10 Best Graphic Cards Under $500 in 2021 [Reviewed]

If you are a gamer then you will be familiar with the use of graphic cards. Being a beginner gamer, it would be crucial for you to know the initial of gaming accessories. The graphic card should be your topmost priority. Also, it is not every time easy for gamers to buy high-priced graphic cards. So, you should be aware of the best Graphics Card for gaming under 500$.

Currently, there are numerous brands in the market manufacturing these graphic cards which ensure character graphics and more rhythmic play. Recognize that not every gamer uses the same device to play games. Each has different modes and devices thus acknowledging the best and most powerful graphic card also depends on what kind of equipment are you using.

Usually, most players just start to purchase expensive graphics cards to play popular games like Fortnite, Battlefield, etc. without thinking about whether or not it will result in good gameplay or not.

An important factor to consider when choosing graphics cards for gaming is that they support the latest version of the game. The latest versions are built with new features and are based on new technology. Players who use the older versions can enjoy the game more easily.

Therefore, choosing a good graphics card for gaming is important, as it will help you enjoy smooth gaming and conserve your money too. I’ll discuss the best graphic cards for gaming under 500$ here so I hope that you get to experience them too. If your passion is games, but you do not have a clue about which one to buy, then you are in the right place.

Top 10 Budget Friendly GPU’s Under $500

Following is the list of the best GPU’s under the budget of $500 that you might need to know before buying:

1. GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

The Gigabyte’s Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is the best mid-budget graphics card when it comes to gaming and rendering stuff as well. NVIDIA is never left behind in manufacturing competition with other manufacturers. on top of this masterpiece is perfect for you if you want to harness your PC performance by staying within a particular budget. The power of this graphic card can be estimated by looking at its capacity for running games. It can run 98% of the most popular games smoothly.

Based on the specs, the minimum clock speed is 1500MHz, but the maximum is 1770MHz when used with boost. Furthermore, it has been integrated with a 6-GB GDDR6 graphic card with a speed of 12Gbps.

In talking about real-time ray tracing, NVIDIA often did not mention the hit in performance that it would take to return such incredible visuals. The wind force 2X cooling system with alternative spinning fans can dissipate heat from the system as much as possible.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti has been equipped with automatic controls with an AORUS engine. This gives it 1536 of NVIDIA’s CUDA Cores, which means an overall more reliable raw execution. The turing shader it has in it enables you to perform well while gaming.

Like ASUS PHOENIX GTX 1650, you can also capture and share videos, screenshots, and live streams with your buddies without any interruption. In the meantime, you will be able to take hyper-resolution, 360-degree, HDR, and stereo photos to capture and share your most brilliant gaming experiences. So, I will include this one in my list of the best graphics cards for gaming.

2. MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 1650 Ventus XS OC

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 is a mid-range Nvidia graphics card that features a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, which connects to the rest of the system. The GTX 1650 is designed to compete with AMD’s more affordable graphics cards. The MSI Ventus XS OC 4GB GeForce GTX 1650 features a dual-fan thermal design. With the dual TORX 2.0 fans, MSI maximizes airflow downwards and air dispersal to the heat sink below. This graphics card has a below-average overclocking potential.

MSI’s new GeForce GTX 1650 VENTUS XS OC Graphics Card based on the Turing Architecture outperforms previous generations based on Pascal Architecture. The GTX 1650 supports a variety of outputs including HDMI 2.0b, DisplayPort 1.4, and Dual-Link DVI.

There are 896 Shader Processing Units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The central processing unit operates at 1485 MHz and overclocks up to 1740 MHz, leading to a 5% increase in performance over the reference unit.

Despite variants in this frame rate, the GeForce GTX 1650 MSI Ventus XS OC 4GB is expected to deliver around 50 to 60 frames on medium graphics settings at a 1080p screen resolution.

Contrary to the GTX 1050 Ti, this card’s performance is slightly better.

3. ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1070 AMP

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1070 AMP is an 8GB GDDR5 graphic card. It is a Pascal-based GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card. This technology resulted in much advancement in the system as compared to the previous models. Moreover, it improves power performance up to 1.5x while with a 70% increase in performance.

One of Pascal’s most noticeable visual improvements has been its support for HDR displays. Meanwhile, the graphic card has dual super-wide 100mm fans. These fans are mainly designed to eliminate heat while pushing more of the hot air outside the system. Besides, the fans operate at lower RPMs for soundless operation. Zotac can stop the operation of the fan when these are not generating much power or does not need extra cooling.

Furthermore, it comes with LEDs surrounding the outer casing which have adjustable colors. In addition to enabling safe overclocking, Zotac software also lets you easily configure the settings your computer should utilize. It is one of the Best Graphic cards for gaming under 500$ and also the best 4k GPUs for video editing. The outer case is made up of carbon fiber and the backplate has a gray and yellow design accompanying the ZOTAC logo. Further, it has 3x DisplayPort 1.4 (HDR-certified), 1x HDMI 2.0, and a 1x dual-link DVI- connector.

4. ASUS Phoenix NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650

Yes of course the next Best Graphic card for gaming under 500$ on my list is ASUS PHOENIX GTX 1650. If you are a gaming freak or a professional IT expert then this one is surely for you. Almost all the features a gamer might need, such as performance upgrades, memory bandwidth, and improved power efficiency. Meanwhile, these features rely upon its Pascal architecture.

Furthermore, this is also the best ASUS graphics card under 500$ and has an NVIDIA GPU 4.0 which increases the clock speed to enhance performance on the target temperature. There is no hard and fast rule to stick with a certain temperature since you can easily change the temperature limit as you desire.

Also, the gamers can make the gameplay shots by pointing the camera in any direction and from any point with the NVIDIA Ansel. They can smoothly capture screenshots up to 32 times the screen resolution. Furthermore, it also lets you zoom in at the chosen place without dissipating accuracy.

Another feature with which I am overwhelmed is its photo filters. They can certainly add effects in real-time before capturing the shot. Moreover, the captured images can be converted into a 360-degree stereo view and viewed with the Google Cardboard or VR headset.

Despite this, the parallel computing platform takes full advantage of the parallel nature of GPU processing to facilitate an increase in computing performance. The programs which are compatible with CUDA are all able to assign parallel intensive tasks to GPU processors and relieve the computer’s CPU from the burden. As a result, the rest of the tasks can be performed by the CPU without interruption.

The product primarily weighs 1.85 lbs. and is manufactured of stainless steel. Thus, it provides complete protection and lessens the chances of corrosion. The axial tech design of the fan facilitates longer blades to increase downward air pressure, reducing the GPU’s heat. Thus, categorizing it as the best gaming GPU under 500$ will be fair enough.

5. MSI Gaming RX Radeon 470

So here is another best graphic card under 500$. Yes, I would happily include MSI GAMING Radeon RX 470 in my list of best MSI GPU under 500$. The reason behind it is its GDDR 4 GB memory. It is powered by Ellesmere PRO GPU. Additionally, it has 2048 processing units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs.

Its powerful GPU generates much heat that needs to be eliminated from the system thus this MSI graphic card has a solid nickel-plated copper base plate. This plate absorbs the heat and transfers it to the heat pipes for dissipation. In this way, your system will remain cool.

Furthermore, the Advanced Zero Frozr Technology kills fan noise by restricting the fans from running in low-load conditions. This gives you the ability to focus on gaming without having to listen to the spinning fans.

Additionally, the TORX 2.0 Fan design produces 22% more air pressure for ultra-quiet performance even during the heaviest of battles. So whenever you want to build a PC, you can surely use this one for noise reduction.

Simple yet another elegant feature of this GPUA is its mystic light feature. As the colors pull every single living creature towards itself thus the color lights of RX 470 make the system look more charming. These mystic lights are the LED which can be manually controlled by choosing animation effects present in the MSI Gaming App. Among the different options available are reacting to your music or game sounds, breathing, flashing, and patterned light. In case you do not want these lights to be turned on you can simply turn them off effortlessly.

Further, it supports the use of multiple graphics cards in SLI or Crossfire ensuring smooth and quality gameplay. Gaming enthusiasts, this one is for you.

6. Nvidia Tesla K80

When discussing graphic cards, I cannot overlook the Nvidia Tesla K80. It is one of the noticeable GPUs by Nvidia.

In comparison to its predecessor, the Tesla K40 GPU accelerator, the K80 dual-GPU GPU accelerator offers up to twice the performance and twice as much memory bandwidth. Introduced in 2014, it has been used extensively since.

It has a memory capacity of 24 GB. Also, there are two built-in processors for fast processing and enhanced video quality. Combined with the 2,432 processing cores, 24 GB of GDDR5 memory, and RAM bandwidth of 480 Gbps, the chip has a total of 4,992 GB of processing power. With Dynamic GPU Boost and Dual GPU design, the Tesla K80 offers unparalleled performance at an affordable price. Thus, the GPUs smoothly runs while doing massive parallel programming.

Thus, the processing speed is about 562 MHz which can be raised to 824 Mhz. The memory operates at the speed of 1253 MHz.

Furthermore, it has been equipped with a passive cooling system i.e. it does not have fans for the removal of heat.

The increased reliability is achieved by the ECC protection. It is made especially for data centers as it delivers enhanced and processed data. Therefore, it will be normal if we categorize this one as one of the best graphic cards for gaming under 500$.

7. ASUS AMD Radeon R7 250

Looking for the best graphics card for gaming with a budget of 500$? How can we forget to include Asus AMD Radeon on our list of best AMD graphics cards for gaming? This piece is unique in its characters. It has features slightly different from any other graphic card.

Firstly, your peace will be maintained by this soundless Asus Radeon giving you the full opportunity to focus on your tasks rather than getting distracted because of loud sounds made by most of the graphic cards other than this. This AMD Radeon 250 has increased firepower as compared to its previous model AMD Radeon 240.

Meanwhile, it lacks memory capacity. Whereas all competitive brands are manufacturing graphics cards with 2 GB storage, Radeon can only manage one GB. Thus, you would probably not be wanting to overburden your system by lavishing high graphics.

Talking about the most crucial feature that is the video outputs, R7 250 includes the VGA, HDMI, and DVI. Unluckily, resolutions beyond 1920×1200 are not supported by it. Thus, you won’t be able to see the DVI-connected graphics above the given resolution. The GPU of the R7 250 contains a total of six compute units that allow access to 384 stream processors, 8 ROPs, and 24 thin-profile memory units (TMUs).

Asus AMD Radeon 250 is the only AUTO-EXTREME Technology made by the manufacturers of Asus thus gives 100 percent full automation for best reliability. Moreover, the dustproof fan repels dust and particles resulting in the 25% increased life of the graphic card.  Alloy components are combined into the Super Alloy Power-2, which is an excellent way of improving overall graphics card reliability.

Additionally, GPU Tweak II is capable of monitoring and correcting GPU shortcomings. It fully supports DX12 on Microsoft Windows 10. Based on power FLAWumption as well as the temperature, the core of the Radeon 250 can be boosted up to 1050 MHz. Nevertheless, there is no official base clock and correspondingly no lower limit. Concerning specifications, Radeon R7 250 comes with a 28 nm Oland GPU. Besides, the R7 250 has a TDP of only 65 watts and therefore requires no external power. Thus, we can conclude that Radeon R7 250 is very energy efficient.

8. ASUS PH-GTX 1050TI

In my list, here is another miraculous invention that is money-saving manufactured by one of the most popular brands ASUS. In my opinion, the ASUS PHOENIX GTX 1050 Ti is the Best Asus Graphic Card Under 500$.

Coming to its specs, it has 40 CUDA cores and 2GB of GDDR5 memory ensuring smooth gameplay. With a base clock frequency of 1290 MHz and a boost clock frequency of 1392 MHz, the clocks for the ASUS PHOENIX GTX 1050 Ti are kept to reference. Besides, a very unique feature of the Dual-ball Bearing Fan decreases spinning friction 2 times longer. Thus increasing cooling efficiency.

Also, its Plug and play design means easy graphics upgrading without the need for PCIe power connectors. The Auto-Extreme Technology with Super Alloy Power II gives Premium-quality graphics as well as the best reliability. Moreover, this feature also improves efficiency, lessens power loss, minimizes component sounding under load, and drops temperatures.

With the new technology of UI, GPU Tweak II, the Gaming Booster automatically diminishes the amount of graphics processing that is in use by eliminating unnecessary processes and maximizing available resources. You can experience extraordinary gameplay with the GeForce GTX 10-Series graphics cards. It is capable to be connected with 1 x Native DVI-D 1 x Native HDMI 2.0b 1 x Native DisplayPort 1.4. I will easily put it under the category of best mid-budget graphic cards.

9. ASRock Phantom Gaming D Radeon RX 570

ASRock Phantom Gaming D Radeon RX 570 is one of those graphic cards which appears on amazon when we search for the best graphic card for gaming under 500$. As graphic cards are the most integral part of gaming technology and it has to be best to evade issues while gaming. In the shape of ASRock RX 570, we have been introduced to one of the best AMD graphic cards for gaming.

If you want an impressive virtual reality experience then you can simply go for ASRock Phantom RX570. But before you do that, you have to ensure that everyone has the correct qualifications, including software, hardware, and drivers. It is the motherboard that combines every vital element, which is why ASRock VR Ready products are precisely what you require.

It comes with a sleek design and two fans which provide strong cooling performance. With the help of these fans, your gaming will not be interrupted and you will be able to play with the cool system. Meanwhile, it has a fan design with a double ball bearing which contributes to reducing friction. Thus, the fan will run smoothly with an increased life span of up to 30 to 40%. Furthermore, its extremely stylish design makes it best for gaming.

Meanwhile, when talking about its cooling system, we will surely mention heat pipe design with aluminum alloy heat sink allowing heat dissipation at a high rate. The direct contact area to the GPU would increase with a copper base heatsink design to make the thermal transfer more efficient.

Moreover, it has Phantom Gaming Tweak that is a high-speed and simple tool that grants users an ample collection of complex settings.

Streaming with a colorful LED graphic card enhances your gaming experience. Additionally, it has a clock memory of OC Mode: Up to 1293 MHz / 7028 MHz, the Default Mode up to 1244 MHz / 7000 MHz, and Silent Mode up to 1194 MHz / 6972 MHz. Hence, enjoy uninterrupted gaming with smooth graphics and fast speed.

10. NVIDIA Gigabyte GV-N105TD5-4GD

If you are looking for a budget graphics card, you should consider Gigabyte GV-N105TD5-4GD. It is also one of the best mid-budget graphics cards. It has been designed with a 90mm fan cooler with an aluminum base that optimizes the temperature of the system. Even at low speed, the heat is dissipated with efficiency.

When the GPU is performing well under low-power gaming, the 3D Active semi-passive fans will not kick on. During light usage or when the system is idle, gamers can enjoy their games in absolute silence.

However, it has a One-click super overclocking feature. Thus, gamers can tailor the card to meet their specific gaming needs with a simple click on the XTREME engine utility, without any overclocking knowledge in advance, saving the annoyance of manual tuning. A Metal Choke greatly reduces core energy loss and EMI interference at high frequencies and can accommodate much more energy than a conventional iron-core choke.

However, it is much durable because it is equipped with lower ESR solid capacitors. As a result, it shall ensure better conductivity. The memory clock speed it has is 7008 MHz. Furthermore, its dimensions are 0.16cm x 2.54cm x 17.02cm. The XTREME Engine will let you know about clock speeds, voltage, fan performance, power target, and thus, it can be tuned in real-time. However, some of the users have proclaimed that its coil whines after a while which can be troublesome. Thus, you have the best Nvidia graphics card for under 500$.

Conclusions

To summarize, now you are familiar with an entire list of best graphics cards for gaming under 500$. Keeping your requirements in mind, you determine what choice you will make. Make sure you have enough information concerning the card you are purchasing to avoid later inconvenience. It is though a very difficult decision to make among these ten graphic cards the best one for you is the one which suits you and is affordable.

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660ti incorporates the latest in technological innovation with an impressive speed and a robust stainless steel design that is corrosion resistant. The reason for choosing this one among the best is because it does not have flaws that can underrate it or lessen its value.

Furthermore, it has a speedy parallel computing feature enabling your CPU to focus on other major tasks rather than the large gaming ones. In my opinion, it is one of the best graphics cards under 500$ for a passionate gamer.

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