Best cheap graphics card deals in May 2023: affordable GPUs for today’s top games

The best cheap graphics card deals in May will help you to power the latest games in 1080p and 1440p without the need to break the bank. As video cards overall are becoming cheaper, and substantially easier to find, we’re seeing some of the best prices of our favorite models in the US and the UK to date. 

While these cheap graphics card deals primarily focus on the budget side of the scale from AMD and Nvidia, we’ve done our best to find some suitable mid-range models at rates in line with current market trends. If your sole interest is to play games in 1080p utilizing the latest in AI frame generation technology, then our handpicked selection is sure to suffice. While our offerings here might not match that of the best graphics cards on the market, you’ll still be able to get by in the latest games if you’re careful with your settings sliders. 

Alternatively, you can shop for some of the best cheap gaming PC deals and cheap gaming laptop deals for wallet-friendly rigs ready to go right out of the box. Either way, there’s no need to overspend with these deals likely serving all purposes. 

Best cheap graphics card deals – US

Best cheap graphics card deals – UK

Cheap graphics cards from AMD

If you’re after a moderate cheap graphics card aimed squarely at 1080p then the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT can manage to keep up with modern games despite its lower spec. The biggest advantage to this particular GPU is the fact that is that RX 6500 XT stock is available in both the US and UK for its respective starting MSRP of $199 / £179. 

The AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT is best combined with a Ryzen 3000 or Ryzen 5000 Series CPU, which would give you the overall best compatibility to take full advantage of the 2815 MHz total boost clock speed. On the technical side, there’s 4GB GDDR6 memory with a 143.9 GB/s  bandwidth. What this means in terms of real-world application is performance surpassing that of the GTX 1650 Super, while being more available and affordable.

Medium/high settings at 1080p will see 60 FPS in titles such as Call of Duty: Vanguard, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Forza Horizon 5, and Watchdogs Legion. Keep in mind, though, that this GPU is very much PCIe 4.0 bandwidth dependent to get the most out of its humble architecture. Be sure to check your system’s compatibility before slotting it in. 

The AMD RX 6600 was launched as the company’s direct competition to the RTX 3060 at a slightly more competitive rate. What gives the AMD RX 6600 the edge in this instance is the fact that it is more available than Nvidia’s Ampere video card, with comparable performance across the board in both 1080p and 1440p. 

It’s still entirely possible to find the AMD RX 6600 for around the $350 – $450 mark if you know where to look, which is an affordable price given what the benchmarks show. Games such as Far Cry 6 running at Ultra in 1080p are no problem for the GPU, averaging around 100 FPS. Similar can be said for Resident Evil: Village which the AMD RX 6600 smashes at over 150 FPS at Ultra with FSR set to Ultra quality. 

Cheap graphics cards from Nvidia

The GTX 1660 Super is still a very capable cheap graphics card in 2023 while also being far more available than another budget Nvidia GPUs. It’s continuously proven to be one of the most popular graphics cards of all time since launching, still appearing on the 2023 Steam hardware survey (opens in new tab), and the benchmarks go a long way to show why. 

You can expect an average of 60 FPS in the likes of God of War, Hitman 3, Deathloop, Forza Horizon 5, Far Cry 6, and more titles running at High settings, which is certainly commendable. While you’re missing out on ray tracing and DLSS support here, the native performance on display more than makes up for these omissions, especially if you’re after sharper image quality overall. 

Launching in January 2022, the RTX 3050 was the final member of Nvidia’s 30-series line and is focused on PC players wanting to push 1080p gaming. We gave this video card a solid write-up in our Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC review with some respectable numbers for high-end Full HD gaming. 

One of the biggest advantages that the RTX 3050 has is its support for Nvidia’s newest proprietary technology. We found that even more demanding titles such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Control, and Metro Exodus ran at a rock-solid 60 FPS with ray tracing and DLSS enabled in Full HD. 1440p is also decent in many games, though it’s usually going to be a toss-up between having visual fidelity and performance, as a 60 FPS average normally means disabling ray tracing and going heavier on the DLSS upscaling options. 

RTX 3050 stock is finally catching up to what it should be. If you can find the GPU for around the $250 mark (which was its original MSRP though we never saw it due to stock issues and scalpers) then we recommend getting it but don’t advise spending over the odds (say $350) if more powerful alternatives are available. 

Cheap graphics cards: Frequently asked questions

What to avoid with cheap graphics cards

If you’ve found a low price on some cheap graphics card models that seem too good to be true, chances are that it is. We’ve found listings both in the US and UK from major retailers pedaling video cards that are simply not worth your time or money. There are often hidden fees such as unusually high delivery or taxes that many scalpers try to fleece you for more money. Beware!

In 2023, you’ll want to steer clear of any cheap graphics card utilizing GDDR5 memory as this type is far slower bandwidth-wise than what’s currently possible with GDDR6 support. Modern games are relying more and more on faster SDRAM for all manner of processes, so you wouldn’t want to drop frames unnecessarily or bottleneck your system’s performance in this way. 

Avoid any cheap graphics card running less than 8GB of memory, these days as this amount should be considered the absolute minimum. Generally, we recommend between 8GB to 16GB to push the texture quality up on the latest titles, as we’re seeing games in 1080p at Ultra coming close to the VRAM cap already. An 8GB GDDR6 GPU is still more than capable with some graphics options scaled back, or utilizing A.I. upscaling technology such as DLSS or FSR, though. 

How much should I spend on a cheap graphics card?

You can expect decent performance from a cheap graphics card starting at around $200 to $250 if the Radeon RX 6500 XT has taught us anything. Should you want to go cheaper than the $200 range, you’re going to struggle to play the latest games competently at 60 FPS in 1080p, so we recommend starting your search at this budget. 

Can cheap graphics cards do 4K?

Cheap graphics cards are geared primarily around stable performance in lower resolutions such as 1080p. Really, it’s only the higher-end GPUs from both Nvidia and AMD that are capable of decent performance in Ultra HD. That’s not to say that 1440p isn’t possible with a cheap graphics card but to earn 4K you need to look at the likes of an Nvidia 3080 for around $700 to make it possible in 2023. 

How long do cheap graphics cards last?

Today’s cheap graphics cards are going to be able to keep up with the latest games for at least a good few years but with DLSS now pretty much a factor of every modern game, it’s hard to tell exactly how many years you will get out of them. It’s worth noting that the PC gaming scene moves rapidly so it’s difficult to predict how competent these cards will be in a year or two but we’d be confident in saying you will be able to play the majority of modern games at a comfortable 1080p. 

Today’s best graphics card deals

Our price comparison technology pulls through some of the best graphics card prices available online right now from on models regardless of spec or manufacturer. 

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Looking for more? Here’s where to find the best cheap gaming PC deals and best cheap gaming laptop deals on the market today. We’re also rounding up the best gaming laptops for more options on portable power without the need to spend extortionate amounts of cash.