Best graphics card UK
Which is the best graphics card in 2024?
VIEW OFFERBest of 2024: Find the right graphics card in the UK
If you are a gamer or someone who works with graphics-intensive software, a good graphics card is a must. Being one of the most important parts of a computer for delivering video, animation, and other forms of visual media, you’ll want the best graphics card possible for your budget. But with a lot of options and technical jargon being thrown around, it’s not always easy to find the right graphics card for your needs. With this in mind, we’ve created a handy graphics card buying guide. It covers all the information you need to know and things to look for when buying a new graphics card.
The 10 best graphics cards in the UK (December 2024)
The bestseller list compares graphics cards from multiple brands
- Ventilation: Reinforcing Backplate provides additional ventilation.
- Performance: TORX FAN 4.0 offers unprecedented focused air pressure.
- Cooling: Dual fans and heatsink ensure a cool, quiet experience.
- Outputs: DisplayPort v1.4a x3 and HDMI 2.1 x1 for versatile connectivity.
- Cooling: Dual fan design with MSI TORX Fan 3.0 for superior thermal performance.
- Performance: Powered by NVIDIA Ampere with GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB GDDR6, Ray tracing, DLSS support.
- Reliability: Auto-Extreme Technology ensures consistent, high-quality manufacturing.
- Durability: Dual ball fan bearings offer twice the lifespan.
- Performance: High boost and game clock speeds for enhanced gaming experience.
- Durability: Solid capacitors provide longevity and efficiency under full load.
- Cooling: Passive cooling design offers quiet operation with large heat sink protection.
- Speed: High core/memory frequency ensures better performance in demanding applications.
- Ventilation: The reinforcing backplate helps enhance overall ventilation.
- Airflow: TORX FAN 4.0 ensures focused and improved air pressure.
- Cooling: Efficient cooling is essential for high performance and longevity.
- Resolution: Supports up to 7680 x 4320 for ultra-clear visuals.
- Compatibility: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 chipset ensures wide-ranging software and hardware support.
- Performance: 12GB GDDR6 delivers high-speed data processing for seamless gameplay.
- Architecture: Utilizes ultra-efficient Ada Lovelace architecture for optimal gaming experience.
- Memory: Integrated with 8GB GDDR6, ensuring high-speed data processing.
- Performance: Powered by NVIDIA DLSS 3, offering up to 4x performance boosts.
- Technology: 3rd Gen Tensor Cores for advanced AI and DLSS efficiency.
- Cooling: Windforce 3X cooler ensures optimal thermal performance.
- Performance: 1837 MHz stroke rate for top-tier computing power.
- Cooling: Windforce, 3 x 80mm fans, Graphene Nano lubricant
- Technologies: Nvidia DLSS 3, Ada Lovelace architecture, full ray tracing
- Performance: Boost Clock 2490 MHz, 12GB GDDR6X, 192-bit Memory Bus
- Performance: OC mode boosts clock to 1867 MHz.
- Silence: 0dB technology ensures quiet gaming experience.
- Efficiency: 2-slot design for compatibility and superior cooling in small chassis.
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- Read the definitive graphics card buying guide
- View the graphics card picks and see how they rank in the top list
graphics card buying guide
Do you want to buy a good graphics card? This is all you need to know.
A short explanation: What are graphics cards?
A graphics card is a piece of computing hardware that allows you to view digital images and graphics or render them for use in games and movies. Integrated graphics processing uses a section of the system’s memory to complete tasks, whereas a graphics card has its own RAM and processing unit to alleviate this workload. So, they are are important component in a computing setup.
What are the benefits of good graphics cards?
Every computer requires a graphics card to display images and videos, so if you want to play computer games on your machine, then you will need a good graphics card. It is the most important component for running games and is required to show any visuals on your screen. Moreover, a good graphics card is needed for image and video editing. So, if you work in media or have an interest in these areas, then you will benefit from a graphics card being in your computer.
How to choose the best graphics card in 2024?
Choosing the best Graphics card can be rather difficult for the uninitiated, as it’s a complex piece of hardware that isn’t always easy to compare. Here are some things to consider so that you can find the right GPU:
- GPU Ranking: Graphics cards are made up various parts, with the graphic processing unit (GPU) being most important. Like a motherboard or CPU chipset, certain makers produce graphic card GPUs, which in turn helps to determine how powerful it is. For Nvidia, their latest GPU is the RTX 30 series, while AMD’s is the Radeon RX 6000. Be sure to check the ranking of these GPUs to determine which is the most powerful, as it will likely be the main selling point.
- Memory: The best Graphics Cards come with an abundance of video memory that allows for higher screen resolutions and faster frame rates. Known as GDDR, the most common types are GDDR5 and GDDR6, with the latter being newer and therefore more expensive. The memory bit-rate is also vital to understand how efficient the memory is working and impacting the overall performance of the GPU.
- Interface: All motherboards come with a standard set of interfaces, so it’s important to know if a Graphics Card is compatible. In the case of GPUs, they are connected with PCI, with current graphics cards using PCI Express, with several versions available. The higher the version of PCI Express, the more data bandwidth available, which results in improved performance. For example, a x16 PCI interface processes 16 bits of data electrically, and it is the standard interface on a graphics card. The interface version will be displayed on the graphics card's specifications.Typically expressed in a x number (e.g. x16), it is beneficial to buy a graphics card with a higher interface version. Modern graphics cards will be compatible with version x16. But it is always beneficial to have a higher bandwidth for an increase performance, with versions such as x32 available, although these are much less common. Versions x8 and x16 are the most common, with little difference in performance, so you won’t go too far wrong with these.
Which types of graphics cards are available to buy in the UK?
The best graphics cards for your PC build are most commonly found in one of the following types:
- PCI Graphics Cards: Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) is the standard connection type for most desktops, so these are the most common types of graphics cards. They are modern and come in various powers so are great for most users, unless you have an older desktop.
- PCI-E Graphics Cards: PCI Express (PCI-E or PCIe) are the standard connection type for the best graphics cards. They are the most modern and come in varying power capacities, although you need to be mindful of other hardware if you want the most powerful PCI graphics cards.
- AGP Graphics Cards: Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) is an older connection so is only found when looking at used or older models. This doesn’t mean there aren’t great graphics cards using AGP, it’s just a dated connection.