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Best Budget GPUs to Buy Under 0 in 2024 – Affordable!

Best Budget GPUs to Buy Under $500 in 2024 – Affordable!

Choosing a GPU is the hardest part of the PC building journey.

Choosing graphics cards or GPU is the most difficult dilemma you can face when building or upgrading a PC. Since it is always the graphics processing power that determines how much performance you can get.

The GPUs mentioned in this list will target a budget of $500, so don’t expect extraordinary performance from them. However, they are all great options if you want a budget-friendly build.

From Nvidia to AMD, let’s look at five GPU recommendations that meet your requirements for building the PC of your dreams.

Tips to keep in mind before buying a GPU

Before we start with the list of GPUs you should consider buying, here are some tips that will help you make the right decision.

  • Make sure your CPU is powerful enough to get the best out of the GPU. If you have a lower power CPU you will experience bottlenecks.
  • Make sure you have a power supply that can power the GPU without any pressure. It is recommended to use any bronze rated power supply that can provide 650W of power.
  • Do you need ray tracing? Otherwise, consider GPUs without RT cores and focus on CUDA cores.

Best Affordable GPUs to Buy Under $500 in 2024

Budget GPU: GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Eagle OC (Best for Raytracing)

NVIDIA RTX Gigabyte 4060ti
Credit: Amlan Roy/ONE Esports, Nvidia, GIGABYTE

Check out the graphics card on Amazon by clicking here.

  • Costing US$409.99.
  • Total memory: 8GB
  • Clock speed: 2250MHz
  • Bus and memory type: 128-bit GDDR6
  • Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x8

GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Eagle OC is the best graphics card you can consider if you are completely focused on using raytracing. The graphics card has a total of 34 RT cores, which uses 3rd generation hardware from Nvidia.

Additionally, the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Eagle OC can benefit from DLSS 3.7, which provides better upscaling and graphics output without breaking a sweat. However, it totally depends on the game developers how well they implement this feature.

Image of operators Bailey and Stone in ONE Esports for better audio settings in Black Ops 6
Credit: Activision, ONE Esports

In addition to raytracing, the graphics card also packs enough power to run the latest games at high settings without any performance loss. Plus, the GPU comes in at just under $500 which is a bonus.

Unfortunately, this card will soon be replaced by 50 series cards that will be released in 2025. The main advantage you can take from this situation is to purchase the card at a lower price.

Budget GPU: PNY GeForce RTX 3070 (best raytracing of the last generation)

NVIDIA PNY RTX 3070
Credit: Amlan Roy/ONE Esports, Nvidia, PNY

Check out the graphics card on Amazon by clicking here.

  • Costing US$489.99.
  • Total memory: 8GB
  • Clock speed: 1750 MHz
  • Bus and memory type: 256-bit GDDR6
  • Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16

It may seem like older generation cards wouldn’t be beneficial, but the RTX 3070 would prove everyone wrong. In terms of performance, this graphics card even outperforms the 4060 Ti, making it a great bargain.

PNY is generally known for building top-tier Quadro boards, but they haven’t disappointed in terms of creating consumer-friendly products. Although the graphics card doesn’t look that good, it certainly does its job better than anyone else.

Operators fighting on the Gala map in the image of ONE Esports for the best PC graphics settings in Black Ops 6
Credit: Activision, ONE Esports

The RTX 3070 can also take advantage of Nvidia’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR technologies, allowing it to be adaptable with upscaling and frame generation. Additionally, it also has more RT cores than the RTX 4060 Ti.

The downside of using this graphics card is the excessive power usage, which is almost 100W more than the RTX 4060 Ti. Therefore, you may want to consider purchasing a power supply that can handle more power.

Another disadvantage of owning this graphics card is that it would be much older after the release of the 50 series cards. Therefore, it may be possible that you will miss out on future features that may be exclusive to the 40 and 50 series cards.

Budget GPU: GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC (best in overall performance)

AMD RX Gigabyte 7800 XT
Credit: Amlan Roy/ONE Esports, AMD, GIGABYTE

Check out the graphics card on Amazon by clicking here.

  • Costing US$489.97.
  • Total memory: 16GB
  • Clock speed: 2,430 MHz
  • Bus and memory type: 256-bit GDDR6
  • Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16

If you’re ditching your ray tracing requirements, it’s certainly worth switching to Team Red. GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7800 XT is all about raw power and even outperforms the RTX 3080.

With a total of 16 GB of VRAM, running any game would be a breeze now and in the future. Additionally, the fact that the GPU is just under $500 and outperforms $700 cards is a game-changer in 2024.

Operator Caine firing a gun in ONE Esports image for better controller settings for Black Ops 6
Credit: Activision, ONE Esports

It would be wrong to say that the AMD card does not have raytracing capabilities. Instead, it has 80 RT cores that can achieve better results. However, it’s lack of support for DLSS and being an FSR-only supported card leaves it behind.

Looking from an overall performance standpoint, the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7800 XT is the best money can buy. Also remember that the card consumes more power, therefore requiring higher power power supplies.

Budget GPU: XFX Speedster SWFT319 Radeon RX 6800 (better power for cheaper)

Check out the graphics card on Amazon by clicking here.

  • Costing US$362.54.
  • Total memory: 16GB
  • Clock speed: 2105 MHz
  • Bus and memory type: 256-bit GDDR6
  • Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16

The Radeon RX 6800 is a graphics card that offers the best price-performance ratio. The GPU is also under $400, as it is an older generation card. But again, don’t let that fact put you off.

In terms of performance, the Radeon RX 6800 performs better than the Nvidia RTX 3070, which has a higher price. Even at this price point, the GPU is loaded with 60 RT cores, enabling AI upscaling and frame generation.

XFX is an excellent GPU manufacturer to consider when purchasing the Radeon RX 6800 in 2024. The build quality of each card is excellent and doesn’t even feel like a cheap card. Furthermore, its performance is equal to that of other manufacturer cards.

Keep in mind that the Radeon RX 6800 consumes almost as much power as its successor. Therefore, you should also opt for a powerful power supply with this one.

Budget GPU: Sparkle Intel Arc A770 ROC OC (cheap but powerful)

Intel arc a700 – affordable GPUs
Credit: Amlan Roy/ONE Esports, Intel, Sparkle

Check out the graphics card on Amazon by clicking here.

  • Costing US$269.
  • Total memory: 16GB
  • Clock speed: 2400MHz
  • Bus and memory type: 256-bit GDDR6
  • Bus interface: PCIe 4.0 x16

If you are on a very tight budget, the Intel Arc A770 is not a bad option. Instead, it’s a good option in terms of hardware. However, being late in the GPU business, Intel still falls short in some cases.

Intel Arc A770 graphics cards are super powerful in terms of price and you will be able to play almost all the recent games with ease. Plus, the luxurious XeSS technology works great to make the card shine.

Every League of Legends Runeterra region referenced in Arcane
Credit: Riot Games, ONE Esports

Raytracing is not an issue for the Intel Arc A770 as it has 32 RT cores and costs less than $500. Making the GPU a good buy in 2024 even though it was released in 2022.

To talk about the cons, the GPU has some software compatibility issues as Intel is new to the GPU game. There are also some old games reported that do not run on higher tier cards. Regardless, this issue isn’t a big one as the newer games remain unchanged.

This concludes our list of the best budget GPUs to buy.

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