Best quiet GPU in 2024 – top graphics card picks

We’re having a look at the best quiet GPU so you can game without distractions. There are few things in gaming, or computing usage in general, as annoying as hearing the fans whir into life and knowing you’ll be stuck with that sound for the next indistinct amount of time.

The easiest way for a graphics card to run quietly is for it to have efficient and robust cooling solutions. All the cards on this list boast exactly this. As a result, they bring with them other advantages such as improved overclocking ability too.

When you’re searching for quiet, or even silent GPUs, you’ll want to keep an eye out for water cooling as well as larger dimensions and high fan counts. Water cooling is fairly self-explanatory as a means of keeping components cool without generating noise. Going for options with more fans might seem counter-intuitive as it is the fans that make the noise. However, these fans only become noisy above a certain RPM. This means that if the card has more fans they are able to spin slower to still achieve efficient cooling. This is only increased with larger dimensions which facilitate greater airflow.

With that in mind let’s get into our picks. We’ve got a description of each specific card here so you can get a better sense of whether or not it is for you. Let’s get into our picks.

Best overall quiet GPU – ASUS RTX 4080 Noctua OC Edition

This Noctua RTX 4080 card is relatively new and sure to prove popular for those who want to pinnacle of gaming performance paired with quiet performance. We asked our GPU expert Seb over at WePC what he thought about the card. He said

“Noctua is a renowned cooling manufacturer, so implementing its design onto a graphics cards is a no brainer. Redesigning the ASUS TUF model, it vastly improves the cooling capacity with more large heat pipes and a vapour chamber over a copper base. This lets it run at lower RPMs to get the same cooling, and so it is a great choice for a quiet card. Although the colour scheme might not be to everyone’s taste…”

Of course, like many of the picks on this list, the cooling capabilities of the card come at the cost of compact sizing. The larger size facilitates more fans and so more airflow. As the RTX 4080 is already known for being fairly bulky, it’s a good idea to get the best case for the RTX 4080, to make sure you have the real estate to house this beast.

Best mid-range quiet GPU – ZOTAC Gaming RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC

This Zotac gaming card brings the power and popularity of the RTX 3060 and turns the volume down. As you’d expect this is thanks to its approach to cooling.

Zotac has used liquid cooling here, which is an efficient and almost silent approach to avoid overheating. Specifically, the card uses industry-leading innovators EKWB as the source of their liquid cooling. The placement of the radiator is intelligent and ensures maximum cooling. This brings with it a longer lifespan for your components as well as the ability to overclock the card to a significant extent.

Liquid coolers still make use of fans but ones which can rotate at far slower speeds than air-cooled cards. Zotac has also included Active Fan Control and Freeze Fan Stop which gives the user control over the fans, meaning you can silence them whenever you wish.

If you’re building a full PC, we’d recommend pairing this card with one of the best CPUs for the RTX 3060. Processor choice is another very important factor for building an overall quiet gaming PC, so you’ll want to make sure the one you go for pairs well with your chosen graphics card.

Best quiet GPU for 4K – ASUS ROG Strix LC RX 6900 XT OC

This Asus ROG Strix card brings with it an enlarged cold plate and a 240mm radiator to keep your GPU cool and quiet even under the demands of 4K gaming. The RX 6900 XT is one of the most powerful RDNA 2 cards out there. With a seriously high boost clock speed and a tonne of VRAM, it’s great to see such a quiet version of this card being offered.

The boost clock is partly achieved thanks to the card’s robust cooling. The enlarged plate was custom designed to fit with the RX 6900 XT, meaning that the most efficient cooling is concentrated on the components most responsible for high performance. As a result, this card will be able to stay cool and quiet even under demanding game loads.

The RX 6900 XT itself is one of the best GPUs for 4K, even performing well here vs the RTX 4070. With this custom edition, Asus bring out that power while focusing on maintaining and combining it with near-silent operation.

Frequently asked questions

There are a few questions that come up more often than others when it comes to quiet GPUs. We’ve tried our best to answer some of the most common ones here.

Is liquid cooling safe?

Liquid cooling is completely safe when properly installed. However, the installation process is more complex than with traditional air cooling. As a result, you should only build your own liquid-cooled PC if you are confident in your abilities.

Are MSI cards quiet?

MSI has a record of producing quiet GPUs. This is in part thanks to their fan design, as well as other features such as Zero Frozr. The MSI Suprim range is especially good for quiet performance.