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01Best overall GPU under $20
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02Best Nvidia GPU under $200
With a tight budget for a new graphics card, then we look at the best GPU under $200. It is a low-end choice of graphics cards and a lot of releases tend to omit it these days, but still, there are some options available to find and fit into your budget.
At the 200 mark, you’re unlikely to find much more than 1080p performance, indeed these are even cheaper than our selection of the best budget graphics cards. Even then, the options might struggle to get a performance as high as you might want it, and then you’ll want to look at upscaling options so you can push that even further than previously. If you are tempted, you should check out the best 1080p graphics cards that are still fairly affordable.
The best option for this price range however is the RX 6500 XT, as it is on a newer architecture it has the benefits of the RDNA 2 generation. Although you may have to be wary of the rest of your setup so it matches well, an incompatibility can hinder your performance.
Best GPU under $200
- Gigabyte Radeon RX 6500 XT Eagle
- Zotac Gaming GeForce GTX 1650 AMP Core
- Gunnir Intel Arc A380 Photon
Best overall GPU under $200 – Gigabyte AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT Eagle
Gigabyte Radeon RX 6500 XT Eagle graphics card
Base Clock
2,310Mhz
Boost Clock
2,815MHz
VRAM
4GB
Dimensions
192 x 117 x 38m
Recommended PSU
300W
- AMD Radeon card with access to RSR to improve performance
- Only PCIe x4, limits performance on a Gen 3 interface
When it comes to the best choice of GPU under $200, the RX 6500 XT is the card to go for. With the architecture based on RDNA 2, it is still a relatively new choice for its price point. Targeting budget gamers it has good features to allow you to enjoy it at the low end of the market.
It is made up of the Navi 24 XT GPU, made with TSMC’s 6nm process, it was 5.4 billion transistors on its 107mm² die. It has 4Gb of GDDR6 memory with a 64-bit bus clocked at 18Gbps, providing a bandwidth of 143.9GB/s. It has 1,024 Shaders, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 16 Compute Units, and 16 RT cores. Which has a base clock of 2,310MHz, and boost up to 2,815MHz, with a game clock of 2,61MHz. It also has a TDP of just 107W.
This GPU isn’t exactly amongst the best 1440p GPUs, it might even struggle at some parts of 1080p. This is especially due to its only 4GB of memory on board. But that’s where RSR comes in, which is an AMD upscaler that works on the driver level. You can use it on any application and so you can boost the performance of your games with it. But it also only has a Gen 4×4 interface, so if you have a Gen 3 motherboard, you’re going to miss out on some performance and should be aware.
Though this choice is no way near amongst the best GPU for AMD, it’s a sound choice and provides good bang for your buck.
Best Nvidia GPU under $200 – ZOTAC Gaming GeForce GTX 1650 AMP Core
ZOTAC Gaming GeForce GTX 1650 AMP CORE
Base clock
1485 MHz
Boost clock
1725 MHz
VRAM
4GB GDDR5
Dimensions
162.4mm x 111.15mm x 37.1mm
Recommended PSU
300W
- Overclocked over stock so has a batter performance
- Low power consumption means no power cables
- Can be much more expensive than MSRP
Now when it comes to the best Nvidia GPU under $200, you have to look a bit far from the mainstream. No RTX card reaches this price point as of yet, so the lower-end options from the older GTX lineup are where you have to look. Here we find the GTX 1650, with a focus on 1080p, it is a slower-end option and misses out on some Nvidia benefits.
The GPU is based on the TU117-300 GPU processor, made on the Turing architecture it has TSMC’s 12nm process. Which gives it 4.7 billion transistors on the 200mm² die. These contain 896 shaders, 56 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 14 SMs. Along with 4GB of GDDR5 memory with a 128-bit bus clocked at 8Gbps for a 128.1GB/s bandwidth. The cores are clocked at 1,485Mhz with a boost up to 1,725MHz, with a TDP of just 75W.
It is another good option for low-end gaming, as the card achieves just over 60FPS at 1080p gaming. You can rely on upscaling like FSR, but even DLSS is unavailable to the card as it’s not an RTX GPU. So it does kind of feel left behind by Nvidia and misses a market area. But it still gets the job done if you don’t need much more.
Best Intel GPU under $200 – Gunnir Intel Arc A380 Photon
GUNNIR Intel Arc A380 Photon
Base clock
2000 MHz
Boost clock
2450 MHz
VRAM
6GB GDDR6
Dimensions
221 x 114 x 42mm
Recommended PSU
350W
- Overclocked card that offers better performance over the standard cards
- Drivers are fresher and so older titles might come with worse performance
- Relies on resizeable bar
Now from a newer contender, you can find a choice of the best Intel GPU under $200 as well. The Intel Arc A380 is the pick in this category, with also a focus on 1080p it relies on the resizeable bar to work at its best. It also has had driver issues in the past with compatibility, but with constant improvements, it has been improved so you can enjoy your games.
The Arc GPU comes with the ACM-G11 processor on it, with TSMC’s 6nm process on it. With a die size of 157mm² and 7.2 billion transistors on it. Along with 6GB of GDDR6 memory with a 96-bi bus clocked at 15.5Gbps with a bandwidth of 186GB/s. It has 1,024 shaders, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 128 Execution Units, 128 Tensors and 8 RT cores. It has a base clock of 2,000MHz with a boost up to 2,450MHz, all with a 75W TDP.
Another small and compact card, it doesn’t need much to run, although it does have a single 8-pin power connector. You do have the benefit of Intel XESS but it also comes with implementation in games so you can boost your performance in some scenarios. But otherwise, it’s a good Esports card.
Features to consider
Now when considering the different choices for your best GPU under $200, there are still some factors to consider when deciding. So we bring you some differences that might help you decide.
Architecture and upscaling
When deciding between the options, the different choices give you different manufacturers and architectures to pick between. Some offer better features than others. For example, using AMD lets you utilise its driver upscaling, which is key for better performance at this low-end range. As Intel and Nvidia don’t yet have any of that but rather implementations in-game. So it might be a better way to get overall performance.
Intel and AMD in our list are the only ones to feature ray tracing, but at this level, it’s not really advised. With a big impact on performance, you really have to have upscaling for it to also work on a good level but if it’s key those are the options for you.
Dimensions
At this tier of budget and performance, the GPUs are rather low-powered. This means you don’t need a massive cooler on them, unlike the big counterparts. As such you can find much smaller cards, dual slots and shorts are common. But you may even find low-profile options that you can fit nicely into even the smallest builds.
VRAM
The video random access memory is the buffer found on graphics cards. Used for storage of pixels ready for your display, it means if you want a smoother experience for resolutions you need capacity and bandwidth. This means you can’t expect much more than 1080p at this level.
Frequently asked questions
What GPU can you get for $200?
For $200 you can get the RX 6500 XT GPU. Limited to Gen 4 x4 PCIe and 1080p performance, it is a more modern option at this price point. But there’s nothing quite like it at the point, possibly an Intel Arc A380.
Is a $200 GPU decent?
Although it lacks in powers and features you might be able to find a half-decent GPU under $200. These lack in performance levels and are limited to 1080p but it is a good start to get into the gaming market. Plus upscaling can push what you can achieve even further.
