The graphics of a video game are arguably the most important aspect. Without the images being rendered on screen, video games are only interactive stories. This is why game developers spend so much time giving their work an identity through the unique way that they make them look. It requires a graphics card inside of your custom computer to render the graphics from a game into a viewable image on your monitor, but with a large number of options available, knowing which to go with can be difficult. This guide will help to clear up that confusion and set you on the right path to finding your custom solution.
Perfect for a Budget PC
The NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1660 Ti is a good starting point for someone that is new to gaming PCs but doesn’t want to compromise performance for price. Nvidia compares it to the GTX 1070, but it runs on the updated Turing architecture. This means enhanced shaders and less stress on the card due to improved power efficiency. However, the card does not have the same Tensor cores or RT cores that RTX cards use to produce real-time ray tracing or support AI. If you aren’t concerned with these two features and want a card that will maintain 60 fps at highest quality settings at 1080p, the GTX 1660 Ti would be a solid choice for your custom PC.
The Standard of Gaming PCs
The RTX family of cards use the same Turing architecture mentioned previously, but they are equipped with RT and Tensor cores. That means that the NVIDIA RTX 2070 does support ray tracing and Nvidia’s AI technology. The 2070 has two GB more VRAM and two GB/s faster memory speed than the 1660 Ti. All of this makes up for a generally faster experience with the 2070 over the GTX 1660 Ti and previous generations. The GTX 1080 Ti has similar benchmarks and an additional 3 GB of VRAM, but availability for 10 series cards is becoming less and less reliable. Moving forward, the 2070 fills the role of a powerful, mid-range graphics card that should achieve 60 fps at 1440p.
Take your Custom PC to the EXTREME
The RTX 2080 Ti is the powerhouse of the RTX family. It has the most powerful ray tracing, the most memory, and the fastest speeds among the RTX cards. For more serious gamers, this card should provide 4K gaming at 144 MHz and a smooth VR experience without frame rate drops. The 2080 Ti is best suited for someone that has already decided on a strong processor; otherwise, it would be advisable to opt for a slightly less powerful graphics card to save money for a better CPU for the sake of balance.
| Graphics card | CUDA Cores | Base/Boost Clock | Memory |
| GTX 1660 Ti | 1536 | 1500/1770 | 6GB GDDR6 |
| RTX 2070 | 2304 | 1410/1620 | 8GB GDDR6 |
| RTX 2080 Ti | 4352 | 1350/1545 | 11GB GDDR6 |
Choosing a graphics card does not boil down to one of three choices. At AVADirect, our expert support and sales staff can answer whatever hardware questions you have – whether graphics card related or not. Ultimately, which card you go with should be based on the whole of your desktop PC build to balance you budget and performance. We will work with you to identify your exact needs and the hardware to exceed them.