The Best Mid-Range Graphics Cards Below $300 in May 2022
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As of May 2022, after more than a year of shortages and inflated prices, we are finally seeing some improvements in the GPU market. While we are not back at pre-pandemic levels, there are at least graphics cards available to buy.
Intel’s upcoming Arc lineup should also help put pressure on prices in the coming months – at least in the low-end and mid-range segments.
But for now, the best graphics cards below $300 are still not the mid-range cards we would hope to find at this price point, but rather entry-level cards from AMD and Nvidia.
On this page:
NVIDIA Vs. AMD
Buy Now or Wait? Navigating the Shortage
Best GPU below $300: GeForce RTX 3050
Best AMD alternative: Radeon RX 6500 XT
Previous-gen/used GPUs
Summary
CPU Pairing and PSU Requirements
NVIDIA Vs. AMD Under $300
AMD and Nvidia have kept up with their normal release cycles throughout the shortages, though availability and street pricing have left much to be desired. The cards we’d hoped to see around the $300 mark right now would have been Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3060 and AMD’s RX 6600 XT.
What we are seeing below $300 is instead AMD’s entry-level Radeon RX 6500 XT and Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3050. The latter was recently launched with a $250 MSRP, but at the time of writing it very difficult to find under $300.
Last update on 2022-05-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 is more expensive, but also far better than the RX 6500 XT. Potential buyers should be aware that RX 6500 XT is restricted to PCIe 4.0 x4 bandwidth, meaning that it will perform noticeably worse in PCIe Gen3 systems. That means any system with a processor older than AMD’s Ryzen 3000 or Intel’s 11th gen Core CPUs.
In other words, it’s a rather uninspiring budget card, but if you are looking to buy a new GPU under $300 inright now, it may nevertheless be the only reasonable alternative.
To put the current entry-level and mid-range cards into some perspective, here’s an indication of how they perform (no ray tracing enabled):
Compared to previous generations, the GeForce RTX 3050 offers about the same performance as a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, with added ray-tracing and DLSS features. The Radeon RX 6500 XT, meanwhile, is not necessarily faster than its direct predecessor, the RX 5500 XT 4 GB, or the older Radeon RX 570/580/590 – and this is provided that it can access PCIe Gen 4 bandwidth. In older Gen 3 systems, the card is slower.
Buy Now or Wait?
Upgrading your GPU is easily the most cost-effective way to breathe new life into your gaming PC. But even early adopters rarely upgrade more often than once every 1–2 generations (not counting annual ‘refresh’ cycles, which are usually just minor updates to existing architectures), i.e. about once every 2–4 years. The most common reason to upgrade is probably when stuttering in the latest AAA title becomes too annoying.
Under normal circumstances, the most common reason to postpone a GPU purchase is to time one of the major generational releases. In Q2 2022, however, another valid reason to wait is lingering inflated prices.
Although the situation is now far better than a few months ago, it’s still hard to find any GPU at MSRP. In this regard, Nvidia’s RTX 30-series and AMD’s RDNA 2/Radeon RX 6000-series cards are doing equally poorly. Â
If you can hold off your GPU purchase for a few months, Intel’s new Arc Alchemist GPU lineup could improve competition in this space later in 2022, but so far there is no news of MSRPs for these upcoming cards.
Another alternative is to have a look at the used market. With some luck, you may be able to find older mid-range GPUs such as AMD’s RX 5600 XT, or Nvidia’s GTX 1660 Ti/S for less than $300.Â
Best GPU Under $300 (In Theory): GeForce RTX 3050
With an MSRP of $249, Nvidia’s new GeForce RTX 3050 would offer excellent value in terms of price/performance. Unfortunately, there are hardly any 3050s to be found at that price as of May 2022.
Had the situation been different, the RTX 3050 would no doubt be a popular entry model in the GeForce RTX lineup. It is the first of Nvidia’s affordable XX50 cards to receive hardware support for ray tracing and DLSS – the key RTX features. Although it may not be powerful enough to run AAA titles with ray tracing at resolutions above 1080p, the addition of Nvidia’s excellent DLSS super-sampling technology makes the value proposition more interesting.
Performance-wise, it compares well to mid-range cards from the previous generation including the RX 5600 XT and GTX 1660 Ti/Super but it is around 10% slower than the RTX 2060.
Best AMD GPU Under $300: Radeon RX 6500 XT
AMD’s Radeon RX 6500 XT was launched in early 2022 and is based on the RDNA 2 Navi 24 GPU. It is the entry-level model in the RX 6000 series and replaces the RX 5500 XT.
Compared to the RX 5500 XT, however, the RX 6500 XT is technically inferior in some regards. Its 64-bit memory coupled with GDDR6 VRAM offers a bandwidth of just 143.9 GB/s, versus the RX 5500 XT’s 224 GB/s (128-bit).
Moreover, the interface bandwidth is cut in half to PCI-Express 4.0 x4 instead of PCIe 4.0 x8, which limits performance when the card is used in a PCIe 3.0-based system.
At launch time, there is also no variant with 8 GB of graphics memory (VRAM), potentially because AMD wants to make the card less attractive to crypto miners (4 GB of VRAM is insufficient for Ethereum mining).
As long as the RX 6500 XT has access to the full bandwidth of a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, performance is nonetheless similar to an RX 5500 XT or to the old Radeon RX 580. An Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Super should be slightly faster on average and will also not be impaired by its PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
Specs: RX 6500 XT Vs. RX 5500 XT Vs. GTX 1650S
| AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT | AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Super | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Image | |  |  |
| Clock: Core / Gaming / Boost | 2310 MHz / 2610 MHz / 2815 MHz | 1607 MHz / 1717 MHz / 1845 MHz | 1530 MHz / 1725 MHz / |
| Memory Speed | 18 Gbps | 14 Gbps | 12 Gbps |
| FP32 Theoretical Performance | 5.765 TFLOPS | 5.196 TFLOPS | 4.416 TFLOPS |
| Memory Bandwidth | 143.9 GB/s | 224 GB/s | 192 GB/s |
| Recommended PSU | 300 W | 300 W | 300 W |
| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | 1x 8-pin | 1x 6-pin |
| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 1x DP | 1x HDMI 3x DP | 1x HDMI 1x DP 1x DVI |
Unlike many other graphics cards, RX 6500 XT-based cards have been available in greater numbers and usually sell for under $300 (and seriously, no one should even consider paying more).
Previous-Gen/Used Graphics Cards
Like it or not, today’s market is what it is. If you want to get the best possible price/performance from your GPU purchase, it may be worth having a look at previous-gen cards and the used market. These are some of the alternatives that offer performance on par with the RTX 3050, if not slightly better.
Alternative #1: Radeon RX 5600 XT (Used)
AMD’s Radeon RX 5600 XT GPU was launched in 2020 and is based on the first-gen Navi (RDNA) architecture, replacing the much less efficient Vega and Polaris architectures. This GPU was initially intended to compete with Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1660 Ti. But then Nvidia suddenly lowered the price on its faster, ray tracing-enabled GeForce RTX 2060 to compete directly with the RX 5600 XT.
This in turn prompted AMD to improve the specs of the 5600 XT to help it stay competitive. As a result, the RX 5600 XT is almost as fast as the RX 5700 – and considerably faster on average than the GTX 1660 Ti that it was originally meant to compete with.
Now with similar performance as the GeForce RTX 2060, the RX 5600 XT stands out as one of the most attractive graphics cards in the mid-range segment from the previous generation. What you likely want to check before buying is that you get a card with the best specs, mainly faster memory (VRAM) that runs at an effective 14 Gbps instead of 12 Gbps such as these ones:
| Sapphire Radeon Pulse RX 5600 XT | XFX RX 5600 XT THICC II PRO | PowerColor Radeon RX 5600 XT |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Image |  |  |  |
| Clock: Core / Gaming / Boost | 1400 MHz / 1615 MHz / 1750 MHz | 1465 MHz / 1560 MHz / 1620 MHz | 1355 MHz / 1560 MHz / 1620 MHz |
| Memory Speed | 14 Gbps | 14 Gbps | 14 Gbps |
| FP32 Theoretical Performance | 8,064 GFLOPS | 7,465 GFLOPS | 7,465 GFLOPS |
| Memory Bandwidth | 336 GB/s | 336 GB/s | 288 GB/s |
| Recommended PSU | 350 W | 350 W | 350 W |
| Power Connectors | 1x 8-pin | 1x 8-pin | 1x 8-pin |
| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 3x DP | 1x HDMI 3x DP | 1x HDMI 3x DP |
Alternative #2: GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (Used)
As mentioned previously, AMD’s RX 5600 XT was originally intended as a competitor to Nvidia’s former mid-range king, the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti. For the reasons mentioned above, that didn’t happen, but the 1660 Ti is nevertheless about as fast as the current-gen RTX 3050.
That means that this cad will easily handle any recent AAA game at 1080p, although it lacks the ray-tracing features from the RTX lineup. In terms of relative performance, the RTX 2060 and RX 5600 XT are about 15% faster.
When it comes to the price/performance calculation, the GTX 1660 Ti is also challenged by Nvidia’s own GTX 1660 Super, which is only slightly slower but usually much more affordable.
| GIGABYTE GTX 1660 Ti OC | EVGA GTX 1660 Ti XC | MSI GTX 1660 Ti Gaming | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Image |  |  |  |
| Clock: Core / Boost | 1500 MHz / 1800 MHz | 1500 MHz / 1845 MHz | 1500 MHz / 1800 MHz |
| Memory Clock (Effective) | 12 GHz | 12 GHz | 12 GHz |
| FP32 Theoretical Performance | 5,530 GFLOPS | 5,668 GFLOPS | 5,530 GFLOPS |
| Memory Bandwidth | 288 GB/s | 288 GB/s | 288 GB/s |
| Recommended Power Supply | 450 Watt | 450 Watt | 450 Watt |
| Power Connectors | 1x 8-pin | 1x 8-pin | 1x 8-pin |
| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 3x DisplayPort | 1x DVI 1x HDMI 1x DisplayPort | 1x HDMI 3x DisplayPort |
*Prices are updated automatically every few hours but are subject to change between updates. See ‘Last update’ information at bottom of the page.
The 1660 Ti was available in every conceivable size, with many being factory overclocked. Note that this rarely motivates a significantly higher cost.
Alternative #3: GeForce RTX 2060 (Used)
The RTX 2060 was originally launched in 2019 and now has a successor in the shape of the RTX 3060. Due to the supply issues, however, Nvidia opted to re-release the RTX 2060 on the market and in 2022 it will be made available in an improved 12 GB model.
Regardless, this card still offers more than enough performance for 1080p gaming and also does well at 1440p.
Other parts of the RTX 2060’s specs are quite similar to the Radeon RX 5600 XT, with 6 GB of GDDR6 video RAM and a 192-bit memory bus that offers the same bandwidth.
| ZOTAC GeForce RTX 2060 6GB | EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 KO | MSI GeForce RTX 2060 Ventus XS OC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Image |  |  |  |
| Clock: Core / Boost | 1365 MHz / 1680 MHz | 1365 MHz / 1680 MHz | 1365 MHz / 1710 MHz |
| Memory Clock (Effective) | 14000 MHz | 14000 MHz | 14000 MHz |
| FP32 Theoretical Performance | 6,451 GFLOPS | 6,451 GFLOPS | 6,566 GFLOPS |
| Memory Bandwidth | 336 GB/s | 336 GB/s | 336 GB/s |
| Recommended PSU | 450 W | 450 W | 450 W |
| Power Connectors | 1x 8-pin | 1x 8-pin | 1x 8-pin |
| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 3x DP | 1x HDMI 1x DP 1x DVI | 1x HDMI 3x DP |
*Prices are updated automatically every few hours but are subject to change between updates. See ‘Last update’ information at bottom of the page.
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Alternative #4: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super
Nvidia’s launch of the more affordable GTX 1660 Super (also known as 1660S) devalued existing GeForce GTX 1660 Ti cards, as it offers about the same performance.
The 1660S actually uses the same GPU as the regular GTX 1660 but has been paired with faster GDDR6 video memory. This resulted in a level of performance that trails the 1660 Ti by just single-digit percentages.
In other words, the GTX 1660 Super normally offers much better value than both the Ti model and the original 1660. While it can’t compete with the RX 5600 XT or RTX 2060, the 1660S may offer better value.
RX 5600 XT Vs. RTX 2060 Vs. RX 5700
Here’s a video from the web comparing actual performance in a number of games including Battlefield V, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Metro: Exodus, and others. What makes this particularly interesting is that the resolution is 1440p, instead of the 1080p resolution that these graphics cards are intended to target.
Summary and Recommendations
A year and a half ago, the mid-range $300 price point offered great value and lots of alternatives. AMD’s Radeon RX 5600 XT was competing with the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 lineup as well as the RTX 2060.
Times have changed and now you would be lucky to find an RX 5600 XT at its original launch price, while the RTX 3060 and RX 6600 XT are far more expensive than their respective predecessors.
What we have to settle for below $300 is instead entry-level cards such as the mediocre RX 6500 XT. The GeForce RTX 3050, on the other hand, would have been an attractive option at $249, but so far this card looks very much like a paper launch. GTX 1660 Ti performance along with RTX features would have made the RTX 3050 a solid option, had it been widely available and priced right.
What we can hope for at this point is for Intel’s Arc Alchemist lineup to arrive – preferably in large volumes and offering competitive performance. As of early 2022 these aspects are still unknown, unfortunately.
While waiting for the shortages to improve, you may have better luck in the used market compared to overpaying for a new card. A used RX 5600 XT, GTX 1660 Ti/Super or RTX 2060 would still be very attractive if the price is right. Even older cards like the GeForce GTX 1070 or Radeon 570/580/590 could offer decent value in this unfortunate situation.
CPU Pairing and PSU Requirements
Both the Radeon RX 5600 XT and GeForce RTX 2060 require a single 8-pin connector.
To get the most out of your new mid-range GPU, the rest of your PC build should correspond reasonably well to your choice of video card. However, in terms of gaming performance, you won’t gain much by opting for an expensive high-end CPU.
In our view, a good baseline CPU pairing is the AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 5600X or an Intel Core i5-11600K/12600K. You may need a better CPU for other reasons than gaming, but in terms of frame rates, you will get diminishing returns beyond what you get with one of those processors. If the goal is to have your games run more smoothly, your money is better spent on a faster GPU.
As for the power supply (PSU), some third-party manufacturers recommend a 350W minimum for the RX 5600 XT (AMD’s PSU recommendation is 550W) and 450W for the RTX 2060. The TDP (Thermal Design Power) for the graphics cards is 160W in both cases. A 350W PSU is definitely on the low side, leaving you with very little headroom for overclocking and other components, but 500W should be more than sufficient for most builds.
Any such power supply on the market will provide you with the single 8-pin PCIe power connector (or more likely two) that you need to hook up to your GPU.
Hi Jesper,
I consider myself to be the typical 60fps 1080p gamer when time allows, so these mid range cards are obviously the sweet spot. I don’t follow hardware or gfx card price movements as I generally just upgrade and forget about it.
I’m looking to upgrade and only recently became aware that Nvidia is soon to release the RTX 3000 series and AMD are doing something similar with their Big Navi cards. Historically do such releases have any downward pressure on mid range cards like those discussed in the above article, or is it more like a two speed economy with the impact largely resigned to those who want to game at 1440 or 4K?
tldr; should everyone be holding off from buying a new graphics card right now?
Hi Grant,
That is a very good question. High-end releases typically don’t affect current mid-range card prices by much or at all in the short term. But the RTX 3060 is also likely to arrive soon (sooner than RTX 2060 did by comparison). It could also be aggressively priced if needed to undercut what AMD releases in the same performance bracket (Navi 22).
In that case, this should definitely put some downward pressure on the current mid-range cards in the relatively near future. But those are many ifs and buts, of course.
Grant,
From, what I have seen, yes, 4k and 1440 it is like a Corvette vs a Ferrari. Both are greater, just that one is greaterer.
Hi Jesper!
I’m currently trying to figure out which graphics card is the best fit for my build for 200-300$. I was thinking about the gtx 1660 super but not sure if it’s too much or too little, I’m not really an expert 🙂
My current build has:
gtx1050 2 or 3 gb
ryzen7 1800x
asus b350-plus
16gb crucial ram
not sure about the power suply
I mostly play cs:go and want a card that can give me at least 200fps in every map at relatively low resolution but I’m buying mafia and also play gtaV sometimes so was wondering what was the best fit for me.
I also have 2 monitors (the one I play is 144hz) not sure if that makes any difference in the matter.
Thought you had great advice for the other people so maybe you can help me out.
Hey Seb!
The 1660S is my personal favorite from the current crop of mid-range cards. It’s almost as fast as the 1660 Ti, but usually much cheaper. By itself, this GPU will be able to give you a 200+ fps average in CS:GO, but CS:GO is also one of the older and less demanding games where your CPUs single-core performance (1st-gen Ryzen’s main weakness) might become a bottleneck, particularly at low resolutions.
I still have no doubts whatsoever that you can go above a 144fps average at 1080p to match your monitor. Mafia Definitive and GTA V will also run well. Not at such high frame rates but at least 60+ fps (more at lower settings, of course).
Thanks for the feedback and I will probably buy the 1660s when I can find one in sale. I also asked the same thing in the under 200$ guide so you can just ignore it :).
Also would you recommend any particular 1660s or are they all pretty much the same? Don’t really get why they have such difference in prices if they are the same model.
Sounds like a great plan, best of luck!
My personal preference when choosing a card (any GPU) is to go with a larger cooler if it fits and the price difference is minimal. They usually run cool and with less noise (though the 1660S TDP is only 125W, so no cooler will be taxed too hard). All 1660S cards use the manufacturers’ standard coolers, so there should be few surprises.
And I agree with you in questioning the large price differences. A small premium might be fine in my view if you get better cooling. But just a slight factory overclock, as is often the case, has never been much of a selling point.
this is exactly the article I was looking for! Well put-together and extremely helpful, I’ll definitely be looking at a 5600xt for my current build. Your other article on choosing a 5600xt is also great
Thanks a lot! Glad that it helped 🙂
Hey Japser. I’m currently building my first gaming pc and having an issue with finding correctly advertised GPUs. The prices in your article was updated 12 days ago, but none of prices listed here reflect the actual prices. Some of the links you’ve shared take us to either site where the item is $150 to almost 2x the MSRP price you gave us. My question is, why are computer parts or accessories price points so unstable?
Thank you for this great article! I haven’t been able to locate the EVGA 2060 KO in Canada for my new build, so all the info here has been a huge help on figuring out a replacement. Thanks!!!
Could someone tell me the best build on a say 900-1000$ budget for a pc, monitor, keyboard, mouse thanks would be helpful
Hey thx in advance Mr Jesper Berg
the guide is good , anyway do you have any relation with håkan berg the king of birds ?
Hey Pand, thanks! Haha, no I hadn’t even heard of this King of birds, so I had to look him up. A fun guy. His comedic use of Wittgenstein’s duck-rabbit makes me wish I was related 🙂
Need a new vid card but prices are out of hand dam bitcoin miners
As someone looking to spend £200 max (the actual price most people spend on a GPU), I find the vast majority of cards which would have been released at that price a year ago are now priced at double this.
So we end up with the only new “mid-range” card the 6600xt being released pretending its a “high-end” card, so it can justify a ludicrous mark up. Its not worth MSRP, let alone the “because its 2021 lets add another 50%” issue.
So what is there for folks to buy at £200? Because I’m quite simply refusing to spend that on a second hand 3-4 year old card that’ll be outdated within 12 months.
Finding a mid-range card at a normal mid-range price is still nearly impossible, unfortunately. The miner-created shortage a few years ago was nothing compared to today’s market.
Availability has improved, but as you mentioned, prices are still extremely inflated. And there is so much pent-up demand now that this could go on for quite some time.
I’ve managed to buy a couple of cards in the past year at somewhat reasonable prices (but still far from normal) by pre-ordering. Had to wait for 2-3 months each time though…