We're a decent way through June and seeing some of the best cheap graphics card deals on entry-level models from both AMD and Nvidia, with options starting from just $179.99 / £158.99 depending on where you are. If you're in the market for affordably priced options from the Turing and Ampere families, as well as Big Navi, you'll find them below.
If you're wanting to game proficiently in 1440p, however, then things are going to get a little more expensive. We've evaluated the benchmarks available online, with a combination of our own hands-on experience, to help you make an informed decision. These models are unlikely to rival that of the best graphics cards, however, keeping things to a modest budget can certainly produce more than playable results this year.
These are some of the best cheap graphics card deal prices since the GPU shortage started to winded down. It's now entirely possible to have a budget gaming PC in 1080p and even 1440p without splashing out more than $399 / £299.99. However, if you want a graphics card with some more power to them then we recommend turning your attention to the likes of RTX 3060 stock and RTX 3070 stock.
Alternatively, you can shop for some of the best cheap gaming PC deals and cheap gaming laptop deals for wallet-friendly rigs ready to go right out of the box.
Cheap graphics card deals
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Cheap graphics cards from AMD
If you're after a current-generation cheap graphics card aimed squarely at 1080p then the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT can manage to keep up with modern games despite its lower spec. The biggest advantage to this particular GPU is the fact that is that RX 6500 XT stock is available in both the US and UK for its respective starting MSRP of $199 / £179.
The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT is best combined with a Ryzen 3000 or Ryzen 5000 Series CPU, which would give you the overall best compatibility to take full advantage of the 2815 MHz total boost clock speed. On the technical side, there's 4GB GDDR6 memory with a 143.9 GB/s bandwidth. What this means in terms of real-world application is performance surpassing that of the GTX 1650 Super, while being more available and affordable.
Medium/high settings at 1080p will see 60 FPS in titles such as Call of Duty: Vanguard, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Forza Horizon 5, and Watchdogs Legion. Keep in mind, though, that this GPU is very much PCIe 4.0 bandwidth dependent to get the most out of its humble architecture. Be sure to check your system's compatibility before slotting it in.
The AMD RX 6600 was launched as the company's direct competition to the RTX 3060 at a slightly more competitive rate. What gives the AMD RX 6600 the edge in this instance is the fact that it is more available than Nvidia's Ampere video card, with comparable performance across the board in both 1080p and 1440p.
It's still entirely possible to find the AMD RX 6600 for around the $350 - $450 mark if you know where to look, which is an affordable price given what the benchmarks show. Games such as Far Cry 6 running at Ultra in 1080p are no problem for the GPU, averaging around 100 FPS. Similar can be said for Resident Evil: Village which the AMD RX 6600 smashes at over 150 FPS at Ultra with FSR set to Ultra quality.
Cheap graphics cards from Nvidia
The GTX 1660 Super is still a very capable cheap graphics card in 2022 while also being far more available than other budget Nvidia GPUs. It's still one of the most popular graphics cards of all time, at least according to the 2022 Steam hardware survey (opens in new tab), and the benchmarks go a long way to show why.
You can expect an average of 60 FPS in the likes of God of War, Hitman 3, Deathloop, Forza Horizon 5, Far Cry 6, and more titles running at High settings, which is certainly commendable. While you're missing out on ray tracing and DLSS support here, the native performance on display more than makes up for these omissions, especially if you're after sharper image quality overall.
The RTX 3050 is the newest member of Nvidia's Ampere line and is focused on PC gamers wanting to push 1080p gaming. We gave this video card a solid write-up in our Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC review with some respectable numbers for high-end Full HD gaming.
One of the biggest advantages that the RTX 3050 has is its support for Nvidia's newest proprietary technology. We found that even more demanding titles such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Control, and Metro Exodus ran at a rock-solid 60 FPS with ray tracing and DLSS enabled in Full HD. 1440p is also decent in many games, though it's usually going to be a toss-up between having visual fidelity and performance, as a 60 FPS average normally means disabling ray tracing and going heavier on the DLSS upscaling options.
RTX 3050 stock is pretty limited, however, and while there are units available for MSRP at the moment, it is only a handful of retailers actually carrying the GPUs at the time of writing. If you can find the GPU for around the $250 - $300 mark brand new then we recommend it, but don't advise spending over the odds if more powerful alternatives are available.
Cheap graphics cards: Frequently asked questions
What to avoid with cheap graphics cards
If you've found a low price on some cheap graphics card models that seem too good to be true, chances are that it is. We've found listings both in the US and UK from major retailers pedaling video cards that are simply not worth your time or money.
In 2022, you'll want to steer clear of any cheap graphics card utilizing GDDR5 memory as this type is far slower bandwidth-wise than what's currently possible with GDDR6 support. Modern games are relying more and more on faster SDRAM for all manner of processes, so you wouldn't want to drop frames unnecessarily, or bottleneck your system's performance in this way.
Avoid any cheap graphics card running less than 4GB memory, as this amount should be considered the absolute minimum. Generally, we recommend between 6GB and 8GB to push the texture quality up on the latest titles, as we're seeing games in 1080p at Ultra coming close to the VRAM cap already. A 4GB GDDR6 GPU is still more than capable with some graphics options scaled back, or utilizing A.I. upscaling technology such as DLSS or FSR, though.
How much should I spend on a cheap graphics card?
You can expect decent performance from a cheap graphics card starting at around $199, if the Radeon RX 6500 XT has taught us anything. Should you want to go cheaper than the $200 range, you're going to struggle to play games competently at 60 FPS in 1080p, so we recommend starting your search at this budget.
Can cheap graphics cards do 4K?
Cheap graphics cards are geared primarily around stable performance in lower resolutions such as 1080p. Really, it's only the higher-end GPUs from both Nvidia and AMD that are capable of decent performance in Ultra HD. That's not to say that 1440p isn't possible with a cheap graphics card, it certainly is, but 4K is out of this budget's reach.
How long do cheap graphics cards last?
Today's cheap graphics cards are going to be able to keep up with the latest games for at least this current GPU generation (around two years). Because of how quickly the PC gaming scene moves, it's difficult to predict how competent these cards will be by then, but, for now, they are ideal to bridge the gap.
Today's best graphics card deals
Our price comparison technology pulls through some of the best graphics card prices available online right now from on models regardless of spec or manufacturer.
You can find more cheap graphics cards for less with the best cheap gaming PC deals and best cheap gaming laptops deals. We're also rounding up the best gaming laptops for more options on portable power.