As the prices of GPUs soar, is there anything decent below 300?
Updated: Mar 16, 2023 11:59 am
01
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 3050 OC
02
ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 6500 XT OC
03
Intel Arc A750
As you look to buy your next generation of hardware, you may find the pricing rather steep these days. Therefore we bring you a good range of cards at a lower price, with the best GPU under 300.
There are few and far between choices in this price range. And as new generational releases happen, we find they are the last to come out. Especially in the current generation of cards, with the likes of Ada and RDNA 3 not offering anything below $800.
So you must look further back and lower down when choosing a graphics card below 300. There the options are a bit more thinned out but it is still a good option. Alternatively, used cards are the next best choice and they have their own drawbacks.
How we test and choose the best GPU under 300
When it comes to how we test GPUs, there is a lot of hands-on testing and research done to give the best possible suggestions. So that we can recommend the best possible choice of graphics cards.
Now when it comes to hands-on we put the cards through rigorous testing to ensure they are running as they should. There is a range of games and tests that we put the cards through to see how they perform.
Along with evaluating the build quality and cooling performance, we can truly suggest its worth. With that and our expertise and knowledge, we know what to look for when picking out the choices.
We also know what to expect from different manufacturers or utilize user reviews to know what to expect.
Best GPU under 300 buying guide
As you look to acquire a cheaper GPU there are a few things to consider. There are a variety of cards to choose from and so we see what you should look out for.
Architecture
When deciding on the cheaper end of cards then there can be a variety of generations you’re looking at. Unless you’re only looking at the latest generation then there are some things to be wary of.
As there is plenty of cards to pick from with all the years of innovation, it’s best to consider something more modern. This is because that will offer great optimization and the best performance for what it offers.
It also gives you access to the most recent and useful features that are unlocked with those builds. Something like DLSS and RSR are both available to limited generations.
Both of them require either RTX or RDNA or cards to be available. So to utilize the upscale tech and get some more performance out of the cards you need something more modern.
Resolution
When it comes to using your graphics cards, they’re going to have different capabilities. As such you need to keep in mind what resolution your monitors are so you can enjoy your display at its best.
Unfortunately, for a GPU under 300, you’re unlikely to get much more power than 1080p. As this will offer a better experience than pushing higher resolutions with lower framerates.
Upscaling
Now one advantage of some of the architectures is the other features they offer. The main three manufacturers all have their own version of some AI upscaling technology.
These allow the card to render the game at a lower resolution and then upscale it with some post-processing to your monitor size to make it look close to how it should.
This means they can use fewer resources to create higher framerates for a bigger resolution. However that does have its drawbacks with some loss of quality, and it won’t look as it should.
As well, some of the offerings have to be implemented, DLSS, FSR, and XeSS all have to be added to the game and be supported by the cards from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel.
Only AMD’s RSR is capable of running on anything. As this works on the driver level, it can apply to any application that runs below your native resolution.
Best GPU under 300
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 3050 OC
1852 MHz OC, 1822 MHz gaming
200 x 123 x 38 mm (7.87 x 4.84 x 1.496 inch)
Pros
- Simple and compact design
- Great out of box perfromance
- Fantastic cooling preventing throttling
Cons
- More expensive than other offerings
Now when it comes to the best choice of the graphics card at this price range, with an MSRP of $249, it has great value on it. And so being on the Ampere architecture gives it plenty of power to use.
It has excellent core performance with just 2,560 CUDA cores, which are so well-optimized to work and provide good framerates. Along with 8GB of GDDR6 memory so it can handle a good amount of pixels in its buffer.
Although it is focused on 1080p, it can push beyond that. in our RTX 3050 review, we were able to push it in some titles to perform quite well at 1440p.
This is a better offering than the other options at this price point. Especially when looking at what the newer cards asking much more per model.
Best AMD GPU under 300
ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 6500 XT OC
2825 MHz Boost, 2705 MHz Game
250 x 147 x 54 mm (2.7 slot)
Pros
- Quiet work even under heavy loads
- Effective cooling solution keeps temps low
- Quality build designed to last
- Fastest overclock with plenty more headroom
Cons
- Custom solution may raise the price significantly
From AMD’s side, there are also some options on the lower end. These do have their own drawbacks, but the best option for those under 300 is the RX 6500 XT.
Firstly, the thing to know about this card is that it is built on a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface. This means if you have a PCIe 3 connector on your motherboard then you will lose out on a deal of performance.
So you can only gain its full capability of PCIe 4 interfaces, a bit more modern than a budget build might include. But it does also not go much above 1080p, which also requires dialing in. As it can’t handle the top quality on all of the hardest games.
But it does give entry to the AMD ecosystem, with the features of SAM, RSR, and FSR being available. Which will give a higher framerate at the cost of some quality.
Along with also having only 4GB of GDDR6 memory, and giving a bandwidth of 143.9 GB/s, it lacks in the VRAM department as well.
So realistically we would recommend the RX 6600 more. But you’ll be able to only find that on sale, as it has an MSRP of $329.
Best Intel GPU under 300
Intel Arc A750
2,050 MHz base, 2,400 MHz boost
280 mm x 115 mm (L x H), 2 slot
Pros
- Great perfromance for the cost, putting it above other options
- Low price for what it can achieve
- Expected to be supported for some time as Intel enters the market so driver support should improve
Cons
- Driver support still improving so experience may vary per game still as it improves over time
- Software still developing and has its issues that can spoil the experience when tinkering with the card
As the new contender in the block, Intel has once again come into the dedicated graphics market. So we get a more budget-friendly option with the A770 and A750 available. The latter is the one under 300 so is the choice for this list.
With an MSRP of $289, the card is based on the Alchemist architecture. The first in the long range of possible letters in the alphabet.
Utilizing TSMC’s process rather than its own, it has a 6nm size with a 406mm² die. Along with 8GB of GDDR6, it has 512 GB/s memory bandwidth. All in with a TDP of 225W.
However, the real issue with these cards is the drivers. They have much improved since then, but initially, the cards struggled with older titles. Only supporting more recent DX12 titles, it takes time to help with support.
And there has been great improvement since then. With big updates improving what it has to offer as Gamers Nexus has shown off. Although there are still some issues with some support and general software it is improving.
So it is a good general performer, capable of reaching the same performance as the RTX 3050 but lacking some of the experience and good support the others have.
Final word
Overall there are some good options for picking out the best GPU under 300. It did take some time for these cards to come out as they’re not the big-priced ones for the manufacturers so are further down.
As such even with the new generations, it will take some time to get down to these models. And even then the pricing of them has been growing and so new GPUs under 300 might be a distant memory.
FAQs
What GPU should I get for under 300?
Looking at MSRP, the RTX 3050 is the best choice for a GPU under 300. With great architecture and support system, there are plenty of great features to take benefit of. But there may always be some good discounts to take advantage of in the higher models. Such as AMDs RX 6600 level will be a much higher card to go for.
