Why right now is a terrible time to buy a graphics card. What is the worst graphics card

We’re back to normal, and NVIDIA’s overall line is to make very good graphics cards at an unpopular price point, but it’s still the first option for most users. We choose the graphics cards that landed the best, leaving behind the ones that convinced the worst.

The five worst graphics cards in the last ten years

In recent years, the world of personal computers has undergone an important development that shook the world of graphics cards. The leap from DirectX 11 to DirectX 12 and the growing popularity of Vulkan affected many generation models that did not support both APIs well, and the increase in graphics memory consumption made many of the “best of the best” solutions obsolete.

It can be said that it is the law of life. All computer components have a service life which is also determined by their strict specifications which can be shortened or lengthened depending on other important factors, how to support advanced technologies and the path the industry takes. The latter is very important. In fact, we’ve already seen at this point how stagnation around the antiquated API, DirectX 11, can hurt more advanced graphics cards designed for DirectX 12 and Vulkan.

I am sure that many of our readers will know what point we talked about in the previous example, at what stage two generations of Kepler based NVIDIA GPUs coexisted: GTX 600 and GTX 700 (except) GTX 750 and 750 Ti (based on Maxwell) and Radeon HD 7000 and Radeon RX 200. The dominance of DirectX 11 in 2012-2016 coupled with the low demand for graphics memory in most games has kept Kepler a very powerful architecture, but today, with the arrival of DirectX 12 and Vulkan, Radeon HD 7000 and Radeon RX 200 You aged much better.

Pure performance is important, that’s clear, but when we talk about graphics cards, we also need to take into account other factors that were already anticipated, such as architecture, API and high tech support, and of course the amount of graphics memory installed. AMD did better in this regard as it introduced higher memory configurations and opted for technologies that did not have good support at the time, such as for example asynchronous computing, but made mistakes as well.

We could give many examples, but I think this is the clearest thing we’ve experienced with the arrival of the Radeon R9 Fury and Fury X., two graphics cards based on HBM memory and limited to 4GB. This became a very serious problem as the games used up more graphics memory and both fell below their direct NVIDIA competitors. The GTX 980 Ti with 6GB of graphics memory has aged better than the Radeon R9 Fury X.

It’s clear that both NVIDIA and AMD have made mistakes in the last few years, although today both luckily know how to play their cards well and we have a high level of competition in the graphics card sector. NVIDIA democratized ray tracing with the RTX 3080 and RTX 3070, and the giant from Sunnyvale reacted heavily with the launch of the Radeon RX 6000, a generation of graphics cards that achieves a good price-performance ratio.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll see the performance of this next-gen graphics and tell you everything you need to know to judge if the different models are a really good buy. In the meantime, we invite you to join us to animate the expectation. What were the five worst graphics cards in the last ten years? I assume that we are going to abandon the classic low-end models, which usually offer terribly poor value, in favor of a more interesting, complete and less “predictable” item.

The five worst graphics cards in recent history: GeForce GTX 690

There was certainly a lot to choose from, mainly due to how old the Kepler architecture from NVIDA was. The fact is that this architecture was a very important change as it marked the disappearance of “hot shaders” and allowed NVIDIA to triple the number of shaders compared to the previous generation based on Fermi.

To give you an idea, the GTX 580 had 512 shaders while the GTX 680 had 1,536 shaders. The second tripled the number of shaders of the first, but they operated at a lower frequency because, as we said, this property known as “hot shaders” was eliminated, which allowed the core group to run at a much higher frequency of Work.

However, this important development was tarnished by the architecture foundation that was developed from the ground up with DirectX 11 in mind. This allowed NVIDIA to offer the AMD Radeon HD 7000 with the highest performance in most cases, and sparked clear controversy that led to two opposing positions: these who said NVIDIA was right to make it A solid bet, looking at the present rather than the future, and those who thought exactly the opposite, AMD would age better.

The truth is that both items were correct. Those who bought the Kepler-based GTX did well for several years, and those who bought the Radeon HD 7000 were rewarded with seeing their graphics card age better as competitive alternatives.

Why do we consider the GeForce GTX 690 to be one of the worst graphics cards in the last ten years? The answer is very simple as this is a model that has all of the Kepler flaws and has all the problems of a dual GPU setup. This graphics card is the equivalent of two GTX 680s in one computer, which means each GPU is limited to 2GB of graphics memory and displays it all. Its potential depends on the SLI support that each game offers.

The starting price was over 1000 euros and it has aged so much that today it is no better than the GTX 680 in most cases due to the poor SLI support that most games offer. It was a terrible investment that has aged a lot and therefore deserves to be on this list.

Their product selection isn’t quite as diverse compared to some of the larger manufacturers we’ve listed so far, but ZOTAC still has something to suit everyone’s needs – from the heavier high-end RGB AMP models to the more compact and affordable variants of some GPUs.

Scalping & cryptomining

Let’s start with the hot topic of recent months: scalpers. The idea of ​​scalping – essentially buying as many stocks as possible at launch to resell at a higher value – isn’t a new concept, but going online during a pandemic means it’s easier than ever for those looking to make some money . It happened with valuable on-demand tech, including the PS5 and Xbox Series X, and unfortunately that also applies to graphics cards.

High-tech scalpers turned to bots to bid for them, using automated systems to gather as much inventory as possible within seconds of auctions appearing in online stores. These scalpers then go to sites like Facebook, Gumtree, and eBay to resell graphics cards, relying on a shortage of inventory to raise prices and profit from interest.

It’s shady business, people hate it and salespeople are trying to find a solution, but it’s all too often now.

Scalpers aren’t the only problem though: in addition to competing with those looking to resell the GPU for a little extra cash, you’re also competing with cryptocurrency miners. For the uninitiated, you can generate the cryptocurrency yourself, but it requires a lot of graphics power, and the more you have, the more you can earn, and the “miners” can quickly recover the costs of the graphics cards they buy.

It’s not worth it if you have a basic computer: hardcore miners have amazing setups, usually costing several thousand pounds.

A similar situation occurred in 2017, with limited supply of GPUs for many months, and it seems that the big leap in performance of the recent AMD and Nvidia GPUs means cryptocurrency miners are on the hunt for modernization again.

More power = more money, making people buy as many GPUs as they can get. This not only makes it harder for players to get graphics cards, it also raises prices.

There are also questions about production issues and relatively small batches of the latest Nvidia and AMD GPUs that are made available at any time. The launch of the RTX 3080 in September 2020 was a prime example of this, with cards selling out within seconds of going on sale, which caused Nvidia to delay the release of the RTX 3070 to try and fix stock issues.

Admittedly, more and more stocks have appeared in the last few months, but it is largely up to your luck to find them before they sell out. And now that Nvidia has confirmed they won’t be shipping their own Founders Edition of the upcoming RTX 3060 – a change over the rest of the 30 series – there’s surely a big question mark now around production capacity.

If that’s not enough, it will get even worse.

Why are graphics cards getting more expensive in 2021?

The lack of GPU inventory and additional production costs mean that prices are likely to rise in the near future, as suggested by Asus’ technical marketing manager Juan Jose Gurrero III in a deleted Facebook post.

The engineer suggested that increased component costs, operating costs, and import tariffs were increasing the overall manufacturing cost of GPUs and motherboards, and that recommended prices for new graphics cards could increase as a result.

Make sure you get this at or near the manufacturer’s suggested price of $ 329. Many GPUs are overpriced now, and waiting for the prices to return to normal may make sense to you.

Worst Aging GPU Series: Nvidia Kepler

It’s hard to believe that the GeForce GTX 780 series is more or less 4 years old. That said, it really shows its age. Compared to the Radeon R9 390, the GTX 780 is even further behind today. This could be due to its architecture or Nvidia’s neglect of driver development, or part of both. Either way, we’ve never seen Nvidia architecture collapse like Kepler.

Kepler also marked the birth of the insane 400,000 Titans series, setting the tone for Nvidia’s enthusiastic boning tactics. You know where they release the 400m000 model, and later that year they release a product that delivers the same or better performance for a much easier-to-swallow price. Like the GTX 780 Ti!

Yes, the GTX 780 Ti seemed to be the ultimate hi-end gift at the end of 2013, and until 2015 it was the ultimate curse.

Nowadays, Kepler based GPUs have become so advanced in modern games that they are no longer worth even buying. You’d have to pick up the once-mighty GTX 780 Ti for a pocket swap to consider it at all. It’s not much faster than the GTX 1050 Ti in many modern titles, but uses around 150% more power.

Luckily, we haven’t seen any noticeable performance degradation yet for the next-gen, Maxwell-based stuff. The GTX 970, 980, and 980 Ti still perform very well in modern-day titles, but as always, we’re keeping a close eye on this.

Worst Mid-Range GPU: Radeon R9 285

We had a hard time figuring out which GPU we should run in this category. We just wanted to go back a few years to make the picks somewhat accurate, and we narrowed them down to a few options from both AMD and Nvidia. Ultimately, we opted for the Radeon R9 285, the model that introduced the third-generation GCN architecture in late 2014, roughly a year after the launch of the Radeon 200 series.

The main reason we chose this GPU was because of its terrible timing. Almost a year after the first 200 models in the series appeared, the R9 285 was unveiled in September 2014 for $ 250. We ended our review by saying…

“At $ 249, the R9 285 doesn’t exactly change the landscape, averaging only 4% more performance than the card it is to replace, the R9 280, on average. Even if you overlook the big loss in Tomb Raider, which could be a driver. The R9 285 is therefore still only 6% faster than the R9 280. Providing 4-6% increase for the same price is obviously not bad, but we are not sure if the R9 285 was completely necessary.”

We also noticed that the tested Sapphire card was overclocked by 5%, so the results are probably overclocked by 2-3%, which makes the margin between the R9 285 and the R9 280 even smaller. ” The R9 285 came with FreeSync support and improved DirectX 12 capabilities, but at the time neither of these were useful to most.

Another, and possibly more serious, problem for the Radeon was the GTX 970, which came out the same month. GeForce offered much better performance with a ~ 30% price increase. So in the same month the R9 285 faced a major price cut in order to stay relevant.

While there was nothing wrong with the R9 285 – the 2GB VRAM buffer was questionable – its main problem came too late, it didn’t change anything in the market, so it disappointed with the latest iteration of the GCN architecture, you could say it was a bit scary.

Nowadays, Kepler based GPUs have become so advanced in modern games that they are no longer worth even buying. You’d have to pick up the once-mighty GTX 780 Ti for a pocket swap to consider it at all. It’s not much faster than the GTX 1050 Ti in many modern titles, but uses around 150% more power.

Causes:

There are several reasons that lead to a graphics card failure. Overheating to component failure can cause the graphics card to malfunction. It may not be your fault. But you need to protect your components from dust build-up or electrostatic discharge.

Overheating:

Overheating is the main concern of all computer components. Several things lead to overheating. Dust build-up is a major cause of graphics cards overheating. Since the graphics card remains dormant in the system, it is prone to dust build-up.

There may be manufacturing defects in the product which also cause problems. Things like improper radiator installation or dried thermal paste are directly conducive to overheating of the graphics card.

Component Failure:

You have little chance of component failure in your graphics card. Several factors can cause a component failure in graphics cards. A factory defect of the graphics card also leads to the failure of the graphics card. The chance of getting a defective graphics card is quite small.

Faulty Drivers:

We have become a victim of newly released graphics cards with defective drivers. Not all goes well with a new driver update. Defective disks will cause a decrease in the performance of the graphics card, or even its absence, turning into a boot loop. Nvidia has fewer defective drivers for records, while we’ve seen tons of driver crashes on the AMD side.

Short Circuit or unstable power supply:

Unsecured power lines or an unstable power supply are the leading cause of component death. The power surge or spike may cause the graphics card to malfunction. At worst, you can even fry your GPU, causing BSOD or even killing your graphics cards.

An unstable power supply or a low power supply will be a huge problem for your system. The power delivery system on a cheap PSU is weak. In the event of an overvoltage, a cheap power supply will not protect your components and will become the main cause of graphics card failure.

When to Worry and When not to?

So whenever you see these symptoms, don’t panic and toss your old graphics card on a new one. Before fixing any problem, you need to diagnose the component. There are simpler solutions without having to change.

Glitches:

Not every game is perfect, and the finished product must have some drawbacks. Usually, the glitches don’t come directly from the graphics card. There may be glitches in the game that cause the game to crash or minor glitches on the screen.

Check the forums or contact the developers reporting the bugs. So when you see glitches while gaming, it’s not an alarming call. So don’t worry when it breaks down.

Artifacting:

When you see artifacts on the screen, you must be very worried. The games are usually optimized for the final version. If you see an artifact in the game or on the desktop, your GPU may not be working. You must be concerned if you see artifacts on the screen.

Black Screen:

When you turn on the system and you get a black screen, it’s kind of a mixed connection. In this case, the graphics processor may not work. A black screen usually indicates a RAM incompatibility or GPU failure. Newer motherboards ship with POST codes, making it easier to find a faulty component.

Getting a BSOD is the happiest and worst feeling overall. BSOD shows the severity of the problem. In case of a minor problem, you can fix the problem quickly. But it can also cause serious problems, even asking the user to change the graphics card.

So whenever you see these symptoms, don’t panic and toss your old graphics card on a new one. Before fixing any problem, you need to diagnose the component. There are simpler solutions without having to change.

Best Nvidia Graphics Card under 400$

While the Nvidia RTX 3060 has surpassed its bigger brother, the Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti in terms of performance per dollar, the RTX 3060 Ti is still a great buy for those looking for extra performance over the RTX 3060.

The Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti ranks among the top 2 value-driven GPUs with serious gaming and rendering performance.

It too is built on an 8nm process node but, oddly enough, has 8GB of VRAM – 4GB less than the weaker RTX 3060.

Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti has 4864 CUDA cores and a chip clocked with a base frequency of 1410 MHz and up to 1750 MHz Boost. Most RTX 3060 Ti variants have a TDP of 200W, which means you should make sure your PSU is powerful enough when upgrading from an older generation GPU that used less power.

Best Nvidia Graphics Card under 200$

There is an excellent Nvidia graphics card at every price point, and the Sub-200 $ mark is no different. At this price point, the Nvidia GTX 1650 is the clear winner, delivering great performance in both gaming and rendering on a budget.

The GTX 1650 has 4 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, clocking at 2 GHz on a 128-bit bus and a bandwidth of 128 GB / s. This card is only 75W so it runs very quietly and stays nice and cool.

896 CUDA cores decently accelerate gaming and rendering, and the chip, which clocked at 1485 MHz Base and 1860 MHz Boost, will provide a smooth experience on a budget.

896 CUDA cores decently accelerate gaming and rendering, and the chip, which clocked at 1485 MHz Base and 1860 MHz Boost, will provide a smooth experience on a budget.

Geforce GTX 590 (2011)

The NVIDIA GTX 590 had big problems and wasn’t a great product, and it was a dual GPU whose consumption and temperatures were monstrous. There are several videos on YouTube showing how the GTX 590 burned and cracked, which indicates that it was not sufficiently tested at the time. Without a doubt, in NVIDIA’s best-to-worst ranking of graphics cards, this has to come on the negative side.

ASUS GT 640 y GTX 660 (2012)

The problem with this generation was that they were too expensive GPUs for what they offered in return, or at least that’s what the public thinks. They had the Kepler architecture, which was created to improve the performance that Fermi destroyed. NVIDIA improved many aspects of Kepler’s texture loading, even increased the memory frequency. They complained quite a bit about the price of the GeForce 600 because they didn’t offer a huge amount of power, but here we see a split of opinion again, is it possible that AMD was doing well?

I took the average performance of currently popular game benchmarks like Futuremark and gave it points based on the test score.

Sapphire

Cooperation with: AMD

Now we reach one of AMD’s exclusive partners and it is definitely one of the more popular – Sapphire. Hong Kong-based Sapphire offers some of the best AMD graphics cards you can find today, and it’s not hard to see why it’s a favorite of many AMD fans.

Their build quality is excellent and their coolers are also very efficient. However, Sapphire offers a relatively short warranty period compared to some of the other manufacturers on this list, which may put some potential customers off.

Cooperation with: AMD

Warranty: 2 or 3 years

Like the Sapphire, the XFX is another very popular AMD partner that focuses on reliability and value above all else. They’re an American company, and while their graphics cards don’t offer much in terms of design, they more than make up for it with great value for money.

That said, thanks to simple black bezels, the latest XFX cards may not look big, but they offer good cooling and reliability at a more affordable price than some of their competitors. As for the warranty, they offer a 3-year limited warranty on most of their major cards, although some models only come with two.

Conclusion

This would be our pick of the best graphics card manufacturers. Granted, they all differ in several respects, but as mentioned earlier, it’s just impossible to generalize and pick the “best” one”.

After all, graphics cards are best judged individually, so we suggest looking at our pick of the best gaming graphics cards in 2022.

Check this out if you want a closer look at some of the most attractive graphics cards available today, and also get answers to some of the questions you may have when it comes to finding your perfect graphics card!