Best Nvidia GeForce GPU in 2024: In-depth Reviews and Analysis

It can be challenging to distinguish between an Nvidia GPU that is just a winner and one that is truly exceptional because Nvidia sets the bar so high for its gaming graphics cards.

Despite being the leading manufacturer in the graphics card industry, the company has occasionally faced intense competition from its major competitor AMD, which has released many of its own unique GPUs. However, that only pushes Nvidia to work harder for a more brilliant comeback, and at times that resulted in a significant effect on its cards. 

It was challenging to select the Nvidia GPUs that were truly deserving of the title "greatest of all time," but I've narrowed the list down to six five best Nvidia GeForce GPUs that contributed significantly to history.

1. GeForce RTX 3080 - Best GPU overall

Our top suggestion is still the GeForce RTX 3080 from Nvidia, which features the most recent Nvidia Ampere architecture. To be clear, however, this is now applicable to all RTX 3080 cards, including the RTX 3080 12GB and RTX 3080 Ti, based on current prices. Currently, some of the best deals that we found include the 10GB card which costs $740, the 12GB model at $760, and the 3080 Ti at $800.

This is the highly recommended card if you're enthusiastic about pushing all the visual settings to the limit and want to play at 1440p or 4K. It's more than enough for you to play games at 1080p, except for the fact that you're running the most recent ray tracing games, in which case performance should also be enhanced with DLSS support. Since DLSS also functions without ray tracing and is presently offered in more than 200 titles, it is unquestionably a feature that is worth paying a little bit more for.

As an alternative to DLSS, AMD provides the ubiquitous FSR 2.0, but it is not present in quite as many games. In the meantime, Intel's XeSS sounds very much similar to DLSS, but only for Intel graphics cards, which we're patiently waiting on beyond the entry-level Arc A380.

The upcoming RTX 40-series GPUs from Nvidia are the main obstacle to purchasing an RTX 3080-series card right now. Now that we've seen a ton of leaks and rumored specs, we anticipate hearing more from Nvidia's CEO during his GTC keynote address on September 27. The top RTX 40-series GPUs may debut a week or two later if history is indicated. This makes the decision to spend $700 or more on a GPU that will soon be outdated problematic.

TOP FEATURES:

• GPU: Ampere GA102

• TBP: 320 watts

• GPU Cores: 8704

• Video RAM: 10GB GDDR6X 19 Gbps

• Boost Clock: 1,710 MHz

PROS:

• Outstanding performance

• Good value for the money

• Capable of 4K ultra starting at 60 fps

CONS:

• Prices stay above MSRP

• 320W or more is required

• Too extravagant for 1080p displays

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2. GeForce RTX 3090 Ti - Fastest GPU 

The fastest graphics cards are considered the best by some people. Fortunately, Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3090 Ti can successfully target this group of users. Generally, its performance is only 20-30% better in workloads given the price that’s twice as much as the opening price of the RTX 3080. In terms of speed, it runs faster than the old RTX 2090 version which has a higher MSRP by only 5-10%. However, prices offered online are dropping significantly from the official MSRP, and the RTX 3090 Ti can now be purchased at $1,100.

That's owing to the fact that although the RTX 3090 Ti currently leads in Nvidia's best GPU lineup, the Nvidia Ada Lovelace GPUs from next generation are coming soon, and RTX 30-series inventory is being actively purged by Nvidia and its partners. If the fastest GPU is your must-have item, especially when it comes to 4K gaming, then the RTX 3090 Ti is a perfect choice, but only until October, when a new king of the hill will most likely emerge.

The RTX 3090 Ti offers non-gaming applications, and with NVLink support, you can combine two cards for GPU computer tasks and professional apps. The 24GB of GDDR6X memory is also a great assistant in a number of content generation applications. Blender, for instance, delivered higher performance than the 3080 by 35%, and more than doubled the Titan RTX’s performance. Just be aware that some of the SPECviewperf programs may perform worse than expected because the Titan RTX's drivers have additional functions activated that aren't available for GeForce cards. (To use the complete professional driver suite, you'll need the even more premium Nvidia RTX A6000.)

In several SPECviewperf tests, AMD's RX 6950 XT outperforms the RTX 3090 Ti in conventional rasterization performance. Nvidia, however, is the winner if you're looking for the fastest GPU at the moment, especially if you play games that are enabled by ray tracing and DLSS. Just be aware that the RTX 4090 from Nvidia could soon make the 3090 Ti seem like lukewarm gravy.

TOP FEATURES:

• GPU: Ampere GA102

• TBP: 450 watts

• GPU Cores: 10752

• Video RAM: 24GB GDDR6X 21 Gbps

• Boost Clock: 1,860 MHz

PROS:

• The absolute most speedy GPU

• 4K - 8K gaming 

• 24GB is excellent for content generation tasks

• DLSS still sees decent adoption rates

CONS:

• More than doubles the price of the 3080 for a difference in 20–30% in performance

• Enormous power requirements

• Titan price with no Titan enhancements

• Ada architecture from Nvidia is coming

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3. GeForce RTX 3060 - Great value for the money

The reductions in processing power become more pronounced as we get closer to the entry-level pricing and performance tier of the desktop Ampere lineup from Nvidia. The RTX 3060 is backed by Nvidia's GA106 GPU, with 12GB VRAM and a 192-bit memory interface. While it is far better than the RTX 3050, it's still a significant step down from the GA104 chip utilized in the RTX 3060 Ti.

Now, two and a half years later, you can match a $500 graphics card with a $330 substitute since overall performance is comparable to the RTX 2070. But the RTX 3060 still frequently sells for around $400. DLSS performance and ray tracing at least make the RTX 3060 an excellent value overall.

VRAM capacity is not an issue, and in a few cases, the 3060 starts to catch up with the 3060 Ti. It never quite does, though, and if you can find a 3060 Ti for a fair price, it might be a better option. The 3060 Ti costs an additional $80, so this or one of AMD's products is now the better deal.

With the exception of DLSS and ray tracing, the RTX 3060 performs about on par with AMD's RX 5700 XT, which was released 18 months earlier. That won't change the course of history, but then again, that's typical to be seen in mainstream areas. However, the 3060 can actually compete with AMD's RX 6800 when using DLSS and DXR. By 2023, we'll probably see an RTX 4060 "alternative".

TOP FEATURES:

• GPU: Ampere GA106

• TBP: 170 watts

• GPU Cores: 3840

• Video RAM: 12GB GDDR6 15 Gbps

• Boost Clock: 1,777 MHz

PROS:

• Solid 1080p/1440p performance

• Abundant VRAM for future uses

• Excellent value now

CONS:

• Attached with the previous RTX 2070 model

• Limited 12GB 

• Only 192-bit bus

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4. GeForce RTX 3060 Ti - Solid for 1440p gaming

The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti may be the finest in its class for Nvidia's Ampere GPUs, according to our testing. With a base price of just $399, it has all the same functionalities as the other GPUs in the 30 series. Of course, in theory, since it inevitably sold out just as fast as all the other brand new graphics cards. However , things have gotten better and the current lowest price available is down to about $405, which is still slightly higher than MSRP. 

In our testing, the 3060 Ti defeated the 2080 Super from the previous generation, triumphing in every game we played. Despite costing 20% less, it was only approximately 9% slower than the RTX 3070. The 3060 Ti is up to twice the speed of an older RX Vega 56 or GTX 1070, and in some cases even faster in the newest games.

The absence of VRAM is the most significant issue. Currently, 8GB is highly sufficient, although certain games are starting to exceed that limit. You can certainly lower the texture quality a bit, and the difference might not even be visible, but deep inside you'll regret it somehow. (Actually, no, high settings usually look about the same as ultra settings.)

AMD's RX 6650 XT and RX 6600 XT give the 3060 Ti some stiff competition. Nvidia's part is still faster, particularly in ray tracing games, but the RX 6650 XT currently sells for about $150 less than the 3060 Ti.

The RX 6600 XT and RX 6650 XT from AMD are strong rivals for the 3060 Ti. Even though Nvidia's component is still quicker, especially in games enabled by ray tracing, the RX 6650 XT is now $150 less expensive than the 3060 Ti.

TOP FEATURES:

• GPU: Ampere GA104

• TBP: 170 watts

• GPU Cores: 4864

• Video RAM: 8GB GDDR6 14 Gbps

• Boost Clock: 200 watts

PROS:

• Defeats the 2080 Super for $300 less

• Good value in general

• Great for RT at 1440p with DLSS support

CONS:

• Still slightly overpriced at the moment

• Even with DLSS support, 4K is still a push.

• 8GB might not be sufficient VRAM in the long run. 

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5. GeForce RTX 3050 - Decent 1080p Displays With DLSS and DXR

With its GeForce RTX 3050, Nvidia attempted to produce a "cheap" RTX 30-series card, but its $250 suggested retail price still places it squarely in the mainstream group. Additionally, it is currently available for $300 or more, which is better than the starting prices but not as low as we expected given that it performed 7% worse in our tests than the RTX 2060 from the previous generation.

Generally, we'd prefer to spend the money on an RTX card that costs the same amount as an RX 5500 XT 8GB or a GeForce GTX 1660 Super, although the latter is currently available again and costs almost $200.

The RTX 3050 can genuinely run ray tracing enabled games and also supports DLSS. It was also roughly 15% speedier in our testing than a GTX 1660 Super. That's more than what the RX 6500 XT from AMD can offer, which likely ought to have bypassed RT support in favor of more bandwidth and VRAM. While costing $25 lower than the cheapest 3050 we could find right now, AMD's RX 6600 performed 30% better in normal games and only 13% worse in DXR games.

The main issue is that paying more than $300 for performance levels that are considered to be mainstream still seems a bit too much. Hopefully, costs will decrease to MSRP in the near future. Currently, AMD provides a superior alternative for those who have no concern about DLSS and ray tracing, so this is mainly for folks who choose to continue with Nvidia, even though the performance on offer isn't that impressive.

TOP FEATURES:

• GPU: Turing TU116

• TBP: 125 watts

• GPU Cores: 1408

• Video RAM: 6GB GDDR6 14 Gbps

• Boost Clock: 1,785 MHz

PROS:

• Available at a reasonable price

• 6GB VRAM is better than 4GB

• Can cope with 1080p gaming well

CONS:

• Lack of ray tracing or DLSS

• Pricing is not much lower than RX 6600

• Can run out of stock quickly.

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Related posts: 

• Best AMD Radeon GPU

• Best RX 6700 XT

• Best Intel 11th Gen CPU

• Best Intel 12th Gen CPU

Taking into account all of the aforementioned information, our current guidelines reflect the best Nvidia GeForce GPU market that's constantly shifting. Because the GPUs are ranked subjectively based on price, features, performance and efficiency, relatively slower cards may rank higher than faster ones on the list.

You cannot ignore the CPU if gaming is your primary objective. Investing in the best gaming GPU won't do you much good if your CPU is outdated or inadequate. To ensure you have the appropriate CPU for the level of gameplay you want to reach, be sure to check out the Best Ryzen 5000 CPU page.