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CompareYourGPU

Best GPU under $300

The strongest graphics card you can buy without going over $300, judged at 1080p.

How this is ranked: Cards priced at $300 or below only. 45% performance index at 1080p, 35% performance per dollar, 20% VRAM headroom. Only cards still in production are eligible. Any price-based element uses launch MSRP, because CompareYourGPU holds no verified current price for these cards.

#1
Top pickIntel$249 MSRPCategory score 64/100

Intel Arc B580

The most memory you can buy at this price: 12 GB on a 192-bit bus for entry-level money. Ray tracing is respectable for the tier, but the card needs Resizable BAR to perform as intended, and driver maturity varies more than it does on NVIDIA or AMD.

  • $249 launch MSRP.
  • Estimated 75-105 FPS at 1080p in a typical modern AAA game at High settings, no upscaling. Modelled estimate, not a measurement.
  • 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus.
  • 12.4 performance index points per $100 at 1080p.

Strengths

  • 12 GB of VRAM and 456 GB/s of bandwidth at an entry-level price
  • Ray tracing performance is competitive with cards costing more
  • AV1 encode and decode, plus VVC decode

Trade-offs

  • Requires Resizable BAR; performance drops sharply on platforms without it
  • Driver behaviour in older titles is less consistent than the competition
  • 190 W is high for the performance it delivers

Cheaper alternative: Arc B570 at $219

More powerful: RTX 5060 at $299

Full specificationsCompare with alternatives
#2
AMD$299 MSRPCategory score 61/100

AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB

The same GPU as the 16 GB model with half the memory. At 1080p it is a competent budget card; the moment textures or ray tracing push past 8 GB, the 16 GB version pulls away for $50.

  • $299 launch MSRP.
  • Estimated 90-130 FPS at 1080p in a typical modern AAA game at High settings, no upscaling. Modelled estimate, not a measurement.
  • 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus.
  • 12.7 performance index points per $100 at 1080p.

Strengths

  • Same GPU and clocks as the 16 GB model
  • 150 W and a single 8-pin connector
  • FSR 4 support at an entry price

Trade-offs

  • 8 GB of VRAM is already limiting in recent releases
  • Shares its product name with the 16 GB card
  • Little headroom for future titles

Cheaper alternative: Arc B580 at $249

Full specificationsCompare with alternatives
#3
Intel$219 MSRPCategory score 56/100

Intel Arc B570

The cheapest card in this database. It keeps most of the B580's strengths, including 10 GB of memory and AV1 encode, in exchange for around 15 percent less performance. The same Resizable BAR requirement applies.

  • $219 launch MSRP.
  • Estimated 60-90 FPS at 1080p in a typical modern AAA game at High settings, no upscaling. Modelled estimate, not a measurement.
  • 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus.
  • 11.9 performance index points per $100 at 1080p.

Strengths

  • 10 GB of VRAM at the lowest price here
  • 150 W on a single 8-pin connector
  • AV1 encode and DisplayPort 2.1

Trade-offs

  • Requires Resizable BAR
  • 160-bit bus and reduced core count versus the B580
  • Entry-level performance only

More powerful: RTX 5050 at $249

Full specificationsCompare with alternatives

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