NVIDIA Graphics Card Buyers Guide
Though many modern CPUs are equipped with integrated graphics, these are only really suitable for gaming at low quality settings at 1080p. Therefore, you should seriously consider buying a separate graphics card if you want to play GAMES or edit videos.
The GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and is the main ingredient of a graphics card, the most important component in a gaming PC. The frontrunner in graphics cards is NVIDIA, and its range of GeForce GPUs offer something at every imaginable price point. The key specs to look out for when choosing a GeForce graphics card are the number of CUDA cores, RT cores, Tensor cores and amount of memory, with more powerful cards having more of all four.
A more powerful graphics card will enable your PC to run games at higher quality settings at a smooth frame rate for a superior gaming experience. The first question you should therefore ask yourself is what monitor do you have or intend to buy so you can choose a graphics card suitable for it. To make this process easier this buyers guide recommends the optimum monitor resolution for each graphics card.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX Special Features
DLSS
DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is an advanced AI-powered rendering technique unique to NVIDIA graphics cards that uses the Tensor cores to increase frame rates. DLSS enables you ramp up the resolution to enjoy higher quality graphics, without sacrificing performance.
DLSS 1 & 2
DLSS 1 uses a technique called Super Resolution to upscale frames from a low resolution to a high resolution. DLSS 2 employs temporal anti-aliasing upsampling (TAUU) to improve image quality and performance and is supported in hundreds of games.
DLSS 3
DLSS 3 builds on these upscaling techniques but is even faster as it can create entirely new frames, interspersed between Super Resolution frames. This new Frame Generation technology uses the Tensor cores unique to NVIDIA RTX GPUs and can even boost the performance in CPU limited games such as flight simulators.
DLSS 4
DLSS 4 builds on these upscaling techniques and frame generation techniques but uses AI transformers rather than neural networks to produce three frames interspersed between Super Resolution frames. This new Multi Frame Generation technology uses the Tensor cores unique to NVIDIA RTX GPUs and can even boost the performance in CPU limited games such as flight simulators.
Ray Tracing
The RT cores enables real time ray traced graphics in games. Unlike traditional rasterised graphics, ray tracing simulates how light beams and shadows actually work, providing far more rich and realistic graphics.
NVIDIA Reflex
Reflex delivers the ultimate competitive advantage, enabling you to acquire targets faster, react quicker and increase aim precision through a revolutionary suite of technologies that measure and optimise system latency. The latest Reflex 2 uses Frame Warp to update the rendered frame based on later mouse movements than would normally be done, driving down latency as low as 1ms.
NVIDIA App
The NVIDIA App is the essential companion for PC gamers and creators. Keep your PC up to date with the latest NVIDIA drivers and technology. Optimize games and applications with a new unified GPU control center, capture your favorite moments with powerful recording tools through the in-game overlay, and discover the latest NVIDIA tools and software.
NVIDIA Broadcast
Broadcast is a software suite that helps streamers take their channel to the next level with tools such as background noise removal, virtual backgrounds and an auto frame function that zooms in on you and uses AI to track your head movements, keeping you at the centre of the action even as you shift from side to side. With these great features, NVIDIA Broadcast is like having your own professional studio and cameraperson.
The NVIDIA GeForce Hierarchy
RTX 5090
8K/4K/UW-QHD
Optimum Resolution
106
Shader Performance (TFLOPS)
318
Ray Tracing Performance (TFLOPS)
3,352
AI Performance (TOPS)
✔
VR Ready
The RTX 5090 is the flagship GeForce 50-series gaming graphics card. This ultra-fast graphics card packs in 21,760 CUDA cores, 170 4th gen RT cores, 680 5th gen Tensor cores and 32GB of GDDR7 memory, providing stunning gaming experiences at the most demanding resolutions, 8K, 4K and UW-QHD.
BLACKWELL
50-series GPUs are based on the Blackwell architecture which runs games up to twice as fast than previous 40-series Ada Lovelace GPUs.
RTX RAY TRACING
Fourth generation RT cores deliver up to double the real-time ray-tracing performance of the previous generation GPUs.
DLSS 4
Fifth generation Tensor cores use AI transformers to produce three frames interspersed between Super Resolution frames.
STREAMING
50-series GPUs ninth generation video encoders support the 4:2:2 pro-grade colour format - enabling new possibilities for content creators.
NVIDIA GPU Summary
Still not sure which NVIDIA graphics card is right for you? This table shows the key characteristics of the main models.
GeForce RTX 50-Series, 40-Series, 30-Series, 20-Series, GTX 16-Series & 10-Series Card Specifications
Model | RTX 5090 | RTX 5080 | RTX 5070 Ti | RTX 5070 | RTX 4090 | RTX 4080 Super | RTX 4080 | RTX 4070 Ti Super | RTX 4070 Ti | RTX 4070 Super | RTX 4070 | RTX 4060 Ti | RTX 4060 | RTX 3090 Ti | RTX 3090 | RTX 3080 Ti | RTX 3080 | RTX 3070 Ti | RTX 3070 | RTX 3060 Ti | RTX 3060 | RTX 3050 | RTX 3050 | TITAN RTX | RTX 2080 Ti | RTX 2080 Super | RTX 2080 | RTX 2070 Super | RTX 2070 | RTX 2060 Super | RTX 2060 | GTX 1080 Ti | GTX 1080 | GTX 1070 Ti | GTX 1070 | GTX 1660 Ti | GTX 1660 Super | GTX 1660 | GTX 1650 Super | GTX 1650 | GTX 1060 6GB | GTX 1060 3GB | GTX 1050 Ti | GTX 1050 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Architecture | Blackwell | Blackwell | Blackwell | Blackwell | Ada Lovelace | Ada Lovelace | Ada Lovelace | Ada Lovelace | Ada Lovelace | Ada Lovelace | Ada Lovelace | Ada Lovelace | Ada Lovelace | Ampere | Ampere | Ampere | Ampere | Ampere | Ampere | Ampere | Ampere | Ampere | Ampere | Turing | Turing | Turing | Turing | Turing | Turing | Turing | Turing | Pascal | Pascal | Pascal | Pascal | Turing | Turing | Turing | Turing | Turing | Pascal | Pascal | Pascal | Pascal |
GPU | GB202 | GB203 | GB203 | GB205 | AD102 | AD103 | AD103 | AD103 | AD104 | AD104 | AD104 | AD106 | AD107 | GA102 | GA102 | GA102 | GA102 | GA104 | GA104 | GA104 | GA106 | GA106 | GA106 | TU102 | TU102 | TU104 | TU104 | TU104 | TU106 | TU106 | TU106 | GP102 | GP104 | GP104 | GP104 | TU116 | TU116 | TU116 | TU117 | TU117 | GP106 | GP106 | GP107 | GP107 |
CUDA Cores | 21,760 | 10,752 | 8,960 | 6,144 | 16,384 | 10,240 | 9,728 | 8,448 | 7,680 | 7,168 | 5,888 | 4,352 | 3,072 | 10,752 | 10,496 | 10,240 | 8,704 | 6,144 | 5,888 | 4,864 | 3,584 | 2,560 | 2,304 | 4,608 | 4,352 | 3,072 | 2,944 | 2,560 | 2,304 | 2,176 | 1,920 | 3,584 | 2,560 | 2,432 | 1,920 | 1,536 | 1,408 | 1,408 | 1,280 | 896 | 1,280 | 1,152 | 768 | 640 |
Tensor Cores | 680 (5th Gen) | 336 (5th Gen) | TBC (5th Gen) | TBC (5th Gen) | 512 (4th Gen) | 320 (4th Gen) | 304 (4th Gen) | 264 (4th Gen) | 240 (4th Gen) | 224 (4th Gen) | 184 (4th Gen) | 136 (4th Gen) | 96 (4th Gen) | 336 (3rd Gen) | 328 (3rd Gen) | 320 (3rd Gen) | 272 (3rd Gen) | 192 (3rd Gen) | 184 (3rd Gen) | 152 (3rd Gen) | 112 (3rd Gen) | 80 (3rd Gen) | 72 (3rd Gen) | 576 (2nd Gen) | 544 (2nd Gen) | 384 (2nd Gen) | 368 (2nd Gen) | 320 (2nd Gen) | 288 (2nd Gen) | 272 (2nd Gen) | 240 (2nd Gen) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
RT Cores | 170 (4th Gen) | 84 (4th Gen) | TBC (4th Gen) | TBC (4th Gen) | 128 (3rd Gen) | 80 (3rd Gen) | 76 (3rd Gen) | 66 (3rd Gen) | 60 (3rd Gen) | 56 (3rd Gen) | 46 (3rd Gen) | 34 (3rd Gen) | 24 (3rd Gen) | 84 (2nd Gen) | 82 (2nd Gen) | 80 (2nd Gen) | 68 (2nd Gen) | 48 (2nd Gen) | 46 (2nd Gen) | 38 (2nd Gen) | 28 (2nd Gen) | 20 (2nd Gen) | 18 (2nd Gen) | 68 (1st Gen) | 48 (1st Gen) | 46 (1st Gen) | 40 (1st Gen) | 36 (1st Gen) | 34 (1st Gen) | 30 (1st Gen) | 30 (1st Gen) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Reference Base Clock | 2.01GHz | 2.3GHz | 2.3GHz | 2.16GHz | 2.01GHz | 2.21GHz | 2.21GHz | 2.34GHz | 2.31GHz | 1.98GHz | 1.92GHz | 2.31GHz | 1.83GHz | 1,560MHz | 1,400MHz | 1,370MHz | 1,440MHz | 1,580MHz | 1,500MHz | 1,410MHz | 1,320MHz | 1,552MHz | 1,042MHz | 1,350 MHz | 1,350 MHz | 1,650 MHz | 1,515 MHz | 1,605 MHz | 1,410 MHz | 1,470 MHz | 1,365 MHz | 1,480 MHz | 1,607 MHz | 1,607 MHz | 1,506 MHz | 1,500 MHz | 1,530 MHz | 1,530 MHz | 1,530 MHz | 1,485 MHz | 1,506 MHz | 1,506 MHz | 1,290 MHz | 1,354 MHz |
Reference Boost Clock | 2.41GHz | 2.62GHz | 2.45GHz | 2.51GHz | 2.52GHz | 2.55GHz | 2.51GHz | 2.61GHz | 2.61GHz | 2.48GHz | 2.48GHz | 2.54GHz | 2.46GHz | 1,860MHz | 1,700 MHz | 1,670MHz | 1,710 MHz | 1,770MHz | 1,730 MHz | 1,665MHz | 1,780MHz | 1,777MHz | 1,470MHz | 1,770 MHz | 1,545 MHz | 1,815 MHz | 1,710 MHz | 1,770 MHz | 1,710 MHz | 1,650 MHz | 1,680 MHz | 1,582 MHz | 1,733 MHz | 1,683 MHz | 1,683 MHz | 1,770 MHz | 1,785 MHz | 1,785 MHz | 1,725 MHz | 1,665 MHz | 1,708 MHz | 1,708 MHz | 1,392 MHz | 1,455 MHz |
Memory | 32GB GDDR7 | 16GB GDDR7 | 16GB GDDR7 | 12GB GDDR7 | 24GB GDDR6X | 16GB GDDR6X | 16GB GDDR6X | 16GB GDDR6X | 12GB GDDR6X | 12GB GDDR6X | 12GB GDDR6X | 8/16GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 | 24GB GDDR6X | 24GB GDDR6X | 12GB GDDR6X | 10GB GDDR6X | 8GB GDDR6X | 8GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 | 12GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 | 6GB GDDR6 | 24GB GDDR6 | 11GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 | 8GB GDDR6 | 6GB GDDR6 | 11GB GDDR5X | 8GB GDDR5X | 8GB GDDR5 | 8GB GDDR5 | 6GB GDDR6 | 6GB GDDR6 | 6GB GDDR5 | 4GB GDDR6 | 4GB GDDR5 | 6GB GDDR5 | 3GB GDDR5 | 4GB GDDR5 | 2GB GDDR5 |
Memory Controller | 512-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 192-bit | 384-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 192-bit | 192-bit | 192-bit | 128-bit | 128-bit | 384-bit | 384-bit | 384-bit | 320-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 192-bit | 128-bit | 96-bit | 384-bit | 352-bit | 352-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 192-bit | 352-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 192-bit | 192-bit | 192-bit | 128-bit | 128-bit | 192-bit | 192-bit | 128-bit | 128-bit |
TDP | 575W | 360W | 300W | 250W | 450W | 320W | 320W | 285W | 285W | 220W | 200W | 160W | 115W | 350W | 350W | 350W | 320W | 290W | 220W | 200W | 170W | 130W | 70W | 280W | 260W | 250W | 225W | 215W | 175W | 175W | 160W | 250W | 180W | 180W | 150W | 120W | 125W | 120W | 110W | 75W | 120W | 120W | 75W | 75W |
Minimum PSU | 1000W | 850W | 750W | 650W | 850W | 750W | 750W | 700W | 700W | 650W | 650W | 550W | 550W | 850W | 750W | 750W | 750W | 750W | 650W | 600W | 550W | 550W | 550W | 650W | 650W | 650W | 650W | 650W | 550W | 550W | 550W | 600W | 450W | 450W | 450W | 450W | 450W | 450W | 350W | 300W | 300W | 300W | 250W | 250W |
Ready to buy?
NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards can be purchased as a standalone product or integrated into a gaming PC from our award-winning 3XS Systems team.