Top Graphics Cards for 2024

If you are planning to build a PC for your gaming or AI aplications than the most important part is to decide the graphics card. The key parameters of a graphics card (also known as a GPU or video card) that determine its performance and capabilities include:

GPU Architecture and Fabrication Process: The underlying architecture and manufacturing process technology used to build the GPU chip. This impacts performance, power efficiency, and potential capabilities.

CUDA Cores/Stream Processors: These are the parallel processing units on the GPU that handle graphics rendering and computation tasks. More cores generally means higher performance.

Base and Boost Clock Speeds: The core clock frequency speeds (MHz/GHz) at which the GPU operates, with boost being the maximum speed under load.

Memory Capacity: The amount of dedicated video memory (VRAM) on the card, measured in GB. More memory allows handling higher resolutions and more graphics data.

Memory Type and Bus Width: The type of video memory (e.g. GDDR6, HBM) and its memory interface width impact memory bandwidth.

Memory Bandwidth: The rate at which data can be transferred between the GPU and memory, measured in GB/s. Higher is better for performance.

TDP (Thermal Design Power): The maximum power draw/heat output allowed for the GPU. Higher TDPs enable higher performance but require better cooling solutions.

Connectivity: The ports and interfaces like HDMI, DisplayPort, etc. as well as support for multi-monitor setups.

Ray Tracing and AI Capabilities: Support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI/tensor cores for better ray traced graphics and AI workloads.

Factors like cooling solution, PCB design, and software/driver optimization also impact real-world performance. But the specifications above are the core metrics used to evaluate and compare graphics cards.

Following are some of economical and best performance graphics cards which you can consider for your PC builds.