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Best GPU under $300: graphics card picks on a budget

With graphics cards pricing constantly rising, we look at the more budget end of the scale

Updated: Oct 1, 2024 3:35 pm
Best GPU under $300: graphics card picks on a budget

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So what is the best GPU under $300? it’s a pretty tight budget but there are plenty of ways that this can work for you. Thankfully, all of the current generation GPUs possess technologies designed to bring boosts in performance, these are the likes of DLSS and FSR or Fluid Motion Frames 2. With that being said, it’s best to focus on the current generation for this very reason, though they are obviously more costly than GPUs belonging to the earlier generations.

Although we might be talking about budget GPUs, both the Nvidia RTX 40 series and AMD’s Radeon RDNA 3 bring strong performance to the low end. With the latest features and additions it does provide some oompf to the range even if you’re just 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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Products at a glance

How we test the best GPU under $300

When testing the best GPUs under $300, we prioritize hands-on experience and thorough research to provide the most reliable recommendations. Each card undergoes rigorous testing, ensuring it performs as expected across a variety of games and benchmarks.

7800 XT WePC (3)

Beyond raw performance, we assess factors like build quality and cooling efficiency to determine a card’s value. Our expertise, combined with years of industry knowledge, allows us to spot key features that make a GPU stand out. Additionally, we factor in user reviews and manufacturer reputations to round out our evaluation, giving you a well-rounded and informed suggestion.

Best GPU under $300
  • Gigabyte Gaming OC RX 7600 XT review is the 7600 XT worth it
  • Gigabyte Gaming OC RX 7600 XT fans
  • Gigabyte Gaming OC RX 7600 XT IO
  • Gigabyte Gaming OC RX 7600 XT front box
  • Gigabyte Gaming OC RX 7600 XT side
  • Gigabyte Gaming OC RX 7600 XTback profile
  • Gigabyte Gaming OC RX 7600 XT pcie side
  • Gigabyte Gaming OC RX 7600 XT back
Highly Recommended
Specifications
  • Core clock speed: 2810MHz boost, 2539MHz game
  • Streaming processors: 2,048
  • Memory: 16GB GDDR6
  • Dimensions: 281.4 x 116.6 x 52.6 mm
  • PSU required: 600W
  • TBP: 190W
  • Memory clock: 18 Gbps
  • Memory bus: 128 bit
  • Card bus: PCIe 4.0 x8
  • Output: 2x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DP 2.1
  • Power connectors: 2x 8-pin
Show more
What We Think

The 7600 XT is a fantastic card that proves very valuable on the budget end of the spectrum, this card has a high boost frequency thanks to it’s factory overclock and is quiet when operating despite the three fan design.

Reasons to Buy
  • Plenty of VRAM
  • Slim design and simple looking option with great cooling solution
  • Great build quality
Reasons to Avoid
  • Requires two power connectors, high-power
  • Not higher bandwidth memory or more processing cores than non-XT

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is absolutely the best GPU under $300, offering exceptional value for budget-conscious gamers. Built on the Navi 33 architecture from AMD’s RDNA 3 family, the 7600 XT excels in 1080p gaming, with the ability to handle 1440p when needed. Its 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units work together across 32 compute units to deliver impressive performance at this price point. With a base clock of 1,980MHz that can boost up to 2,755MHz, the card punches well above its weight, especially considering its lower cost today compared to its $329 launch price.

Not only is the RX 7600 XT energy-efficient, but it also offers additional boosts through AMD’s FSR and the new Fluid Motion 2 technology, further improving its performance in more demanding titles. For gamers seeking solid 1080p gaming with the option to stretch into 1440p, this GPU provides without breaking the bank, making it the top choice in its price range.

Runner UP
  • ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4060 OC
  • Best RTX 4060 in 2024 our top gaming GPUs
  • ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4060 front on
  • ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4060 power connector
  • ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4060 PCIe side
  • ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4060 IO plate
  • ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4060 Box
  • ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4060 fan side
  • ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4060 backplate
  • ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4060 fans
3 /5
Editor’s Rating
How We Review
Specifications
  • Core clock speed: 1,830MHz base, 2,670MHz boost
  • CUDA cores: 3,072
  • Memory size: 8GB GDDR6
  • Dimensions: 311.4 x 133.5 x 61.9mm
  • PSU required: 550W
  • TBP: 115W
  • Memory Clock: 18Gbps
  • Memory Bus: 128-bit
  • Card Bus: PCIe 4.0 x8
  • Output: 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DP 1.4a
  • Power Connectors: 1x 8-pin
Show more
What We Think

The RTX 4060 isn’t one of the best value GPUs in the world, but it does fall into the budget category. Normally we’d suggest going for the 4060 Ti and you still should if you can find it on sale. The 4060 is still capable of 1080p high FPS but it’ll struggle in 1440p without upscaling to help it out.

Reasons to Buy
  • Factory overclock means slightly better performance 
  • Bold design and build
  • Great cooling
Reasons to Avoid
  • Expensive

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 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.

Value Pick
31Am9oA MzL. SL500
What We Think

The RX 7600 is slightly slower than the 7600 XT and is far worse at ray tracing, so why go for it? because it’s far cheaper than the 7600 XT. However if you can stretch to one, then we recommend you do so. But if not, the 7600 does serve a purpose and will hold down the fort at 1080p.

Reasons to Buy
  • A big boost in clock rate boost
  • Great cooling for a 2 fan card
Reasons to Avoid
  • 7600 XT is a better pick

Now for an AMD GPU under $300, the RX 7600 is the choice of card to go for. It matches 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 Budget
  • Intel Arc Predator Bifrost A770 1
Excellent
Specifications
  • 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
  • Memory Clock: 16 Gbps
  • Memory Bus: 256 bit
  • Card Bus: PCIe 4.0 x16
  • Output: 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 2.0
  • Power Connectors: 2x 8-pin
Show more
What We Think

The Intel ARC A770 is Intel’s crowning achievement into dedicated GPU Hardware. It’s low cost and high price to performance make this an attractive pick a GPU under $300. This GPU gets better with every driver update, sometime down the line, the ARC series could be up there with the best of them.

Reasons to Buy
  • 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
Reasons to Avoid
  • 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 brought by Team Blue. As the flagship card, it has everything that the architecture has to offer while coming in at a low price. Although it was released with a $329 price tag, 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.


Things to consider

As you look to acquire a cheaper GPU there are a few things to consider. There are a variety of cards to choose from so it’s important to choose the best GPU for your specific use case.

Architecture

When deciding on the cheaper end of cards, there can be a variety of generations to choose from. Unless you’re looking at the latest generation, there are some things to be aware of. As we have selected cards from years of innovation, it’s always best to try 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

Since you are selecting from a range of more budget GPUs it’s unlikely that you’re going to get much more than 1080p out of them, these GPUs are definitely designed for high PFS gaming at 1080p. But this can be changed slightly with upscaling, as we will now get into.

Upscaling

Now one advantage of some of the modern architectures is upscaling. 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 alterations and 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 good as native.

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

There are also third-party options like Lossless scaling on Steam, which artificially boosts FPS in similar ways, but it can sometimes net 4X the native FPS, which is absolutely insane for those who don’t yet have the budget for higher-end hardware.

Can budget GPUs use Ray tracing?

Yes, technically they can, although they won’t be fantastic at it. Every card on this list bar the Intel GPU is capable of ray tracing. If this is important to you, we recommend saving up a little more and trying to aim for a 4070 Ti Super, or some higher-end Radeon 7000 series GPU. You won’t have a good experience with ray tracing on these lower-end GPUs.

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 selling points for manufacturers so they are further down on the list of priorities. As such even with the new generations scheduled for release soon, it will take some time to get down to these models. Even then, the pricing has been growing, 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 of the scale.

We have tried to select GPUs that offer a wide variety of use cases in the $300 range. Nvidia GPUs are generally better at ray tracing but the trend to cost more, and AMD GPUs have more Vram if you want to run a game with higher texture detail. The best thing to do is to work out your use case before you choose what GPU would be best for you.


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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