NVIDIA Graphics Card Buyers Guide

What is an NVIDIA GeForce GPU / Graphics Card?

Though many modern CPUs are equipped with integrated graphics, these are only really suitable for gaming at low quality settings at 1080p. Therefore, you should seriously consider buying a separate graphics card if you want to play GAMES or edit videos.

The GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and is the main ingredient of a graphics card, the most important component in a gaming PC. The frontrunner in graphics cards is NVIDIA, and its range of GeForce GPUs offer something at every imaginable price point. The key specs to look out for when choosing a GeForce graphics card are the number of CUDA cores, RT cores, Tensor cores and amount of memory, with more powerful cards having more of all four.

RTX-Logo

A more powerful graphics card will enable your PC to run games at higher quality settings at a smooth frame rate for a superior gaming experience. The first question you should therefore ask yourself is what monitor do you have or intend to buy so you can choose a graphics card suitable for it. To make this process easier this buyers guide recommends the optimum monitor resolution for each graphics card.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX Special Features

Ray Tracing

The RT cores enables real time ray traced graphics in games. Unlike traditional rasterised graphics, ray tracing simulates how light beams and shadows actually work, providing far more rich and realistic graphics.

DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is an advanced AI-powered rendering technique unique to NVIDIA graphics cards that uses the Tensor cores to increase frame rates. DLSS enables you ramp up the resolution to enjoy higher quality graphics, without sacrificing performance.

DLSS 1 and 2

DLSS 1 uses a technique called Super Resolution to upscale frames from a low resolution to a high resolution. DLSS 2 employs temporal anti-aliasing upsampling (TAUU) to improve image quality and performance and is supported in hundreds of games.

DLSS 3

DLSS 3 builds on these upscaling techniques but is even faster as it can create entirely new frames, interspersed between Super Resolution frames. This new Frame Generation technology uses the Tensor cores unique to NVIDIA RTX GPUs and can even boost the performance in CPU limited games such as flight simulators.

GeForce Experiance

GeForce Experience

GeForce Experience is a collection of tools that enhance your gaming. ShadowPlay allows you to easily capture, stream and share videos and screenshots without the need for multiple third-party utilities.

GeForce Experience also takes away the pain of finding the optimal graphics settings in games. Based on the hardware in your system it will automatically find the best settings for you.

GeForce Experience also provides regular and easy updates for the driver of your GeForce graphics card ensuing you get the best frame rates and image quality in the latest games. Enhance your gaming PC by DOWNLOADING GEFORCE EXPERIENCE and GEFORCE DRIVERS.

NVIDIA Reflex

Reflex delivers the ultimate competitive advantage, enabling you to acquire targets faster, react quicker and increase aim precision through a revolutionary suite of technologies that measure and optimise system latency.

NVIDIA Broadcast

Broadcast is a software suite that helps streamers take their channel to the next level with tools such as background noise removal, virtual backgrounds and an auto frame function that zooms in on you and uses AI to track your head movements, keeping you at the centre of the action even as you shift from side to side. With these great features, NVIDIA Broadcast is like having your own professional studio and cameraperson.

The NVIDIA GeForce Hierarchy

RTX 4090 | RTX 4080 Super | RTX 4080
Ultra High End
RTX 4070 Ti Super | RTX 4070 Ti
High End
RTX 4070 Super | RTX 4070 | RTX 4060 Ti | RTX 4060 | RTX 3060
Mid Range
RTX 3050
Entry Level

RTX 4090

RTX 4090 Graphics Card
8K/4K/UW-QHD

Optimum
Resolution

83

Shader Performance (TFLOPS)

191

Ray Tracing Performance (TFLOPS)

1,321

AI Performance (TOPS)

VR Ready

The RTX 4090 is the flagship GeForce 40-series gaming graphics card. This ultra-fast graphics card packs in 16,384 CUDA cores, 128 3rd gen RT cores, 512 4th gen Tensor cores and 24GB of memory, providing stunning gaming experiences at the most demanding resolutions, 8K, 4K and UW-QHD.

ADA LOVELACE

40-series GPUs are based on the Ada Lovelace architecture which runs games up to 70% faster and render video and graphics up to 87% faster than previous 30-series Ampere GPUs.

RTX RAY TRACING

Third generation RT cores deliver up to double the real-time ray-tracing performance of the previous generation GPUs.

DLSS 3.5

Fourth generation Tensor cores combine with Optical Flow Accelerator in 40-series GPUs to deliver the latest generation of DLSS, using AI to create additional high-quality frames.

STREAMING

40-series GPUs feature eighth generation AV1 video encoders which are 40% faster more efficient than H.264 - enabling new possibilities for content creators.

VIEW RTX 4090 GPUs

RTX 4080 Super

RTX 4080 Super Graphics Card
4K/UW-QHD

Optimum
Resolution

52

Shader Performance (TFLOPS)

121

Ray Tracing Performance (TFLOPS)

836

AI Performance (TOPS)

VR Ready

The RTX 4080 Super is the second most powerful GeForce 40-series gaming graphics card. This ultra-fast graphics card packs in 10,240 CUDA cores, 80 3rd gen RT cores, 320 4th gen Tensor cores and 16GB of memory, providing stunning gaming experiences at the most demanding resolutions, 4K and UW-QHD.

ADA LOVELACE

40-series GPUs are based on the Ada Lovelace architecture which runs games up to 70% faster and render video and graphics up to 87% faster than previous 30-series Ampere GPUs.

RTX RAY TRACING

Third generation RT cores deliver up to double the real-time ray-tracing performance of the previous generation GPUs.

DLSS 3.5

Fourth generation Tensor cores combine with Optical Flow Accelerator in 40-series GPUs to deliver the latest generation of DLSS, using AI to create additional high-quality frames.

STREAMING

40-series GPUs feature eighth generation AV1 video encoders which are 40% faster more efficient than H.264 - enabling new possibilities for content creators.

VIEW RTX 4080 SUPER GPUs

RTX 4080

RTX 4080 Graphics Card
4K/UW-QHD

Optimum
Resolution

49

Shader Performance (TFLOPS)

113

Ray Tracing Performance (TFLOPS)

780

AI Performance (TOPS)

VR Ready

The RTX 4080 is the third most powerful GeForce 40-series gaming graphics card. This ultra-fast graphics card packs in 9,728 CUDA cores, 76 3rd gen RT cores, 304 4th gen Tensor cores and 16GB of memory, providing stunning gaming experiences at the most demanding resolutions, 4K and UW-QHD.

ADA LOVELACE

40-series GPUs are based on the Ada Lovelace architecture which runs games up to 70% faster and render video and graphics up to 87% faster than previous 30-series Ampere GPUs.

RTX RAY TRACING

Third generation RT cores deliver up to double the real-time ray-tracing performance of the previous generation GPUs.

DLSS 3.5

Fourth generation Tensor cores combine with Optical Flow Accelerator in 40-series GPUs to deliver the latest generation of DLSS, using AI to create additional high-quality frames.

STREAMING

40-series GPUs feature eighth generation AV1 video encoders which are 40% faster more efficient than H.264 - enabling new possibilities for content creators.

VIEW RTX 4080 GPUs

RTX 4070 Ti Super

RTX 4070 Ti Super Graphics Card
4K/UW-QHD

Optimum
Resolution

44

Shader Performance (TFLOPS)

102

Ray Tracing Performance (TFLOPS)

706

AI Performance (TOPS)

VR Ready

The RTX 4070 Ti Super is the fourth most powerful GeForce 40-series gaming graphics card. This ultra-fast graphics card packs in 8,448 CUDA cores, 66 3rd gen RT cores, 264 4th gen Tensor cores and 16GB of memory, providing stunning gaming experiences at the most demanding resolutions, 4K and UW-QHD.

ADA LOVELACE

40-series GPUs are based on the Ada Lovelace architecture which runs games up to 70% faster and render video and graphics up to 87% faster than previous 30-series Ampere GPUs.

RTX RAY TRACING

Third generation RT cores deliver up to double the real-time ray-tracing performance of the previous generation GPUs.

DLSS 3.5

Fourth generation Tensor cores combine with Optical Flow Accelerator in 40-series GPUs to deliver the latest generation of DLSS, using AI to create additional high-quality frames.

STREAMING

40-series GPUs feature eighth generation AV1 video encoders which are 40% faster more efficient than H.264 - enabling new possibilities for content creators.

VIEW RTX 4070 Ti Super GPUs

RTX 4070 Ti

RTX 4070 Ti Graphics Card
4K/UW-QHD

Optimum
Resolution

40

Shader Performance (TFLOPS)

93

Ray Tracing Performance (TFLOPS)

641

AI Performance (TOPS)

VR Ready

The RTX 4070 Ti is the fifth most powerful GeForce 40-series gaming graphics card. This ultra-fast graphics card packs in 7,680 CUDA cores, 60 3rd gen RT cores, 240 4th gen Tensor cores and 12GB of memory, providing stunning gaming experiences at the most demanding resolutions, 4K and UW-QHD.

ADA LOVELACE

40-series GPUs are based on the Ada Lovelace architecture which runs games up to 70% faster and render video and graphics up to 87% faster than previous 30-series Ampere GPUs.

RTX RAY TRACING

Third generation RT cores deliver up to double the real-time ray-tracing performance of the previous generation GPUs.

DLSS 3.5

Fourth generation Tensor cores combine with Optical Flow Accelerator in 40-series GPUs to deliver the latest generation of DLSS, using AI to create additional high-quality frames.

STREAMING

40-series GPUs feature eighth generation AV1 video encoders which are 40% faster more efficient than H.264 - enabling new possibilities for content creators.

VIEW RTX 4070 Ti GPUs

RTX 4070 Super

RTX 4070 Super Graphics Card
1440p

Optimum
Resolution

36

Shader Performance (TFLOPS)

82

Ray Tracing Performance (TFLOPS)

568

AI Performance (TOPS)

VR Ready

The RTX 4070 Super is a high-performance mid-range GeForce 40-series gaming graphics card. This powerful graphics card packs in 7,168 CUDA cores, 56 3rd gen RT cores, 224 4th gen Tensor cores and 12GB of memory, providing stunning gaming experiences at 1440p although the more demanding 4K and UW-QHD resolutions are playable in games that support DLSS 3.

ADA LOVELACE

40-series GPUs are based on the Ada Lovelace architecture which runs games up to 70% faster and render video and graphics up to 87% faster than previous 30-series Ampere GPUs.

RTX RAY TRACING

Third generation RT cores deliver up to double the real-time ray-tracing performance of the previous generation GPUs.

DLSS 3.5

Fourth generation Tensor cores combine with Optical Flow Accelerator in 40-series GPUs to deliver the latest generation of DLSS, using AI to create additional high-quality frames.

STREAMING

40-series GPUs feature eighth generation AV1 video encoders which are 40% faster more efficient than H.264 - enabling new possibilities for content creators.

VIEW RTX 4070 SUPER GPUs

RTX 4070

RTX 4070 Graphics Card
1440p

Optimum
Resolution

29

Shader Performance (TFLOPS)

67

Ray Tracing Performance (TFLOPS)

466

AI Performance (TOPS)

VR Ready

The RTX 4070 is a high-performance mid-range GeForce 40-series gaming graphics card. This powerful graphics card packs in 5,888 CUDA cores, 46 3rd gen RT cores, 184 4th gen Tensor cores and 12GB of memory, providing stunning gaming experiences at 1440p although the more demanding 4K and UW-QHD resolutions are playable in games that support DLSS 3.

ADA LOVELACE

40-series GPUs are based on the Ada Lovelace architecture which runs games up to 70% faster and render video and graphics up to 87% faster than previous 30-series Ampere GPUs.

RTX RAY TRACING

Third generation RT cores deliver up to double the real-time ray-tracing performance of the previous generation GPUs.

DLSS 3.5

Fourth generation Tensor cores combine with Optical Flow Accelerator in 40-series GPUs to deliver the latest generation of DLSS, using AI to create additional high-quality frames.

STREAMING

40-series GPUs feature eighth generation AV1 video encoders which are 40% faster more efficient than H.264 - enabling new possibilities for content creators.

VIEW RTX 4070 GPUs

RTX 4060 Ti

RTX 4060 Ti Graphics Card
1080p

Optimum
Resolution

22

Shader Performance (TFLOPS)

51

Ray Tracing Performance (TFLOPS)

353

AI Performance (TOPS)

VR Ready

The RTX 4060 Ti is a powerful mid-range GeForce 40-series gaming graphics card. This fast graphics card packs in 4,352 CUDA cores, 34 3rd gen RT cores, 136 4th gen Tensor cores and 16GB or 8GB of memory, providing a great gaming experience at 1080p.

ADA LOVELACE

40-series GPUs are based on the Ada Lovelace architecture which runs games up to 70% faster and render video and graphics up to 87% faster than previous 30-series Ampere GPUs.

RTX RAY TRACING

Third generation RT cores deliver up to double the real-time ray-tracing performance of the previous generation GPUs.

DLSS 3.5

Fourth generation Tensor cores combine with Optical Flow Accelerator in 40-series GPUs to deliver the latest generation of DLSS, using AI to create additional high-quality frames.

STREAMING

40-series GPUs feature eighth generation AV1 video encoders which are 40% faster more efficient than H.264 - enabling new possibilities for content creators.

VIEW RTX 4060 Ti GPUs

RTX 4060

RTX 4060 Graphics Card
1080p

Optimum
Resolution

15

Shader Performance (TFLOPS)

35

Ray Tracing Performance (TFLOPS)

242

AI Performance (TOPS)

VR Ready

The RTX 4060 is a mid-range GeForce 40-series gaming graphics card. This fast graphics card packs in 3,072 CUDA cores, 24 3rd gen RT cores, 96 4th gen Tensor cores and 8GB of memory, providing a great gaming experience at 1080p.

ADA LOVELACE

40-series GPUs are based on the Ada Lovelace architecture which runs games up to 70% faster and render video and graphics up to 87% faster than previous 30-series Ampere GPUs.

RTX RAY TRACING

Third generation RT cores deliver up to double the real-time ray-tracing performance of the previous generation GPUs.

DLSS 3.5

Fourth generation Tensor cores combine with Optical Flow Accelerator in 40-series GPUs to deliver the latest generation of DLSS, using AI to create additional high-quality frames.

STREAMING

40-series GPUs feature eighth generation AV1 video encoders which are 40% faster more efficient than H.264 - enabling new possibilities for content creators.

VIEW RTX 4060 GPUs

RTX 3060

RTX 3060 Graphics Card
1080p

Optimum
Resolution

13

Shader Performance (TFLOPS)

N/A

Ray Tracing Performance (TFLOPS)

N/A

AI Performance (TOPS)

VR Ready

The RTX 3060 is a mid-range GeForce 30-series gaming graphics card. This fast graphics card packs in 3,584 CUDA cores, 28 2nd gen RT cores, 112 3rd gen Tensor cores and 12GB of memory, providing a great gaming experience at 1080p.

AMPERE

30-series GPUs are based on the Ampere architecture which runs games up to 70% faster than previous 20-series Turing GPUs.

RTX RAY TRACING

Third generation RT cores deliver up to double the real-time ray-tracing performance of the previous generation GPUs.

DLSS 2

Third generation Tensor cores are used by DLSS to upscale frames to higher resolutions for higher framerates.

STREAMING

30-series GPUs feature seventh generation H.265 video encoders enable new possibilities for content creators.

VIEW RTX 3060 GPUs

RTX 3050

RTX 3050 Graphics Card
1080p

Optimum
Resolution

9

Shader Performance (TFLOPS)

N/A

Ray Tracing Performance (TFLOPS)

N/A

AI Performance (TOPS)

VR Ready

The RTX 3050 is the entry-level GeForce 30-series gaming graphics card. This fast graphics card packs in 2,560 CUDA cores, 20 2nd gen RT cores, 80 3rd gen Tensor cores and 8GB of memory, providing a great gaming experience at 1080p when you enable DLSS.

AMPERE

30-series GPUs are based on the Ampere architecture which runs games up to 70% faster than previous 20-series Turing GPUs.

RTX RAY TRACING

Third generation RT cores deliver up to double the real-time ray-tracing performance of the previous generation GPUs.

DLSS 2

Third generation Tensor cores are used by DLSS to upscale frames to higher resolutions for higher framerates.

STREAMING

30-series GPUs feature seventh generation H.265 video encoders enable new possibilities for content creators.

VIEW RTX 3050 GPUs

NVIDIA GPU Summary

Still not sure which NVIDIA graphics card is right for you? This table shows the key characteristics of the main models.

GeForce RTX 40-Series, 30-Series, 20-Series, GTX 16-Series & 10-Series Card Specifications

Model RTX 4090 RTX 4080 Super RTX 4080 RTX 4070 Ti Super RTX 4070 Ti RTX 4070 Super RTX 4070 RTX 4060 Ti RTX 4060 RTX 3090 Ti RTX 3090 RTX 3080 Ti RTX 3080 RTX 3070 Ti RTX 3070 RTX 3060 Ti RTX 3060 RTX 3050 RTX 3050 TITAN RTX RTX 2080 Ti RTX 2080 Super RTX 2080 RTX 2070 Super RTX 2070 RTX 2060 Super RTX 2060 GTX 1080 Ti GTX 1080 GTX 1070 Ti GTX 1070 GTX 1660 Ti GTX 1660 Super GTX 1660 GTX 1650 Super GTX 1650 GTX 1060 6GB GTX 1060 3GB GTX 1050 Ti GTX 1050
Architecture Ada Lovelace Ada Lovelace Ada Lovelace Ada Lovelace Ada Lovelace Ada Lovelace Ada Lovelace Ada Lovelace Ada Lovelace Ampere Ampere Ampere Ampere Ampere Ampere Ampere Ampere Ampere Ampere Turing Turing Turing Turing Turing Turing Turing Turing Pascal Pascal Pascal Pascal Turing Turing Turing Turing Turing Pascal Pascal Pascal Pascal
GPU AD102 AD103 AD103 AD103 AD104 AD104 AD104 AD106 AD107 GA102 GA102 GA102 GA102 GA104 GA104 GA104 GA106 GA106 GA106 TU102 TU102 TU104 TU104 TU104 TU106 TU106 TU106 GP102 GP104 GP104 GP104 TU116 TU116 TU116 TU117 TU117 GP106 GP106 GP107 GP107
CUDA Cores 16,384 10,240 9,728 8,448 7,680 7,168 5,888 4,352 3,072 10,752 10,496 10,240 8,704 6,144 5,888 4,864 3,584 2,560 2,304 4,608 4,352 3,072 2,944 2,560 2,304 2,176 1,920 3,584 2,560 2,432 1,920 1,536 1,408 1,408 1,280 896 1,280 1,152 768 640
Tensor Cores 512
4th Gen
320
4th Gen
304
4th Gen
264
4th Gen
240
4th Gen
224
4th Gen
184
4th Gen
136
4th Gen
96
4th Gen
336
3rd Gen
328
3rd Gen
320
3rd Gen
272
3rd Gen
192
3rd Gen
184
3rd Gen
152
3rd Gen
112
3rd Gen
80
3rd Gen
72
3rd Gen
576
2nd Gen
544
2nd Gen
384
2nd Gen
368
2nd Gen
320
2nd Gen
288
2nd Gen
272
2nd Gen
240
2nd Gen
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
RT Cores 128
3rd Gen
80
3rd Gen
76
3rd Gen
66
3rd Gen
60
3rd Gen
56
3rd Gen
46
3rd Gen
34
3rd Gen
24
3rd Gen
84
2nd Gen
82
2nd Gen
80
2nd Gen
68
2nd Gen
48
2nd Gen
46
2nd Gen
38
2nd Gen
28
2nd Gen
20
2nd Gen
18
2nd Gen
68
1st Gen
48
1st Gen
46
1st Gen
40
1st Gen
36
1st Gen
34
1st Gen
30
1st Gen
30
1st Gen
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Reference Base Clock 2.23GHz 2.21GHz 2.21GHz 2.34GHz 2.31GHz 1.98GHz 1.92GHz 2.31GHz 1.83GHz 1,560MHz 1,400MHz 1,370MHz 1,440MHz 1,580MHz 1,500MHz 1,410MHz 1,320MHz 1,552MHz 1,042MHz 1,350 MHz 1,350 MHz 1,650 MHz 1,515 MHz 1,605 MHz 1,410 MHz 1,470 MHz 1,365 MHz 1,480 MHz 1,607 MHz 1,607 MHz 1,506 MHz 1,500 MHz 1,530 MHz 1,530 MHz 1,530 MHz 1,485 MHz 1,506 MHz 1,506 MHz 1,290 MHz 1,354 MHz
Reference Boost Clock 2.52GHz 2.55GHz 2.51GHz 2.61GHz 2.61GHz 2.48GHz 2.48GHz 2.54GHz 2.46GHz 1,860MHz 1,700 MHz 1,670MHz 1,710 MHz 1,770MHz 1,730 MHz 1,665MHz 1,780MHz 1,777MHz 1,470MHz 1,770 MHz 1,545 MHz 1,815 MHz 1,710 MHz 1,770 MHz 1,710 MHz 1,650 MHz 1,680 MHz 1,582 MHz 1,733 MHz 1,683 MHz 1,683 MHz 1,770 MHz 1,785 MHz 1,785 MHz 1,725 MHz 1,665 MHz 1,708 MHz 1,708 MHz 1,392 MHz 1,455 MHz
Memory 24GB GDDR6X 16GB GDDR6X 16GB GDDR6X 16GB GDDR6X 12GB GDDR6X 12GB GDDR6X 12GB GDDR6X 8/16GB GDDR6 8GB GDDR6 24GB GDDR6X 24GB GDDR6X 12GB GDDR6X 10GB GDDR6X 8GB GDDR6X 8GB GDDR6 8GB GDDR6 12GB GDDR6 8GB GDDR6 6GB GDDR6 24GB GDDR6 11GB GDDR6 8GB GDDR6 8GB GDDR6 8GB GDDR6 8GB GDDR6 8GB GDDR6 6GB GDDR6 11GB GDDR5X 8GB GDDR5X 8GB GDDR5 8GB GDDR5 6GB GDDR6 6GB GDDR6 6GB GDDR5 4GB GDDR6 4GB GDDR5 6GB GDDR5 3GB GDDR5 4GB GDDR5 2GB GDDR5
Memory Controller 384-bit 256-bit 256-bit 256-bit 192-bit 192-bit 192-bit 128-bit 128-bit 384-bit 384-bit 384-bit 320-bit 256-bit 256-bit 256-bit 192-bit 128-bit 96-bit 384-bit 352-bit 352-bit 256-bit 256-bit 256-bit 256-bit 192-bit 352-bit 256-bit 256-bit 256-bit 192-bit 192-bit 192-bit 128-bit 128-bit 192-bit 192-bit 128-bit 128-bit
TDP 450W 320W 320W 285W 285W 220W 200W 160W 115W 350W 350W 350W 320W 290W 220W 200W 170W 130W 70W 280W 260W 250W 225W 215W 175W 175W 160W 250W 180W 180W 150W 120W 125W 120W 110W 75W 120W 120W 75W 75W
Minimum PSU 850W 750W 750W 700W 700W 650W 650W 550W 550W 850W 750W 750W 750W 750W 650W 600W 550W 550W 550W 650W 650W 650W 650W 650W 550W 550W 550W 600W 450W 450W 450W 450W 450W 450W 350W 300W 300W 300W 250W 250W

Ready to buy?

NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards can be purchased as a standalone product or integrated into a gaming PC from our award-winning 3XS Systems team.