What we have entered is a period of apparent calm in the video card market. No new models are expected soon, but AMD is developing its new high-end GPU, in addition to the RDNA 2 architecture, NVIDIA instead is grappling with the Ampere architecture, which will be the basis of the next 3000 series RTX.
The models currently on the market are not expected to undergo any changes in the coming weeks, except for surprises, which is why it seems to be a good time for take a look at the offer available today, very rich especially in the medium and low range. To have a homogeneous reference in prices, all those included in this article are taken from Amazon.it.
Video cards up to 150 euros
There were no big news in the field of entry level video cards, also because it is difficult to beat the price-performance ratio of the Radeon RX 570 with 4 GB of RAM. This GPU is located at around 149 euros on Amazon and allows you to play in Full HD with high details in practically every game. The 60 frames per second are always and in any case not possible, indeed very often a compromise must be accepted, while remaining above the 30 fps threshold, but just lower the graphic settings to obtain a higher frame rate.
Just a shame that the Radeon RX 570 is based on Polaris architecture, far less efficient than the Turing one of NVIDIA and its successor Navi, which we find, however, only starting from the RX 5500 XT and up.
Video cards between 150 and 200 euros
AMD's RX 580 is still on the list but the arrival of the GTX 1650 Super and AMD's RX 5500 XT has cut it out of the game. The 8 GB RX 580 in fact is positioned just below the NVIDIA proposal in terms of price, but this is more powerful and above all more efficient, thanks to the Turing architecture.
The GTX 1650 Super can be found on Amazon for around 177 euros, while for the Radeon RX 5500 XT you need around 192 euros, both in 4 GB versions. Both are excellent cards for Full HD, capable of generating a good number of frames per second, but also in this case the fixed 60 fps in any condition with details on Ultra are not achieved.
The performances are similar, a lot depends on the game used, that's why the GTX 1650 Super is preferable, at least with the current price lists. The NVIDIA GPU in fact costs slightly less than the AMD counterpart, just enough to make it more attractive.
Video cards between 200 and 250 euros
The crowding in the mid-range makes it difficult to choose one video card over another with absolute certainty. A discount of a few euros is enough to overturn the balance in play, so a good rule of thumb is to always keep prices under control before buying something. Between 200 and 250 euros we find the 8 GB RX 5500 XT at 234 euros, but also the GTX 1660 at about 220 euros and, thanks to the discounts, you can buy one GTX 1660 Super at about 240 euros, with the two NVIDIA solutions equipped with 6 GB of RAM.
The choice between the RX 5500 XT and the GTX 1660 is far from simple, because the former offers 2 GB of RAM more, the latter instead has slightly higher performance but "only" 6 GB of RAM, which remain however more than enough for Full HD gaming, target of these cards. However, we do not know how long the GTX 1660 will remain on the market, given that the Super model should, at least in theory, definitively take its place. The current price list however penalizes the RX 5500, which was only sold for a few days ago at 215 euros: with current prices, our preference goes towards NVIDIA solutions.
The GTX 1660 Super offers superior performance to both rivals. The choice in this case is purely economic: if the budget allows you to get to a GTX 1660 Super, then this is the choice to make for the best performance in this price range.
Video cards between 300 and 350 €
We jumped directly to the price range between 250 and 300 euros because the alternatives available are the same as previously seen, to have a performance increase worthy of note you need to go directly to the models between 300 and 350 euros.
In this case there are three video cards to look at, the 6 GB RX 5600 XT of AMD, from the cost of 318 euros, the RTX 2060 6 GB at about 339 euros and the 8 GB RX 5700 at about 359 euros.
The choice in this case varies according to your needs. The RX 5600 XT offers a granite frame rate in 1080p and also allows you to play in 1440p, all with a frame rate slightly higher than that of the 6 GB RTX 2060. This for its part offers Ray Tracing and DLSS, a technology destined to spread more and more throughout the year.
Better a slightly higher frame rate or access to the magical world, but little exploited for now, of Ray Tracing? The answer to this question corresponds to the card most suitable for you.
The speech on the RX 5700 is different, this GPU offers a more fluid gaming in 1440p than the two rivals, thanks to the 8 GB of RAM, making it more suitable for screens with higher resolution.
Video cards from 350 to 450 euros
In the price range between 350 and 450 euros are two the most interesting GPUs, the RTX 2060 Super and the RX 5700 XT. The RTX 2060 Super is probably the best Turing video card for price-performance ratio, costs about 420 euros, ensuring excellent gaming in both 1080p and 1440p, also offering a smoother Ray Tracing than the basic RTX 2060.
The RX 5700 XT instead does nothing but improve what has been seen with its cheaper version, with even more solid performances in 1440p, which also detach the RTX 2060 Super. Also in this case what has been said above is valid. If the priority is the frame rate, then the AMD solution is more valid, given the cost of 425 euros. On the other hand NVIDIA is the only one to offer Ray Tracing. The performance gap between the two cards is however consistent, the RX 5700 XT in fact approaches the power of the RTX 2070 Super, a card with a decidedly higher cost.
Video cards above 450 euros
If the budget you have available allows you to buy a better video card than we have seen so far, but without reaching the high end, then the RTX 2070 Super is the only solution available. In fact, AMD's Radeon VII does not keep up with the NVIDIA solution, which is also proposed at a significantly lower price, of around 530 euros, against the over 600 euros needed for the counterpart of AMD.
From this moment forward NVIDIA dominates unchallenged, there are no new generation Radeons designed for the high end of the market. Our advice is to aim for lower-end cards than the RTX 2070 Super if you don't have a 4K monitor, which still allow you to play in 1440p without problems.
In case you want more better go directly to the RTX 2080 Super, a card that opens the door to the world of 4Kbut without reaching the target of 60 frames per second with Ultra settings. The Ultra HD is a tough resolution to manage, it needs a lot of power, but the RTX 2080 Super does well anyway, with a cost that however starts from 750 euros depending on the model.
The RTX 2080 Ti instead detaches all competitors for performance and also for price, since it is now around 1240 euros. This is the card to choose if you are looking for high quality 4K gaming, not always at 60 frames per second, a target that can still be reached by managing the graphic settings well.
