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Best GPU under 300 – our top graphics cards under 300 dollars

With graphics cards pricing constantly rising we look at the bottom and the best GPU under 300

Updated: Mar 1, 2024 2:42 pm
Best GPU under 300 – our top graphics cards under 300 dollars

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With not too much to spend on your card, we have brought you the best GPU under 300. You can still expect to find a good pick of graphics cards even as the prices of the rest of the range reach sky-high. But keeping to a strict budget GPU still brings a strong option these days as long as you know what to expect from the performance of your gaming PC.

Although what might be the lower starting point now for modern-day graphics cards, both the Nvidia RTX 40 series and AMD’s Radeon RDNA 3 do bring a strong power to the low end. With the latest features and additions it does provide some oompf to the range even if you might just be looking at 1080p gaming. So for our top selection, we chose the RTX 4060, RX 7600, and Arc A770 as we update this page regularly to keep you updated with the latest selection of GPUs.

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Best GPU under 300

MSI Ventus 2X Black RTX 4060 8GB

MSI Ventus RTX 4060 Graphics Card

Clock Speed

2,505MHz (MSI center), 2,490MHz without

VRAM

8GB GDDR6

Thermal Design

Twin Fan

Power Input

1x 8 pin EPS

Size

199 x 120 x 41 mm

Pros
  • Cheapest Ada card with DLSS 3 access
  • Small and compact design
Cons
  • Not much improvement over previous gen
  • Expensive for what it has to offers

One of our top choices for the best GPU under 300 is the RTX 4060. It is a close contest at this mark but we feel as an Nvidia GPU it does bring a bit more to the table over the card below it. Featuring the Ada architecture does bring the latest of what the big graphics card giant has to offer, such as with the feature of frame generation it does bring DLSS 3 to the table which is certainly a much more needed pick for the low end.

The GPU itself is bringing the AD107-400 GPU into its spec with the TSMC 5nm process for the $299 card. That brings to it 3,072 CUDA cores, 96 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 24 SMs, 96 Tensor cores, and 24 RT cores. With a 1,830MHz base clock and with a boost clock of 2,460MHz but with an overclock of custom cards can increase that even further. For the memory, it does unfortunately stick to just 8GB GDDR6 of VRAM supported by a 128-bit bus with a total bandwidth of 272GB/s from the 17Gbps clock. Plus it comes in with a TBP of 115W.

We got hands-on with the RTX 4060 in our review we saw the capabilities of the GPU in our benchmarks. It does show the card is capable of running 1080p very well but even 1440p is a potential for it to do well, although the limited VRAM does mean it hits limitations when trying to push too far above that.

Best AMD GPU under 300

XFX Speedster QICK308 Radeon RX 7600 Black

XFX Speedster QICK308 Radeon RX 7600 Black

Core Clock Speed

1,875 MHz base, 2,755 MHz boost, 2,355 MHz game

Stream processors

2,048

Memory Size

8GB GDDR6

Dimensions

274 x 114 x 50 mm

PSU Required

550W

TBP

165W

Pros
  • A big boost in clock rate boost
Cons
  • Rather long card for the low TBP so might be inconvenient

Now for an AMD GPU under 300, the RX 7600 is the choice of card to go for. It does match up with what the 4060 has to offer but with RNDA 3 architecture you get the benefits of the driver support. A bit more broadly AMD GPUs provide RSR support on the driver level so you can upscale across the board and not rely on integration by individual games.

The graphics card features the Navi 33 XL processor inside of it that is a monolithic die created with TSMCs 6nm process. That comes with 2,048 stream processors, 128 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 32 Compute Units, and 32 RT cores. Coming in with a clock rate of 1.72GHz, game clock of 2.25GHz, and a boost clock of 2.65GHz. For the memory, it utilizes 8GB of GDDR6 with a 128-bit bus clocked at 18Gbps to provide 288GB/s bandwidth and has a TDP of 165W.

We did get hands-on with the RX 7600 XT review, although not the same card we see the same drawback of an AMD GPU over an Nvidia option. As there we see the ray tracing and real work struggling and falling behind what Team Green has to offer, so even with similar performance it is a lesser option overall.

Best Intel GPU under 300

Predator BiFrost Intel Arc A770 OC

Intel Arc Predator Bifrost A770 1

Core Clock Speed

2.20 GHz

Shading units

4,096

Memory Size

16 GB GDDR6

Dimensions

267 x 117 mm, 2-slot

PSU Required

650 W

TBP

225 W

Pros
  • Overclocked model gives the top performance in the range
  • Still a cheap alternative to other offerings at the performance level
  • Great new design from Predator that is new to the market
Cons
  • A more expensive option than MSRP
  • Drivers still have spotty issues depending on the game
  • Model has a high coil whine at large loads

A bit more of a newer entry into the competitive graphics card market, the Intel Arc A770 is the top-tier selection that is brought by Team Blues intro into the graphics department. As the flagship card, it has everything that the architecture has to offer while coming in at a low price. Although it came out with a $329 launch price, it does often go on sale below the $300 mark so you can get on the tier for cheaper. Even if the drivers struggled with performance after launch and didn’t have wide support, now they have gotten much better at a wider range of games.

The A770 comes with the ACM-G10 GPU processor made with TSMCs 6nm process that features 4,096 shading units, 256 TMUs, 128 ROPs, 512 Execution Units and tensor cores, and 32 RT cores. Which are clocked in at 2,100 MHz and a boost at 2,400MHz, whilst for its memory it does utilize 16GB GDDR6 with a 256-bit bus clocked at 16Gbps for a 512GB/s. Whilst for its total board power it does run at 225W.

For the latest look at the performance of the Arc A770 Gamers Nexus as the drivers have improved over time so has the performance. It does come with a higher framerate than the other options but also offers up a good ray tracing choice. But it can be a bit hit or miss depending on the game and if the drivers have good support that might come with time.


How we test and choose the best GPU under 300

When it comes to how we test GPUs, there is a lot of hands-on testing and research done to give the best possible suggestions. So that we can recommend the best possible choice of graphics cards. Now when it comes to hands-on we put the cards through rigorous testing to ensure they are running as they should. There is a range of games and tests that we put the cards through to see how they perform.

Along with evaluating the build quality and cooling performance, we can truly suggest its worth. With that and our expertise and knowledge, we know what to look for when picking out the choices. We also know what to expect from different manufacturers or utilize user reviews to know what to expect.

Can RTX 3050ti run all games?

Best GPU under 300 buying guide

As you look to acquire a cheaper GPU there are a few things to consider. There are a variety of cards to choose from and so we see what you should look out for.

Architecture

When deciding on the cheaper end of cards then there can be a variety of generations you’re looking at. Unless you’re only looking at the latest generation then there are some things to be wary of. As there are plenty of cards to pick from with all the years of innovation, it’s best to consider something more modern. This is because that will offer great optimization and the best performance for what it offers.

It also gives you access to the most recent and useful features that are unlocked with those builds. Something like DLSS and RSR are both available to limited generations. Both of them require either RTX or RDNA or cards to be available. So to utilize the upscale tech and get some more performance out of the cards you need something more modern.

Resolution

When it comes to using your graphics cards, they’re going to have different capabilities. As such you need to keep in mind what resolution your monitors are so you can enjoy your display at its best. Unfortunately, for a GPU under 300, you’re unlikely to get much more power than 1080p. As this will offer a better experience than pushing higher resolutions with lower framerates.

Upscaling

Now one advantage of some of the architectures is the other features they offer. The main three manufacturers all have their own version of some AI upscaling technology. These allow the card to render the game at a lower resolution and then upscale it with some post-processing to your monitor size to make it look close to how it should. This means they can use fewer resources to create higher framerates for a bigger resolution. However that does have its drawbacks with some loss of quality, and it won’t look as it should.

As well, some of the offerings have to be implemented, DLSS, FSR, and XeSS all have to be added to the game and be supported by the cards from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. Only AMD’s RSR is capable of running on anything. As this works on the driver level, it can apply to any application that runs below your native resolution.

RX6500XT 9

Final word

Overall there are some good options for picking out the best GPU under 300. It did take some time for these cards to come out as they’re not the big-priced ones for the manufacturers so they are further down. As such even with the new generations, it will take some time to get down to these models. And even then the pricing of them has been growing and so new GPUs under 300 might be a distant memory. But the likes of an RTX 50 series and RDNA 4 might bring more choices at the lower-end options.

FAQs

What GPU should I get for under 300?

For the top choice graphics card under $300, there is the RTX 4060 which brings the latest features and performance to the table. Second to that is the RX 7600 from AMD which sits on a similar level but with some drawbacks in other areas whilst Intel Arc A770 is another alternative but also with similar cons.


With a background in engineering and PC gaming, Seb is a staff writer with a focus on GPU, storage, and power supplies. Also one of tech supports in the office he likes helping and solving problems.

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