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The graphics card market rarely stands still, and in 2025, it’s fair to say we’ve hit warp speed. Nvidia has kicked the door open with Blackwell, AMD’s RDNA 4 is gunning for midrange value, and even Intel has matured into a serious contender with Battlemage. It’s never been a better time to upgrade what is debatably the most important part of your gaming PC.
Right now, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is the uncontested best graphics card, dominating the competition in 2025. You’ll need to be mindful that your rig packs the best CPU in order to keep pace without bottlenecking, but there’s nothing on the horizon that even comes close to challenging the beast just yet.
Cast your eyes lower down the stack, and the conversation gets a little more complicated. With new models come new expectations. 16GB VRAM is quickly becoming the minimum for 1440p gaming, upscalers like FSR 4 and DLSS 4 give supported models a certain edge, and the introduction of the latest GDDR7 memory tips the scales a bit. The generational war certainly simmers between GPU giants.
Fortunately, Club386 is here to cut through the silicon static. Whether you want uncompromising power, practical performance, or just the most bang for your buck, we’ve tested, benchmarked, and scrutinised the latest cards so you don’t have to. This list reflects the GPUs we’d actually buy, not just the ones with the best synthetic scores.
At a glance
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – best graphics card overall
- AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT – best graphics card for most peopleÂ
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 ti 16GB – best mainstream graphics cardÂ
- Intel Arc B580 – best budget graphics card
The best GPUs in 2025
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090
$1,999 / £1,889
Pros
- Unbeaten gaming performance
- 32GB GDDR7 memory
- Class-leading AI TFLOPS
- DLSS 4 support
Cons
- Prohibitively expensive
- Requires lots of power
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How we test and review products.
| GeForce RTX 5090 specs | |
|---|---|
| GPU | GB202 |
| CUDA cores | 21,760 |
| Boost clock | 2.41GHz |
| RT cores | 170 (4th Gen.) |
| Tensor cores | 680 (5th Gen.) |
| Memory size | 32GB |
| Mem. type | GDDR7 |
| Mem. clock | 28Gb/s |
| Mem. interface | 512-bit |
| Mem. bandwidth | 1,792GB/s |
| PCIe interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 |
| TGP | 575W |
| MSRP | $1,999 / £1,889 |
Nvidia’s Blackwell flagship is a brute, and GeForce RTX 5090 earns its “Best Overall” title by simply being the fastest graphics card on the planet. It crushes 4K workloads, slices through ray tracing like butter, and flaunts enough AI acceleration to make your CPU feel underqualified. From games to generative workflows, this is the card that does it all.
With 32GB of shiny new GDDR7 memory and a monstrous TBP, it’s a statement piece as much as it is a tool. DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation are genuinely game-changing at Ultra HD resolutions, making titles like Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition playable at 4K/144fps with all bells and whistles. No compromises here, just pure, unrelenting grunt.
Pricing reflects the power, of course. Expect to part with at least £1,880 for premium board partner models if they maintain their reduced MSRP, with Founders Edition stock now in the wind. But if you demand the best and refuse to settle, RTX 5090 is as close to future proof as the GPU world gets in 2025.
If money’s no object and your monitor boasts pixels for days, GeForce RTX 5090 is your endgame GPU for the next few years. Just be sure your case, PSU, and thermal setup are ready as this monster doesn’t play nice with half-measures.
Read our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 review for more details.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT
$599 / £569
Pros
- Great QHD and UHD performance
- Solid raster and ray tracing
- 16GB GDDR6 VRAM
- FSR 4 support
Cons
- Few FSR 4 games for the moment
- Not as feature-rich as RTX rivals
- Relatively power hungry
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How we test and review products.
| Radeon RX 9070 XT specs | |
|---|---|
| GPU | Navi 48 |
| Stream processors | 4,096 |
| Boost clock | 2.97GHz |
| RT accelerators | 64 (3rd Gen.) |
| AI accelerators | 128 (2nd Gen.) |
| Memory size | 16GB |
| Mem. type | GDDR6 |
| Mem. clock | 20Gb/s |
| Mem. interface | 256-bit |
| Mem. bandwidth | 640GB/s |
| PCIe interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 |
| TGP | 304W |
| MSRP | $599 / £569 |
Best graphics card for most people.
AMD has struck gold with Radeon RX 9070 XT. Leveraging RDNA 4’s refined architecture and a balanced spec sheet, it nails that tricky trifecta of performance, price, and efficiency. For the vast majority of gamers, this is the sweet spot.
Armed with 16GB of GDDR6 memory, RX 9070 XT handles 1440p with ease and pushes well into 4K territory with the help of FSR Frame Generation. If a game includes FSR 3.1, you can even bump it up to the newfound quality of FSR 4 without hassle via the AMD app. Ray tracing performance is still a step behind Nvidia, but the gap has narrowed considerably, especially when paired with the latest drivers and smart upscaling.
More importantly, AMD has kept its pricing honest. You’ll encounter difficulty hunting for that $599 / £569 MSRP, but with overclocked models retailing for around £675, it’s one of the more consistent value GPUs on digital storefronts. Considering it trades blows with Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 in rasterisation while consuming less power, that’s a compelling deal.
This is the GPU we’d recommend to most Club386 readers. It ticks nearly every box, is built on sturdy silicon, and offers enough headroom for high-refresh gaming without draining your wallet or your electricity bill.
Read our AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT review for more details.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB
$429 / £399
Pros
- Good FHD & QHD performance
- 16GB GDDR7 memory
- DLSS 4 support
- Better value than RTX 5060 Ti 8GB
Cons
- Incremental rasterised generational uplift
- Wobbly cost-per-frame value
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How we test and review products.
| GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB specs | |
|---|---|
| GPU | GB206 |
| CUDA cores | 4,608 |
| Boost clock | 2.57GHz |
| RT cores | 36 (4th Gen.) |
| Tensor cores | 72 (5th Gen.) |
| Memory size | 16GB |
| Mem. type | GDDR7 |
| Mem. clock | 28Gb/s |
| Mem. interface | 128-bit |
| Mem. bandwidth | 448GB/s |
| PCIe interface | PCIe 5.0 x8 |
| TGP | 180W |
| MSRP | $429 / £399 |
Best mainstream graphics card.
Mainstream graphics cards have long walked a tightrope between affordability and usability, and Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB finds a comfortable balance of its own. It doesn’t try to redefine expectations, nor does it need to. Instead, this Blackwell-powered refresh delivers the right fixes where it matters, restoring confidence in the 60-class after a turbulent generation.
The inclusion of 16GB of GDDR7 memory makes a world of difference. It ensures the card holds up in today’s increasingly VRAM-hungry titles, particularly at 1080p and 1440p where this card performs best. Compared to its 8GB sibling, there’s more headroom and fewer caveats, especially in modern games that demand more memory for high-resolution textures and complex environments.
Performance lands in a respectable spot. RTX 5060 Ti 16GB offers an impressive 25% gain over RTX 4060 Ti 8GB while consuming less power and offering superior feature sets, such as DLSS 4 MFG. With improved ray tracing and rasterised performance, it’s perhaps best suited to those coming from Ampere, offering a 29% jump on average over RTX 3060 Ti.
It isn’t a bargain at the time of writing, rising above MSRP at $479.99, but it’s priced appropriately for what it offers. Quiet, efficient, and refreshingly straightforward, RTX 5060 Ti 16GB is a textbook example of a product that knows exactly what it’s meant to be. For mainstream PC gamers, that’s a reassuring return to form.
Read our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB review for more details.
Intel Arc B580
$249 / £249
Pros
- Solid gaming performance
- 12GB GDDR6 memory
- XeSS 2 support
Cons
- Relatively high idle power draw
- Works best with newer CPUs
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How we test and review products.
| Arc B580 specs | |
|---|---|
| GPU | BMG-G21 |
| Shaders | 2,560 |
| Boost clock | 2.67GHz |
| RT units | 20 (2nd Gen.) |
| XMX units | 160 (2nd Gen.) |
| Memory size | 12GB |
| Mem. type | GDDR6 |
| Mem. clock | 24Gb/s |
| Mem. interface | 192-bit |
| Mem. bandwidth | 456GB/s |
| PCIe interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 |
| TGP | 190W |
| MSRP | $249 / £249 |
Intel Arc B580 is a bona fide bargain. Once the butt of poor drivers and frame time spikes, Intel has quietly (and impressively) matured its Battlemage architecture into a compelling budget offering. B580 in particular is punchy, polished, and, above all else, cheap.
Coming in at just £273 in the UK at the time of writing, this GPU undercuts nearly every other current-gen offering while still delivering respectable 1080p performance. It’s perfect for competitive esports, indie games, and even heavier AAA titles with some settings tweaks. Plus, the expanded 12GB of VRAM gives it more legs than you’d expect at this price.
Intel XeSS upscaling continues to improve and is now broadly competitive with DLSS and FSR, even chucking Frame Generation into the mix as of XeSS 2. Driver overhead has been reduced significantly, and compatibility issues have become rare, though some edge cases still exist in niche engines.
Arc B580 won’t win benchmark battles, but it wins hearts where it matters: price, usability, and charm. If you’re building a rig on a strict budget or upgrading from an ancient GTX-era card, Intel’s sleeper hit is well worth a look.
Read our Intel Arc B580 review for more details.
Graphics card FAQ
Is GTX or RTX better?
RTX (Ray Tracing Texel eXtreme) is better than GTX (Giga Texel Shader eXtreme). Nvidia moved on from its GTX prefix, which is now only attached to older graphics cards. The RTX prefix replaced it in 2018 with the release of the RTX 20 series, denoting graphics cards that are capable of ray tracing and DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) with built-in Tensor Cores and RT Cores.
What is ray tracing?
Ray tracing is a visual image technique that improves lighting, reflections, and shadows in 3D graphics. It often gives a more photorealistic style to what you see on your screen. The feature has existed in pre-rendered graphics for years. When we talk about ray tracing and graphics cards, we’re specifically referring to real-time ray tracing and the ability to reproduce that technique on-the-fly as we play a game.
How many years does a GPU last?
The lifespan of a graphics card varies depending on your budget and what you need it for. Largely, it’s a good idea to use game system requirements as your guide, as they’ll dictate what hardware you need to play at a specific frame rate. AMD and Nvidia typically launch new GPUs every year and new generations every two years. Just remember, you don’t need to upgrade every time a new series lands as graphics cards released five years ago still hold their own today in varying degrees.
