Key features:
- PCI-E bus powered
- Great Full HD performance in basic games
- 2GB memory
- Review price: £110
THE BEST CARD FOR ESPORTS
We weren't expecting the GTX 1050 to be particularly good value, but at the time of review – and up against AMD's excellent RX 460 – it just about did enough to stay ahead. With prices starting at £110, it's £20 more expensive than the cheapest RX 460s. However, the benefits are that you get a much smaller board, lower power consumption and better performance. If your budget will stretch to the GTX 1050, it's worth it for that.
It performed well in our benchmarks, topping 250fps in CS:GO, 112fps in Overwatch, and it even managed 46fps in Hitman at Medium settings. For eSports players who like to dabble in a bit of AAA gaming, it's a good card.
The limitation is memory: in this day and age 2GB is probably too little, so be sure to check out the minimum requirements of new games carefully before you buy.
It's interesting to note that you'll find GTX 1050 in various mid-range gaming laptops such as the £900,where it gets 4GB of memory instead of 2GB. This should improve performance if you dare turn up the graphics settings in the latest AAA games
NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1050 TI
Key features:
- Low power consumption
- 1080p gaming at Medium and High
- 4GB GDDR5 memory
- Review price: £139
BEST AAA GAMING CARD FOR UNDER £150
If the brilliant-value RX 480 is too expensive for you, the GTX 1050 Ti is the next best thing. It may not possess the outright power of its more expensive rivals, but if you're simply after a card that can play games at Full HD then you've little reason to look elsewhere.
With such low power consumption, it will slot into practically any PC with a spare PCI-E slot and provide an instant boost to gaming power, taking your average pre-built office PC from dull to epic in a matter of seconds.
Don't expect the world, though. You'll need to tweak graphics settings in some games (or use Nvidia's GeForce Experience software to find the ideal graphics settings) down to Medium, as we found in our review. But for the money, it's hard to complain.
Look out for this GPU inside some of the latest mid-range gaming laptops from around £1000. Keep watch for cheeky configurations that cut the memory from 4GB to 2GB, as this might prove to be a bottleneck especially in games like which uses over 2GB of video memory when played at Medium settings in Full HD.
AMD RADEON RX 570
Key Features
- Capable Full HD performance
- 4GB or 8GB GDDR5 memory
- Same GPU as RX 470
- Review price: £214
- Starting price: £170
BEST AAA GAMING CARD FOR UNDER £200
The RX 570 is a minor improvement to the RX 470 we reviewed in 2016. It has slightly higher clock speeds and lower power consumption when not in use. It’s largely identical to its predecessor, however, so anyone running a 470 needn’t worry.
In terms of performance, expect to run the latest games in Full HD at High and Very High settings. We saw 90+fps in the likes of Battlefield 1 at High settings in Full HD.
AMD RADEON RX 580
Key features:
- 8GB or 4GB of GDDR5 memory
- Same GPU as RX 480
- Full HD and 1440p gaming
- Starting price: £190
- Review price: £270
A minor update to the RX 480, the 580 is the new graphics card of choice for those with a budget of between £190 and £220. It’ll play the latest games at maximum settings in Full HD, and you can drop to High if you fancy some 1440p action. It’s very similar to the RX 480, and is based on the same GPU. So don’t eliminate AMD’s 400-series GPUs from your shortlist.There’s a variety of third-party GPU options available, with various levels of overclocking and lots of different cooler designs. It’s a bit of a power hog, however, and you’ll seldom find a compact version of the RX 580. It’s here, where the more efficient GTX 1060 rules the roost, with near-identical performance at a competitive price, Nvidia’s mid-range offering is better for that Mini-ITX build you’ve always wanted to do.For pure bang-for-buck, though, the RX 580 is hard to beat.
NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060
Key features
- Smooth Full HD and 1440p performance
- 6GB GDDR5 memory, 3GB available
- "VR-ready"
- Review price: £275 (6GB)
ALSO CONSIDER: FULL HD AND 1440P FOR UNDER £250
Nvidia's third-tier GPU is very competitive, going toe-to-toe with the AMD Radeon RX 580. It has slightly less memory, with 6GB of GDDR5 on board instead of AMD's 8GB, but the GPU itself is slightly more powerful. Prices have stabilised in recent months and the GTX 1060's pricing is almost on a par with the 8GB RX 580. Considering it's it's a little faster in some games, the raw bang-for-buck figure is quite appealing, especially when picking the 6GB model.
Picking the cheaper 3GB model is a bit of a risk; our tests show performance is slightly lower than the 6GB version, and with AAA games becoming so demanding, it seems short-sighted to short-change yourself on memory, especially if you're planning on playing at resolutions higher than Full HD.
In our benchmarks, the GTX 1060 performed fantastically well at Full HD resolutions, consistently delivering over 60fps in our challenging benchmarks. It's also capable at 1440p, although at the highest settings it rarely hit 60fps, so you'll have to tone down the graphical settings if you want ultra-smooth gaming.
It's neck-and-neck between the GTX 1060 and the RX 480 and 580. The 1060 is much more efficient, so if you're building a compact gaming rig, it's the absolute best choice.
NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070
Key features:
- Perfect for 1440p gaming
- Ideal for VR
- 8GB GDDR5 memory
- Review price: £400
BEST VALUE GPU FOR 1440P
The GeForce GTX 1070 might look like it's lost in the middle-ground between the GTX 1080 and AMD Radeon RX 480; but at this price it offers what's probably the best price/performance compromise if you have a little more cash at your disposal.
With 8GB of memory and Nvidia's impressive Pascal architecture, which includes excellent VR performance and low power consumption, the GTX 1070 is a card that will satisfy even two or three years down the line.
If you only have a 1440p monitor, it undoubtedly offers better value than the GTX 1080; if you'll be playing only Full HD, though, the Radeon RX 480 is the one to opt for.
NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080
Key features:
- 4K and VR-ready
- Quiet and cool
- 8GB GDDR5X memory
- Review price: £649
CHEAPEST OPTION FOR SMOOTH 4K GAMING
The GTX 1080 was the performance king until March 2017, at which point the GTX 1080 Ti took over. But seeing a huge price drop to £500 and under, the GTX 1080 remains stunning value.
If you only have a 1080p monitor, it's overkill: the Radeon RX 480, GTX 1060 or GTX 1070 are better options respectively, although future-proofing is never a bad idea if you have the money right now.
However, in dropping the price Nvidia has made the GTX 1080 a tempting prospect for someone with a 1440p monitor who wants to crank up the graphics settings. It will also handle 4K, although if you want everything maxed out, the GTX 1080 Ti is a better bet.
It's also a great choice if you're getting into VR right now.
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