The purpose of this article is to discuss a list of graphics cards and their gameplay experience. If you’re buying a new graphics card for games in 2022, this article will discuss how graphics cards rank, how they are priced, and how they perform in games.

Perhaps more than any other technology, graphics cards will be pushed to its limits over the next five years. Graphics card architectures are released by two major brands, NVIDIA and Radeon. Once developed, they sell their technology to OEM manufacturers like Gigabyte, MSI, and EVGA. To get an understanding of how graphics cards rank, it is important to understand when they were released. The table below represents gaming graphics card models and their release dates:
List of Graphics Cards and Their Release Dates
Graphics Card | Release Date |
NVIDIA GeForce Models | |
GeForce 10 series | 2016 |
GeForce 20 series | 2018 |
GeForce 16 series | 2019 |
GeForce 30 series | 2020 |
AMD Radeon Models | |
Vega | 2017 |
Navi (RDNA Family – Radeon RX 5000 Series) | 2019 |
Navi 2X (RDNA Family – Radeon RX 6000 Series) | 2020-2021 |
Gamers who are looking to buy a new PC should aim for buying either the GeForce RTX 30 series or the AMD Radeon RX 5000 or 6000 series. These models will provide a great gaming experience for years to come but aren’t necessarily required by even the latest releases. If budget is a concern, even the NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Ti can play games like Call of Duty: Vanguard and Battlefield 2042. These low-end graphics cards are often listed as minimum recommended system requirements.
But if you plan on having a lower end graphics card, don’t plan on playing in high resolution or having high fps (frames per second). Having high FPS with good graphics settings is important because it will provide a smoother experience and be more responsive. Having higher frame rates gives you an advantage in that you see things before opponents do and gives you the ability to react more quickly. Low FPS makes the game choppy and less enjoyable.
Everyone values gameplay over resolution. But resolution does make a game more enjoyable and immersive. Those who want to experience a game to its fullest extent should not get a low end graphics card. With lower end older graphics cards, 1440p, 4K, and 8K resolutions are out of the question. would be spotty at best. Keep in mind that the higher the resolution, the lower the FPS will be.
Recommended Graphics Cards for Gaming in 2022-23
Low End Graphics Cards ($200-$800)
- ASUS GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Phoenix Fan Edition DVI-D HDMI DP 1.4 Gaming Graphics Card (PH-GTX1050TI-4G) Graphic Card
- XFX Radeon RX 570 RS XXX Edition 1286MHz, 8gb GDDR5, DX12 VR Ready, Dual BIOS, 3xDP HDMI DVI, AMD Graphics Card
- ZOTAC Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 Super 6GB GDDR6 192-bit Gaming Graphics Card
Low End Graphics Cards On Modern Games
You can expect to play modern games with low end graphics cards but you will definitely notice some choppy-ness and lower FPS. Out of the lower end models, I recommend the GTX 1660 SUPER for best performance for the price. The games are playable, but images look grainy and there may even be some lag present. That being said, the games are mostly playable as long as all the settings are turned down. These type of low end graphics cards are based on NVIDIA’s 1050 Ti and above cards and AMD RX 570 and above.
Low End Graphics Cards and Their Gameplay Experience
Game | Gameplay and Gaming Experience |
Call of Duty: Vanguard | Playable with Low Settings |
Battlefield 2042 | Playable with Low Settings |
Resident Evil 2: Village | Playable with Low Settings |
Ages of Empires 4 | Playable with Low Settings |
HITMAN 3 | Playable with Low Settings |
Final Fantasy VII: Remake | Playable with Low Settings |
Mass Effect: Andromeda | Playable with Low Settings |
Ready or Not | Playable with Low Settings |
Red Dead Redemption 2 | Playable with Low Settings |
Mid-range Graphics Cards ($700-$1,500)
Due to low availability of mid-range graphics cards, the only options listed below for purchase are Renewed/Refurbished.
- ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080TI Overclocked 11G GDDR6 HDMI DP 1.4 USB Type-C Gaming Graphics Card (ROG-STRIX-RTX-2080TI-O11G) (Renewed)
- Gigabyte GV-N207SWF3OC-8GD GeForce RTX 2070 Super Windforce OC 8G Graphics Card, 3X Windforce Fans, 8GB 256-Bit GDDR6, Video Card (Renewed)
- MSI Gaming Radeon RX 5500 XT Boost Clock: 1845 MHz 128-bit 4GB GDDR6 DP/HDMI Dual Torx 3.0 Fans Freesync VR Ready Graphics Card (RX 5500 XT MECH 4G OC) (Radeon RX 5500 XT MECH 4G OC) (Renewed)
Mid-range Graphics Cards and Their Gameplay Experience
Game | Gameplay and Gaming Experience |
Call of Duty: Vanguard | Playable with High Settings |
Battlefield 2042 | Playable with High Settings |
Resident Evil 2: Village | Playable with High Settings |
Ages of Empires 4 | Playable with High Settings |
HITMAN 3 | Playable with High Settings |
Final Fantasy VII: Remake | Playable with High Settings |
Mass Effect: Andromeda | Playable with High Settings |
Ready or Not | Playable with High Settings |
Red Dead Redemption 2 | Playable with High Settings |
With mid-range graphics cards, you will be able to play games pretty well at high settings. You will achieve 100+FPS on 1440p, but the graphics aren’t that great looking. It is definitely not crisp and image frames at times look choppy or blurred. The other downside to these graphics cards is that they are so overpriced due to limited availability. Most of what you’ll find out there are refurbished graphics cards, meaning that they already have mileage on them which is not ideal. That being said, you are paying half the cost of brand-new high-end graphics cards.
High End Graphics Cards ($1,500-$4,000)
If you’re looking at high end brand new graphics cards, head over to The Top 5 Graphics Cards for AMD and NVIDIA in 2022 for an in-depth review.
- EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra Gaming, 12G-P5-3967-KR, 12GB GDDR6X, iCX3 Technology, ARGB LED, Metal Backplate
- VGA GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra Gaming, 24GB GDDR6X, iCX3 Technology, ARGB LED, Metal Backplate, 24G-P5-3987-KR
- PowerColor Red Devil AMD Radeon™ RX 6900 XT Gaming Graphics Card with 16GB GDDR6 Memory, Powered by AMD RDNA™ 2, Raytracing, PCI Express 4.0, HDMI 2.1, AMD Infinity Cache
High End Cards and Their Gameplay Experience
Game | Gameplay and Gaming Experience |
Call of Duty: Vanguard | Max Settings, Crisp |
Battlefield 2042 | Max Settings, Crisp |
Resident Evil 2: Village | Max Settings, Crisp |
Ages of Empires 4 | Max Settings, Crisp |
HITMAN 3 | Max Settings, Crisp |
Final Fantasy VII: Remake | Max Settings, Crisp |
Mass Effect: Andromeda | Max Settings, Crisp |
Ready or Not | Max Settings, Crisp |
Red Dead Redemption 2 | Max Settings, Crisp |
Higher end, new graphics cards may be more readily available but they are certainly also more expensive. They range anywhere from $1,5000 on the low end to $3,500-$4,000 on the high end. This is largely due to the lack of supply from the pandemic and the crypto-mining industry buying all available stock. That being said, if you can afford them you will have the best gaming experience and the highest FPS on games, giving you a strategic advantage as you will be able to react more quickly than competitors.
Are you wondering about a game or graphics card that’s not listed here? Mention @goodtechmaster on twitter to get your questions answered. Or go to the Good Tech Master Facebook group to start a discussion.