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What Graphics Card Should you Buy?

The GPU market in 2025 has become a mix of powerful innovation and, let’s be honest, a bit of confusion. With new models from NVIDIA, AMD, and even some growing competition from Intel, picking the right graphics card this year depends a lot on what you’re doing—and how much you're willing to spend.

Let’s break it down in a way that makes sense, whether you’re gaming, editing video, or just trying to build a future-proof PC.

Budget Builds: Still Going Strong


If you're trying to stay under $250, the AMD RX 7600 and Intel Arc A580 are both solid options. The RX 7600 handles 1080p gaming extremely well, often pushing over 100 FPS in esports titles like Valorant and CS2, while still holding its own in heavier games like Cyberpunk 2077 on medium settings.

Intel’s Arc GPUs have matured a lot since launch, and the A580 now offers great performance per dollar with improved drivers. Just make sure your game supports DirectX 12 or Vulkan for best results.

Mid-Range Sweet Spot: Best for Most Gamers


If you're playing at 1440p or want high FPS at 1080p with ray tracing, the mid-range is where you’ll get the best value in 2025.

- NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti: Solid ray tracing, excellent DLSS 3.5 support, and great efficiency. But it’s starting to show its age for newer games at ultra settings.
- AMD RX 7700 XT: Comparable rasterization performance, more VRAM (12GB), and often a better price. Great if you’re not too focused on ray tracing.
- Intel Arc A770 (16GB): If you can find it for under $300, it’s an underrated choice. But make sure your power supply and system BIOS are ready for it—it can be picky.

High-End Performance: 4K and Content Creation


For those chasing high frame rates in 1440p and 4K, or if you’re doing content creation with tools like Blender, Unreal Engine, or DaVinci Resolve, high-end GPUs are worth the investment.

- NVIDIA RTX 4070 Super / 4080 Super: Still king when it comes to ray tracing and DLSS performance. If you’re editing video or streaming, the NVENC encoder is also best-in-class.
- AMD RX 7900 XT / XTX: Better bang for the buck in raw performance, and it has more VRAM. If you don’t need the best ray tracing or AI tools, it’s a top-tier option.

Used GPU Market: Still Viable?


2025’s used market is surprisingly active. Cards like the RTX 3070, RX 6700 XT, or even RTX 2080 Super still perform well for 1080p/1440p gaming. If you're comfortable buying used and can test the card first, it’s still a great way to save money.

Just be cautious: check for signs of mining use, excessive dust, or repasted heatsinks. And if it’s too cheap to be true… it probably is.

Final Thoughts


Here’s the honest truth: there’s no one-size-fits-all graphics card in 2025. The best GPU depends on your resolution, target FPS, game library, and even which features matter most to you (ray tracing? VRAM? AI tools?).

But if you're unsure where to start:
- On a tight budget? Go with an RX 7600.
- Mid-range and modern? Try an RX 7700 XT or RTX 4060 Ti.
- High-end enthusiast? RTX 4080 Super or RX 7900 XTX will handle anything you throw at them.

Whatever you pick, pair it with a decent CPU and power supply, and you’ll be set for years.

Testing