GPUs that we consider capable of 8K gaming at all. So you pretty much get what you get, though you can always select a different brand of the GPU in question. It’s different when you consider other workloads such as driving an 8K video, as way less powerful GPUs are capable of that, the true test lies with active real-world workloads. Once we have collected all of our data, we consolidate it to choose the best GPU for 8k.
Best GPU for 8K
- Core Clock Speed: 2,640 MHz boost
- CUDA Cores: 16,384
- Memory Size: 24GB GDDR6X
- Dimensions: 357.6 x 149.3 x 70.1mm
- PSU Required: 1000W
- TDP: 450W
- Memory Clock: 21 Gbps
- Memory Bus: 384-bit
- Card Bus: PCIe 4.0 x16
- Output: 2x HDMI 2.1a, 3x DP 1.4a
- Power Connectors: 1x 16-pin
The RTX 4090 is the best of the best when it comes to graphical rendering at desktop level. If you’re looking to pair the best CPU with a GPU, then this is it. It might be expensive, but hands down it is the best gaming performance you can get right now.
- Excellent air cooling solution
- Pushes performance above the rest of the selection
- Updated design cooling and aesthetically focused
- A more expensive choice over the rest of the picks and will cost a lot to run
The Nvidia RTX 4090 is without a doubt the best option for 8K gaming right now. It features the most robust set of specifications that have the best chance of tackling the monstrous resolution. It’s a card that’s big, bulky, and expensive, but you won’t find more power anywhere else right now.
To achieve what it’s capable of, the card features the AD102-300 GPU. Made on TSMC’s 5nm process, it has a die size of 608mm² with 76.3 billion transistors. You will find 16,384 CUDA cores, 512 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 128 SMs, 512 Tensors, and 128 RT cores on the GPU die. These are clocked with a 2,235MHz base clock and boost up to 2,520MHz. On the board, you get support from 24GB of GDDR6X VRAM with a 384-bit bus clocked at 21Gbps giving it a bandwidth of 1.008TB/s. But does come in with a TBP of 450W.
The card has an incredibly high power rating and has such for a reason. It has an incredibly high memory bandwidth which allows it to work well on those higher 8K monitors that you might be interested in. But even still there might be the need for the use of upscaling to try and get a better performance out of it still. LTT shows that even on low on Halo the card just about averages over 60 FPS, so it is a taxing task.
- Core Clock Speed: 1,895 MHz base, 2,395 MHz shader & game, 2,565 MHz boost
- Stream processors: 6,144
- Memory Size: 24GB GDDR6
- Dimensions: 352.9 x 158.2 x 72.6 mm
- PSU Required: 850W
- TBP: 355W
- Memory Clock: 20 Gbps
- Memory Bus: 384-bit
- Card Bus: PCIe 4.0 x16
- Output: 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DP 2.1
- Power Connectors: 3 x 8-pin
The 7900 XTX is the best that AMD currently offers making it a top pick for 8K gaming. You might have to enable upscaling to get a little more than 30 FPS, but it can still technically do it. AMD has not long released AFMF2 that should also give a massive boost to performance in this high resolution workload.
- OC card but still priced at MSRP for better performance at the same price
- Dual BIOS button and robust design of the card
- Side RGB that has no button but requires software to control
Now from the other side, we have the AMD RX 7900 XTX at the top of its respective lineup. It’s a cheaper alternative to what Nvidia has to offer, although the performance does lag behind a little. Although it has a much better implementation of its upscaling technology to work across the board. When this is enabled, it is a little closer in terms of performance.
The GPU is built with the Navi 31 XTX GPU, made on the RDNA 3 architecture. Using TSMC’s 5 and 6nm processes it has an MCM (multi-chip) design that has a size of 529mm². On there, you find 6,144 shaders, 384 TMUs, 192 ROPs, 96 RT, and 96 compute units. These are clocked with a 1,855MHz base clock, 2,269 shaders, and game clock, and a 2,499MHz boost clock. Along with 24GB of GDDR6 memory clocked at 20Gbps, across a 384-bit bus it has a bandwidth of 960 GB/s – Culminating towards a TDP of 355 Watts.
Overall, the card does well to achieve a minimum of 4K performance. You can push 8K with it, but the performance is going to suffer, likely towards the low end of 30 FPS, but that’s where FSR and RSR come in. They will be the ones pushing the ability higher on that fidelity.
- Core clock speed: 2205 MHz base, 2520 MHz boost
- CUDA count: 9,728
- Memory: 16GB GDDR6X
- Dimensions: 342 x 150 x 70 mm
- PSU required: 850W
- TBP: 320W
- Memory clock: 22.4 Gbps
- Memory bus: 256-bit
- Card bus: PCIe 4.0 x16
- Output: 1x HDMI 2.1a, 3x DP 1.4a
- Power connectors: 1x 16-pin 12VHPWR
Gigabyte has created an excellent card in the Gigabyte Eagle line-up. With a great design in terms of style and cooling, it has everything you might need without the extra cost of the Aorus line-up. Unlike the 3080, you get access to both DLSS and frame generation.
- Top performance across the board
- Plenty of features and additions available to utilize
- Simple and sleek design
- Excellent cooling
- Way too expensive
- Large and bulky
The RTX 4080 is second to the RTTX 4080 Super, but it offers slightly better value in our humble opinion. With this GPU you get access to DLSS 3.5, which makes it more attractive than its predecessor, in case you were trying to save a buck or two on that. The difference is the access to frame generation, which will be helpful when trying to hit 8K resolutions.
This GPU is aimed at the enthusiast who wants the most out of their system, although it’s not the best of the best, it is still capable with a little bit of help. 8K is a mammoth resolution, so you’re going to need a mammoth of a GPU to handle it. It does have an MSRP of $1,199, but if money were an object, you likely wouldn’t be looking at the best GPU for 8K.
- Core clock speed: 2,430MHz boost, 2,124MHz game
- Stream processors: 3,840
- Memory: 16GB GDDR6
- Dimensions: 267 x 111 x 50mm
- PSU required: 600W
- TBP: 263W
- Launch price: $499
- Availability: September 6th, 2023
- GPU Name: NAVI 32
- Architecture : RDNA 3
- Process size: 5 nm
- Die size: 346mm
- L3 Cache: 64 MB
- Bandwidth: 624.1 GB/s
- Memory Bus: 256 bit
- Compute units: 60
- RT Cores: 60
The 7800 XT is a great choice if you want to game at 1440p, and sometimes 4K with the help of upscaling, on a tighter budget. If you want to go the Ray tracing route, though RDNA 3 made many improvements over RDNA 2, Nvidia is still the best option for that. If you’re looking to do 8K then this GPU will do it at low FPS with very low settings and with the help of AFMF2.
- Dual fan makes it small but still capable of staying cool
- Great bang for the buck
- Superseded by the 7900 XT that isn’t much more expensive nowerdays
The Radeon RX 7800 XT is made of strong stuff, but pushing the 8K resolution is probably just on the cusp of asking too much from it. With a combination of heavy upscaling, low settings, and AFMF2, you might just get there with a playable FPS metric. You would, however, have a far better chance with the 7900 XTX.
The RX 7800 XT is driven by the Navi 32 processor, featuring 3,840 stream processors, 240 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 60 CUs, and 60 RT cores, delivering reliable performance across the board. It also comes equipped with 16GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit interface, providing a bandwidth of 624GB/s. As for clock speeds, the card runs at a base clock of 1,295MHz, and a game clock of 2,124MHz, and can boost up to 2,430MHz, all while keeping a 263W TDP for balanced power efficiency. Not sure AMD had 8K in mind when designing this GPU though.
Things to consider
Choosing a new graphics card is a tough time with the many options available around. As such, we bring you what to look at when looking for high-end GPUs for your 8K PC experience.
VRAM
One of the key features of looking for a good GPU for 8K is the VRAM. Video memory is used for the buffer of pixels ready for display. And since larger resolutions have more pixels, a larger capacity and bandwidth are needed to work well at that level.
In the case of the best options for 8K, the top-end cards both utilize 24GB of video RAM. As well as a fast bandwidth to work through those processes well enough but even still it might not be enough to provide a good enough experience on its own.
Upscaling
Another important feature to improve your 8K gaming experience is any upscaling available to the architecture of the graphics cards. These render the graphics below the target resolution and then upscale it to the one you want. With the application of filters and AI for some of them, it tries to improve the look of them and make them reasonable to use.
If you have the likes of an Nvidia RTX card, you have access to DLSS, one of the better options available. With AI upscaling it brings the performance way up, and with the Ada series’ use of frame generation, DLSS 3 improves it further. Now AMD offers more widespread availability. FSR is accessible anywhere it’s implemented, whilst RSR is available on its driver and on any application.
Ray tracing
Now another more high-end feature is ray tracing. Available on newer hardware, it allows for hardware light tracing and improving your experience in games. Although 8K is already and tough enough experience, you may find it not providing a good frame rate, which means tray tracing will worsen that experience too and might not be advised unless paired with good upscaling.
Connectors
Another important feature will be the type of display connectors you use. The likes of HDMI 2.0 doesn’t support anything higher than 4K 60Hz, and you’d have to find HDMI 2.1 for 8K 60Hz. The more popular DisplayPort option allows 8K 60Hz from version 1.4 so that is the better choice for support.
Final word
There are still only a couple of graphics cards available that will have the strength to power through to 8K gaming. These cards come at a high cost, not only initially but also running their higher power ratings. So you need to have a good CPU and PSU to match and keep the performance up. You also want enough fans to keep the cooling up for the card during intensive tasks, especially with the ultra settings you’d expect for these high cards.
These options are good for 8K video editors and rendering as well. These can power through the works pretty effectively, and Nvidia is the best choice for that.
