Remember the time when the GPU prices were touching the skies because of the mining fad? Well, the good news is that it is no longer the case, and prices have finally started to come down. This means that there is a surplus of GPUs that is just waiting to be bought for those who are looking for one.
The good news here is that there are a lot of great options that you can buy right now from the market, and if you are a gamer on a budget, then these options are going to be right up your ally.
The thing is that we are going to keep the list short in order to help people make better decisions. After all, you are buying something for quite a price, and you don’t want to waste your money, or get confused, something that happens very often.
All these GPUs have been personally tested, and we can assure you that in the given budget, they will definitely serve you a lot better than you might expect.
In order to keep things diverse, we are putting GPUs from both Nvidia and AMD camps, so people do not complain that we are not catering to the red team.
1. EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti SC GAMING 4GB
The first GPU that we are going to take a look at is the EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti SC GAMING 4GB, this GPU has been in high demand for a long time, and has been crowned the 1080p gaming by several review outlets, and for all the right reasons. If you have not noticed already, many budget gaming laptops are using the GTX 1050 Ti for the best possible performance on a notebook.
There are a lot of benefits, the biggest one being the fact that this GPU does not require a lot of power to begin with, so you really do not need to upgrade your PSU just for the sake of this GPU.
In addition to that, another benefit is that you can easily run majority of the AAA games at 1080p with decent settings, and get good frame rates. Not to forget, we are looking at an EVGA graphics card, which means that the warranty will be one of the best, as that is the case with all the EVGA products.
During my testing, I did not run into any performance issues either, and the card managed to stay quiet with overall decent thermals.
As far as the downsides are concerned, I cannot really mention anything wrong with the GPU, it does not cost a lot of money and it performs relatively well in the given price tag, so if it is a budget performer that you are looking for, then nothing can be better than this lovely EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti SC GAMING 4GB.
Pros
- Great price to performance ratio.
- Decent looks.
- Great thermals and acoustics.
Cons
- None
2. MSI GAMING GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB
Another great add-in board partner when it comes to awesome Nvidia GPUs is MSI, and that is why we are going to take a look at the MSI GAMING GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. As far as the specs are concerned, it does not differ from the EVGA one that we reviewed before, but still ,some people have different preferences, and that is why we thought that we should include this option on the list for anyone who is looking.
This GTX 1050 Ti does not differ from the others as far as the performance is concerned; perhaps the difference is of one or two frames, but if you are looking for any major differences, you are going to find it in the cooler, and that is about it. The design on this GPU is fantastic with red and black accents on the shroud which honestly looks cool, and should go well with most of the builds that people normally opt for. I was a bit concerned about the thermals and acoustic, but thankfully, they are perfectly fine, and you get what you pay for.
Honestly, I am looking at a graphics card under 200 dollars, and at this point, I am not even sure how to find anything nitpicky.
Pros
- Great value for money.
- Does not require a lot of power.
- Great for 1080p gaming.
Cons
- None
3. Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1050 2GB
If you are not looking for more powerful options because your needs are limited when it comes to graphic work, then there is nothing to worry about as the Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1050 2GB is actually a great option that is significantly cheaper, and should do you just fine as long as the performance is concerned. It is not that week as compared to the GTX 1050 Ti, but still cheaper, with lesser VRAM.
I tested my usual set of games, and while the performance difference was noticeable, it did not really create many troubles for me. Just fine tuning a few settings can help you achieve almost the same level of performance, and let’s be honest, if you are buying a graphics card for less than 200 dollars, having the best looking graphics is not something that you are more interested in, but it is the performance that you want, and you do get the performance from Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1050 2GB. Another great thing is that if you are worried that you might need to upgrade your power supply or something like that, then you do not have to worry as the GPU does not require a lot of power to begin with. It should run without any issue on every PSU that you might throw at it.
Overall, the Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1050 2GB is pretty good, there are no glaring issues whatsoever, and to be honest. You are getting what you pay for, and given the price tag, there is a lot. You can still game without running into any issues whatsoever.
Pros
- Decently priced.
- Does what it is made for.
- Does not consume a lot of power.
- Can run UHD content without any issues.
Cons
- None
4. Sapphire Radeon PULSE RX 550 4GB
If Nvidia is not the choice of company that you normally opt for, then don’t worry as we have some options for the people who love to be on the red team. In case you have not guessed it already, I am talking about the Sapphire Radeon PULSE RX 550 4GB. Now when it came to adding this GPU on the list, I had the choice to choose through several add-in board partners, but in the end, I eventually had to go with Sapphire, simply because they are known for making some of the finest GPUs for AMD and this is no different.
Now the Sapphire Radeon PULSE RX 550 4GB is a low budget graphics card that aims to provide a decent gaming experience for people who are looking for something cheap, but still want the ability to play the games at 1080p resolution. Considering how 1080p is still la mainstream resolution for a lot of people, and people are not looking to shift towards higher resolutions, it is a great GPU. However, you must know that this GPU will not be able to drive higher refresh rates, so that is one thing that you must keep in mind if you are planning on buying this GPU. Then again, the important thing here is that gamers who normally go for a GPU under 200 are not really concerned with high refresh rate, or frame rates to begin with. They just want something to power their displays, or they just want to be able to play some basic games regardless of the settings or resolution.
Overall, the Sapphire Radeon PULSE RX 550 4GB is a respectable option for anyone who happens to be on the budget. Sure, it is not the fastest, most powerful GPU in the market, but it is cheap enough to get the job done.
Pros
- Decent performance.
- Can run most of the games without any issues.
- Plenty of outputs.
Cons
- None
5. EVGA GeForce GT 730 4GB
This is the last product that I am going to review, and I will be honest, it is here for rather strange reasons. I was looking for the graphic cards that were under 200, and I could not find more, so had to pick this. Now straight from the get go, I must tell you that this happens to be one of the older GPUs in the market. It is from the 700 series that is outdated to a point where it does not even support the new driver improvements. So, why is it here?
Well, the thing is that this graphics card is still great for people who are looking to build a HTPC and need a graphics card that is strong enough to play high resolution videos without any issue whatsoever. Plus the EVGA GeForce GT 730 4GB has enough VRAM to play games like DoTA and LoL, so you are still getting some amount of gaming performance which is always welcomed here. On top of everything, it does not require additional power from the power supply so you are good to go.
Overall, the EVGA GeForce GT 730 4GB is a fairly decent graphics card that is built for a list of very specific tasks. That is why you should definitely consider it whenever you are looking for a cheap graphics card.
Pros
- Requires no additional power from the PSU.
- Great for HTPC.
- Can still play games like DoTA and LoL.
Cons
- Too weak.
Conclusion
Under $200 is the price tag that is often considered as the sweet spot by a lot of people and for all the right reasons. If you are just building a budget gaming PC, then this price tag is going to help you a lot more than you might think in the first place. Sure, you might be wondering that you can actually find better graphics card, and you can, but for that, you will have to increase your budget before you could buy the more powerful GPU. With that out of the way, the thing that you need to understand here is that these GPUs are the best budget GPUs you can find under the given price tag.
I this the sweet spot because here, you are basically getting what you are paying for, and that is something. So, you must keep that in mind.
Will the pentium g3250 bottleneck r9 380?
The GTX 750 TI FTW is also important to add
gtx 1060 3gb core 2 duo 3.33 ghz e8600 will it bottomneck
Shouldn’t the EVGA GTX 050Ti be on here?
Thanks for suggestion we must add this one.
Hey
I went with “MSI GTX 960” and is worth mentioning that it is one of the best. Thank you for your guidance.