Best Value GPUs Right Now: Radeon vs GeForce (January 2023 Update)

foreign [Music] welcome back to Hardware unboxed with the recent launch of new gpus from both AMD and Nvidia it's time to take a detailed look into what graphics cards are the best value right now using the latest up-to-date real world pricing in several regions since our last update in the middle of 2023 pricing has changed quite a bit for older models some products are no longer in stock at all and of course we haven't yet had a chance to see how gpus like the RTX 4090 and RX 7900 XTX Stack Up compared to the entire array of available gpus including more mainstream models compared to the middle of last year I think we're in a much better position to be judging the value of gpus and whether you should buy them right now as where five launches deep into a new generation and have a pretty good idea what they are offering at the high end throughout much of 2022 a recommendation was to just wait for pricing adjustments or new gpus in the high-end Market with really only the lower segments being consistently worth buying we we'll find out whether that's still true in this video but before we do today's video is sponsored by gigabyte and their aorus and Aero RTX 30 Series Laptops these excellent machines for gamers and creators are powered by up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 TI graphics card and up to Intel Core I9 processors Gamers will be interested in the aura 17x featuring high performance GeForce RTX Graphics support for dlss and Ray tracing a super fast 360 Hertz display and heaps of cooling power for creators check out the Aero 16 with its 4K OLED display portable form factor and efficient GeForce RTX GPU there's plenty of other options in gigabytes lineup as well so learn more by the links below today's video will be a cost per frame analysis based on the data Steve collected for the previous iteration of this video updated to include new gpus we didn't cover in that video like with the previous video the six games we've chosen for this comparison were picked carefully from our 50 game sample to be generally representative of how each card performs the game is a Red Dead Redemption 2 using medium settings Rainbow Six Siege using medium settings Far Cry 6 medium Hitman 3 medium Dying Light 2 medium and finally shadow of the Tomb Raider at the high quality preset I'm not going to go over each game individually but rather use average data calculated using a Geo mean which gives us a summary of the performance of each card which we can then use for cost per frame the reason why we are using medium quality settings is so that we can both feature entry level and high-end products on the same chart today's entry level cards think the RX 6500xt aren't exactly geared well towards gaming using high quality settings so medium is really the limit for those cards meanwhile higher tier models typically fare just fine on medium though of course many people will choose to play using Ultra we also have some 4K data which will be most useful for high-end cards finally all testing was conducted using the ryzen 7 5800x3d with ddr4 3600 cl16 memory and resizable bar enabled also please note that the pricing information discussed here was taken a couple of days ago so pricing may have moved slightly over the last few days though in general it should be pretty accurate at this point get prepared for a pretty graph heavy analysis so here we go I'm going to start here by looking at MSRP pricing in the US market using our 4K data this is what various graphics cards should be priced at if they were still using launch prices and gives us an idea of what each company was intending what's interesting here is that the RTX 36 DTI is clearly the best value product across the last two generations if everything was at MSRP the RTX 3060 also fares well with other products around that 400 Mark not really offering a compelling experience for example the RX 6600 from AMD would have offered a 17 higher cost per frame than the RTX 3060 in an MSRP Market which is why it got trashed in reviews boy things are a bit different today also interesting to note is that the RX 7900 XTX looks reasonably favorable here with the cost per frame of seven dollars and four cents which as we've said in our day one reviews is the best value of the new generation models the RTX 470 TI is slightly worse offering four percent higher cost per frame but the issue with these models is that the value isn't substantially better than last generation high-end models and both cards could slot into the old product series The 7900 XTX cost per frame is basically the same as the 6800 XT at MSRP as it offers 51 more performance at a 54 higher price the RTX 4070 TI offers the same cost per frame as the RTX 4070 with its 56 percent higher performance for a 60 higher price this is why so many people are left with a sour taste in their mouth with this new generation and it only gets worse for the other models the 7900 XT is in no man's land with worse cost per frame than the XTX with the RTX 4080 and 4090 being rather poor value though admittedly better value than previous generation flagships but these charts are even less favorable when looking at 1440p performance at 4K the RX 7900 xtx's MSRP looked okay but it falls into the middle of the pack at 1440p as does the RTX 4070 TI which now actually offers slightly better value but betting all these cards a previous generation offerings at their MSRP such as the 6800 XT RX 6800 and RTX 3070 but the MSRP of these cards isn't that relevant in today's market as GPU pricing has changed so let's revisit this data using current GPU pricing collected from us retailers such as Newegg Amazon and Micro Center using the lowest available pricing what's clear from gathering this data is there's been a push to rid the market of high-end previous generation models the RTX 3090 3080 TI and 3080 12 gigabyte are all in low Supply and sitting well above their previous best price so shouldn't be considered this has the effect of making some models from the new generation look better if we start with the focus on the high end both the RTX 4090 and RX 7900 XTX are only available well above the MSRP at the moment which makes them terrible buys the RTX 4090 at over two thousand dollars US is a horrendous deal and no better value than older high-end cards like the RTX 3080 TI though admittedly it is a much faster GPU the RX 7900 XTX is also so impossible to recommend at thirteen hundred dollars U.S supply of the one thousand dollar models has dried up and for thirteen hundred dollars its value equation is really bad coming in with equivalent cost per frame to the RTX 4080 which is available at its awful twelve hundred dollar MSRP all of these gpus are now placed in much worse value positions than previous high-end models for example the RX 6950xt at 700 has 37 better cost per frame than the 7900 XTX ouch this AMD Flagship from the rdna 2 era also beats the 4070 TI and 7900 XT by 11 in terms of cost per frame making it the clear standout option in the 700 plus market and really the only GPU you'd consider from a value standpoint with that said it's interesting how in the current market the tables have flipped on the 7900 XTX versus 7900 XT with now the XT model clearly the better choice though hardly a standout however for high-end buyers simply targeting a price isn't everything and I think you wouldn't necessarily be considering a 6950 XT instead of an RTX 4090 even though the 6950 XT is the best value GPU priced at or above 700 U.S the 4090 is nearly 70 faster at 4K with the 4080 and 7900 XTX around 30 to 35 percent faster there's still reason to buy these more expensive models for their performance it's just that you won't be getting a good deal and it stings to see the RTX 4080 basically being the best model in cost per frame for 4K Gamers wanting to max out a high refresh rate display in the middle of the market obviously we don't have new gpus targeting 400 to 600 yet so we're stuck with older models but luckily most are still in stock around this price range AMD does have an advantage at the moment with deep discounts for rdna 2 products making them worth buying the RX 6750xt and RX 6800 are the two models that stand out here especially the 67 50 XT at around a 60 FPS average at 4K it offers 5 cheaper cost per frame than nvidia's best option the RTX 3060 TI value is also world's better than the RTX 3070 and 3070 TI which also sit in this price range really you wouldn't consider those models at the moment if you had about 500 to spend you'd grab the 6800 which is both cheaper and faster than the RTX 3070 this is also true at 1440p with the RX 6750xt maintaining an 8 cheaper cost per frame relative to the 3060 TI the 3070 and 307 ETI just aren't worth considering as 35 percent higher cost per frame compared to the RX 6800 is too great of a discrepancy even when factoring in Ray tracing performance and other Nvidia exclusive features what's great about amd's gpus in the mid-range is that their value isn't significantly worse than mainstream models in the sub 400 category if you grab a 6750 XT for 410 its cost per frame is only 15 percent higher than the 6650 XT or just six percent higher for the 6700 XT nvidia's situation is a real mess as the RTX 3060 TI is both not really a class leading value option but also their best value product right now for 1440p gamers the RTX 3060 and 3050 both of which still aren't at MSRP yet are worse value and in the case of the 3050 quite considerably so this hands AMD an easy win for buyers looking to only spend around 200 to 300 us on a graphics card the 6650 XT is not only faster than the RTX 3060 at 1440p it's also 27 cheaper in cost per frame similarly the RX 6600 is much faster than the RTX 3050 yet offers a whopping 36 discount in cost per frame this sort of pricing for mainstream rdna 2 is going to put real pressure on next-gen entry level gpus as pricing has already been slashed compared to MSRP and all models are sitting at almost here below pricing we need to see basically two tiers worth of improvement from an xgen card when briefly looking at 1080p AMD is only able to extend their lead on Nvidia cards in terms of value and really there's no Nvidia GPU worth considering at this resolution at any price at or below 500 us what about in other regions well let's take a look at Value in Australia using the latest data from pck skin unlike in the United States where some models in low stock are still being sold at scalper prices there's a large chunk of models mostly in the high end that are simply out of stock or removed from listings this includes most of the previous generation high-end from AMD and Nvidia which does disrupt the high-end Market as you can no longer purchase a great value RX 6800 or 6800 XT in Australia looking at our 4K average data the best value high in GPU is the RX 7900 XTX from AMD if you have well over fifteen hundred dollars Aussie to spend it's the card that makes the most sense with Superior cost per frame compared to the RX 6950xt with that said locally the 7900 XTX is priced 29 higher for 35 more performance on average which is hardly a standout and continues the pricing issue for new models that we saw in the US market the RTX 4080 and 4090 are generally poor value in Australia failing to get near the RTX 3080 in cost per frame which is the most reasonably priced previous generation high-end model that's actually still available step below the 7900 XTX in the high end would be cards priced around fifteen hundred dollars Aussie which like in the US is the battle between the 7900 XT and RTX 4070 TI pricing for nvidia's newest GPU is actually quite reasonable in Australia considering the price of the RTX 4080 and its value the 4070 TI is cheaper than the 7900 XT and is therefore able to deliver equivalent cost per frame which when you add in nvidia's other features does make it the better buy people looking for more of a mid-range GPU will find the standout value choice is the RX 6700 XT which is pretty similar to what we saw in the United States the 6700 XT offers seven percent cheaper cost per frame than the 3060 TI and an 18 discount on the RTX 3070 per frame all of which perform in a similar tier this lead is extended slightly if you are more interested in 1440p than 4K gaming the Radeon option performs better relative to the GeForce options at this resolution in Australia AMD are also offering by far the best value models for entry level and mainstream buyers the 6650xt dominates the 3060 by offering better performance at 1440p but with an 80 discount leading to a 19 cheaper cost per frame the RTX 3050 locally is such horrific value its position in the 1440p chart is embarrassing coming in worse than the 7900 XT and around the mark of the RTX 3080 in value 1080p Gamers should also really only be considering AMD gpus in the mainstream at this point over in Europe the situation for value is pretty similar to other markets high-end Shoppers are faced with inflated pricing for the two models you'd probably be most considering in the RTX 4090 and RX 7900 XTX which are nowhere near MSRP at the moment this hurts their value and while the 7900 xdx is able to offer better cost per frame than the 4080 in Europe at the moment a better situation than in the US it's not as favorable for the Radeon card as in Australia and overall offers pretty average value the 7900 XT is a much better buy and comes in with slightly better cost per frame than the 4070 TI for those looking at a high-end experience but both are beaten by the 6950 XT which delivers a five percent discount per frame than the 7900 XT so yeah like the other regions it's not exactly a pretty picture for people wanting to buy in the 800 Euro plus price range the new options on the market are fairly mediocre in value and often beaten or equivalent in cost per frame value to previous gen high-end models the good news is that mid-range European Shoppers are treated to the same discounted AMD pricing as in the US and Australia this makes the 6700 XT the standout buy over the 3060 TI which here is also the best value in video product the rdna 2 card offers 10 cheaper cost per frame which is the best value proposition in favor of AMD in this price class across the regions we've looked at same story at 1440p where the 6700 XT is both faster and cheaper than the 3060 TI mainstream Shoppers again similar to other regions where the 6600 and 6650 XT are Far and Away the best choice compared to the 3060 and 3050 in the below 400 Euro price category there is really no reason to purchase the 3060 that offers 14 higher cost per frame than the 6650 XT while the 3050 is also atrocious value here across all of these markets the pricing of the 3050 is honestly quite bizarre it's just really really bad and yeah the 6500 XT is often not particularly well priced either but there's just something about the 3050 that has repelled good pricing since its launch even at 1080p you just can't make a case for buying the 3050 even if you were interested in nvidia's exclusive features and gave them Fair consideration so that's where GPU value is currently sitting across three regions and while there are a few differences between the US Europe and Australian markets we're seeing similar pricing Trends in each market segment the mainstream Market is looking really good at the moment in terms of overall value with cards in the sub 300 range offering the best value overall AMD are continuing to be aggressive on pricing with cards such as the Radeon RX 6600 sitting nearly a full tier below MSRP which definitely makes them worth considering as we wait for next Generation cards based on the pricing we saw from the latest high-end releases it doesn't seem like we'll be getting much of an improvement in cost per frame this generation at least for now so I think it's relatively safe to buy something like an RX 6600 knowing it's unlikely to be significantly beaten by a new model the mid-range is where Nvidia is most competitive and offers their best value product which right now is the RTX 3060 TI though generally speaking its cost per frame is not as strong as the competing Radeon 6700 XT and 6750 XT these models are the most at risk of being superseded by a future graphics card soon though their value is still quite strong so I think people buying now won't be stung too hard what does Sting the most is the higher landscape which is well not great to say the least when we looked at MSRP level pricing it's pretty clear that both Nvidia and AMD weren't overly interested in making a big step forward in value with the new RTX 40 and rx7000 series of gpus these new skus could have easily slotted into the previous series pricing structure offering big performance gains alongside big price increases I think this goes a long way to explain why people haven't been excited by these new launches and one model such as the 4070 TI and 7900xt are sitting on shelves with relatively low demand to make matters worse the two models that are the most interesting the RTX 49t and 7900 XTX are both only available at prices well above their MSRP in several regions this further reduces their value proposition to the level where it's just not worth considering them right now this isn't great especially for the 7900 XTX which at MSRP was positioned to be a better value version of the RTX 4080 now that it's priced more like thirteen hundred dollars in terms of stock you can actually buy right now it's well worse value than the RTX 4080 in cost per frame and the 4080 is a horrific card for value however there is plenty of time for AMD and Nvidia to adjust their price strategy and breathe some life interest and demand into the GPU Market slotting new cards into the existing price structure has been a fail so far when we start getting mid-range gpus it's clear those cards need to deliver standout value in my opinion this is what a 500 GPU needs to look like in 2023 based on current value and pricing Trends in effect this would be a vendor offering RTX 3080 12 gigabyte or RX 6800xt like performance at 500 us this would blow other models out of the water in value offering a 15 discount in cost per frame compared to the RX 6800 which is available around 500 right now while also giving a healthy boost relative to the Abundant RX 6700 series I don't even think this is particularly unreasonable given at launch the RTX 3070 offered a 27 discount in cost per frame relative to the similarly priced RTX 2070 super while also beating the RX 5700 XT in value by 16 percent a lesser but still possible Target for 500 performance would be the equivalent of the RTX 3080 offering a 10 discount per frame relative to the RX 6800 but it's questionable whether they would do that or the previous example when we look at an MSRP comparison here this mythical future GPU would deliver a 26 discount per frame relative to the RTX 3070 at the same launch MSRP so pretty similar to Ampere versus Turing in this price range however it would mean we're getting a card that's only 13 slower than the RTX 4070 TI at a 38 lower price which well it isn't in line with what either GPU brand has done so far this generation what seems more realistic is well this unfortunately a GPU that offers 5 more FPS than the RTX 3070 on average at the same price leading to a seven percent discount in cost per frame this is based on the RTX 470 TI offering a six percent discount per frame relative to the RTX 3080 at MSRP while also noting the similarity in cost per frame between the 7900 xdx and 6800 XT this sort of product would be better value than the RTX 3017 the current market but well hard to recommend overall and the same sort of mediocre step forward we've seen so far this generation hopefully fingers crossed we don't see that sort of poor product come to fruition but well I guess anything is possible these days based on the value we're seeing at the moment anyway that's it for this cost per frame analysis if you're interested in these sorts of videos we will have our GPU pricing update video coming very shortly where we look at pricing Trends over the last few months explore the used GPU market and all that sort of thing so stay tuned for that also if you want to support our independent testing and Analysis we do have our patreon and float plan accounts links in the description below you get access to all sorts of cool bonus stuff like our Discord Community which loves talking about how garbage some of the latest GPU pricing has been so thanks for watching I'll catch you in the next one [Music] thank you [Music]

Channel: Hardware Unboxed

Views: 286,336

Keywords: hardware unboxed

Id: 9kiOLC2Ca_I

Length: 22min 9sec (1329 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 17 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/NeoGPT]

Its funny that they never mention the 6700. It's so rare to to find videos comparing it to other gpus like this, wish it was shown more lol

[u/TalkWithYourWallet]

This is a good watch for anyone looking to actually buy right now and needs advice, as assuming you aren't a fan of the used market which is a perfectly valid

It highlights that actual street pricing is much more important than MSRP when you're actually considering what to buy, and that street pricing isn't where people want it to be

More importantly that AMD and Nvidia are pricing to what the market will pay, not what people want the prices to be , if anything AMD is worse looking at the 7900xtx (What is that pricing compared to the 4080)

The 4070ti and 7900xt also showing themselves as alright value on the actual market, which if you believe Reddit isn't the narrative

For my money, I'd be getting the 6600 for 1080P gaming, 6700xt/3060ti for 1440P, and the 4070ti for 4K gaming (DLSS 2 and 3 would swing me away from the 7900xt)

[u/[deleted]]

EU here, paid 660 pounds (805 US dollars or 744 Euros) for my 6900 XT in November 2022. 1440 165hz user.

The 6900 XT though is now not available from most places.

​

4.5 Euros per frame.

[u/PutridFlatulence]

I'd get a 6700XT for mid range, 4070TI @ MSRP for mid high range, and 4090 for high end, if you are looking to buy a new card and have warranty.

These two are raising their prices and margins to see if people bite. Its up to you to vote with your wallet. Want to keep paying these prices? I might nibble if the 4070ti drops to $699 or they do a refresh with 16GB of ram. Even $799 is slightly tempting but nah...not enough performance gain, too expensive.

If people keep throwing their money at these companies pretty soon we'll have a situation like apple where they have ridiculous margins because people pay stupid prices for their flagships.

[u/RedTuesdayMusic]

The best value GPU right now is the Acer Predator Arc A770 16GB, change my mind

[u/paulerxx]

6800XT's are $520 at my local Microcenter...Tf is this $850 pricing they listed.

9:08

[u/Livid_Ad_5609]

I have a question, my gtx970 died this month and im looking to buy a new gpu, i can find the 6650xt for 350 euros and the 6700xt for 450 euros, my other specs are 9600k and 16 gb ram 3000mhz with a 650w pw supply i play on 1080p. Is it safe to buy something now or i wait? and what should i buy? Thanks.

[u/Dumptac]

I got a used 1080Ti for ~$130, banger of a value. I was about to get the 6700xt as amd cards have fallen to great value in the last few months and I would have been equally happier.

[u/sayoislife]

Honestly, with the RX 5700XT going for way under $200 second hand, I wouldn't even entertain the idea of getting a GPU new right now.