Buying a graphics card is a big investment, especially if you’re after today’s mid-range or high-end GPUs from Nvidia and AMD. Some graphics cards are disappointments to begin with, while others have been replaced by new GPUs. Here are some of the graphics cards you should avoid at all costs.
1. RX 6500 XT 4GB
The RX 6500 XT came at a time when the market was desperately in need of affordable graphics cards. But what we got was nothing short of a disaster for $199. Even at that relatively low price, the 6500 XT was untouchable.
Designed to be a laptop GPU, AMD later put it together to ship as a desktop model with a dismal 4GB VRAM and a meager 64-bit memory bus. Things were so bad that the 6500 XT wasn’t any faster than the older RX 5500 XT or GTX 1650 Super, which happened to be three years older.
Get Intel Arc A580 Instead
Comparatively, the other budget contender from Intel, the Intel Arc A580, is a no-brainer, as it’s 40% to 50% faster than the RX 6500 XT, at around the same price.
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2. RTX 3060 8GB
The original RTX 3060 launched with 12GB of VRAM in the midst of the pandemic. Although it was mostly scooped up by crypto miners, it was still a decent offering at its MSRP. What Nvidia launched two years later as a variant, was anything but. The RTX 3060 8GB was a cut-down version of the 12GB card, but the VRAM wasn’t the only downgrade.
The card shipped with a reduced memory bus, which resulted in 33% less memory bandwidth. There was simply no case to be made for the RTX 3060 8GB. Even AMD competitors at the same price were far better picks.
Get RTX 3060 12GB Instead
If you’re considering this one, go for the RTX 3060 12GB – for the same price.
3. RTX 3050 8GB
The RTX 3050 is infamous for being the slowest RTX graphics card. Frankly, I consider it a ray tracing card in name only, as enabled RT effects comes with far too big of a performance hit. Although it allows you to experience ray tracing at medium settings with DLSS enabled, Nvidia did the bare minimum with this SKU.
At its $250 launch price, there was little reason to consider it, as it wasn’t even faster than the older RTX 2060 or RX 5600 XT.
Get RX 6600 Instead
Even at its newer $199 price, you’ll be better off with the similarly priced and 15% to 20% faster RX 6600.
You could also consider the Intel Arc A580, as it sells for around $20 less than the RTX 3050 but is considerably faster. Unless you absolutely need ray tracing, the RTX 3050 is not the best pick.
4. Arc A770
Intel’s re-entry into the discrete desktop graphics market was a win for budget gamers, especially after the multiple driver updates by Team Blue. But not every Alchemist SKU was a perfect 10. The Arc A770, despite being quite powerful and sporting 16GB VRAM, didn’t quite hit the right price point for it to be a viable alternative.
Although you can buy it for around $289, $40 down from its launch price, it’s still too pricey when you consider the competition.
Get RX 6650 XT/RTX 4060 Instead
The RX 6650 XT offers similar performance at a much lower price. The RTX 4060 is similar in price and rasterized performance to the Arc A770 but offers superior ray tracing performance.
Good to know: wondering about Intel GPUs? Find out whether an Intel Arc GPU is good for gaming.
5. RTX 4060 Ti 8GB
The RTX 4060 Ti is a black spot on Nvidia’s RTX 4000 lineup – but not because of its performance in isolation. It’s a perfectly capable 1440p GPU for gaming, offering the benefits of the Ada Lovelace architecture to a wider audience. But when you look at it in relation to what it came after and what it competes against, it starts to look like a big disappointment.
The RTX 4060 Ti was dead on arrival. Nvidia announced it with a cripplingly low 8GB of VRAM (for a $400 card). Even worse was the fact that it brought no improvement over the previous-gen RTX 3060 Ti. In some games, the RTX 3060 Ti was actually faster. The DLSS 3.0 and Frame Generation technologies on the 4060 Ti could only do so much.
Get RX 6750 XT/RX 7700 XT Instead
The RX 6750 XT and RX 7700 XT are easily the better buys in this price range.
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6. RX 7600
The RX 7600 wasn’t a bad card for $269 when it launched. It offered a consistently great 1080p gaming experience, but there were some notable downsides, which made it less of a slam dunk.
Unlike the other RX 7000 GPUs, the 7600 features the older 6nm TSMC node. Hence, it lacks the benefits that come with the more efficient 5nm node seen on its siblings. Plus, it’s virtually identical to the older, cheaper RX 6650 XT.
Get RX 6650 XT/RTX 4060 Instead
You can also consider the RTX 4060 for just $50 more for significantly better ray tracing performance.
7. RTX 4070
The RTX 4070 was hailed as the best value card in the RTX 4000 lineup when it launched, and for the right reasons. Although its $599 launch price wasn’t “cheap” by any means, it provided better FPS per dollar than the RTX 4070 Ti, RTX 4080, and RTX 4090. But there’s still a reason you shouldn’t buy the RTX 4070, even at its discounted price.
If you missed it, Nvidia launched the RTX Super series a few months back, effectively replacing many of the non-Super variants.
Get RTX 4070 Super Instead
The RTX 4070 Super launched at the same price as the RTX 4070 and had 22% more CUDA cores and 5% to 10% more performance. Paying $30 more in the current market for the 4070 Super is definitely the right choice.
FYI: need the best performance per dollar? Check out our best value gaming PC build guide.
8. RTX 4070 Ti
The bigger brother of the RTX 4070, the RTX 4070 Ti was also succeeded by its Super variant, the RTX 4070 Ti Super. The 4070 Ti was significantly more powerful than the 4070, so people were curious to see the improvements that the 4070 Ti Super would bring. Needless to say, we got a nice upgrade over the 4070 Ti for not that much more money (based on current prices). Nvidia discontinued the RTX 4070 Ti soon after.
Get RTX 4070 Ti Super Instead
The RTX 4070 Ti Super featured 10% more CUDA cores than the original but upped the VRAM from 12GB to 16GB. It was also 5% to 10% faster than the 4070 Ti. And when you can have the Super variant for as low as $10 to $20 more than the non-Super card, it becomes a no-brainer.
9. RTX 4080
The RTX 4080 was considerably cheaper than the Nvidia flagship, offering near-flagship performance to gamers. With the launch of the Super series, Nvidia discontinued it as well in favor of the RTX 4080 Super. The Super variant came with a $200 price cut, 5% more CUDA cores, and a small 4% to 5% performance improvement. But the significant price cut was the highlight here.
Get RTX 4080 Super Instead
You can still find the RTX 4080 online and at some retailers, but there’s really no point considering it over the 4080 Super, unless you find it considerably cheaper.
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10. RTX 4090
You may be wondering what the RTX 4090 is doing on this list. After all, it’s the fastest GPU in the world, with virtually no competition. Despite offering insane performance, the RTX 4090 isn’t for most people. Consider this: jumping from the RTX 4080 Super to the RTX 4090 (in the current market) is at least a 70% price jump, for only a 20% to 30% increase in performance.
Get RTX 4080 Super/RTX 4070 Ti Super Instead
For 99% of gamers, the RTX 4080 Super, or even the RTX 4070 Ti Super, will offer high-end performance. The RTX 4090 was overpriced when it launched at $1,599. It’s even worse at its current price of $1,700 to $1,800.
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Buying the Right Graphics Card in 2024
The right GPU for you is the one that offers the best performance in your budget. Stretching your GPU budget is fine if you’re careful about the compromises you’re making elsewhere. What you should never do, however, is make bad GPU purchases when better alternatives are available. You should always prioritize value when you’re on a budget.
Image credit: Unsplash
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