Best AMD GPU 2024 – our top Radeon graphics cards

AMD are now firmly in the GPU picture, so we've gathered up the best AMD GPUs for your consideration

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If you’re after the best AMD GPU, you’ve come to the right place. With Team Red providing good competition to Nvidia’s offering, then it is a good contender to be part of your next build. So with so many options or unfamiliarity, we try to make it straight and show off what it has to offer.

AMD has some of the best GPUs available offering up a great value and alternative to gamers around the world. Although in general, they might offer a lower encoding and ray tracing performance compared to an Nvidia GPU, the gaming performance is where it matters and it holds up well especially for the value they offer up. So here are some of the top recommendations for what AMD Radeon graphics cards have to offer.

Best GPU deals

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Best AMD GPUs

Nvidia’s RTX lineup might not cut it for you anymore so we bring you the latest range of RX 7000 series GPUs along with some older picks to choose from so you can find the right thing for you.

ASUS TUF Radeon RX 7900 XTX OC

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Best AMD graphics card

ASUS TUF Radeon RX 7900 XTX OC

Core Clock Speed

1,895 MHz base, 2,395 MHz shader & game, 2,565 MHz boost

Stream processors

6,144

Memory Size

24GB GDDR6

Dimensions

352.9 x 158.2 x 72.6 mm

PSU Required

850W

TBP

355W

How We Review

Hands-on Review

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Pros

• Great cooling solution that improves thermals and fan curves over reference
• Improved power management from an experienced brand
• High quality build and overclocked for top tier performance

Cons

• A slightly more expensive option for its better performance and quality

The new RDNA 3 architecture brings with it much improved performance and ability, and you can get the benefit of it from the RX 7900 XTX. Although the card is the flagship, it doesn’t quite reach the same levels as the RTX 4090. But still means it is a great option as an alternative and cheaper option to the Nvidia card. With a Navi 31 XTX variant in it, it is built with TSMCs 5 and 6nm processes. The card is split into an MCM with different packages. Which will improve the yield. With 57.7 billion transistors and a die size of 520mm².

The card can also reach a boost clock of 2,565 MHz and a game clock of 2,395 MHz. With the base clock at 1,895 MHz and a shader clock of 2,395 MHz. The GPU also comes with 24GB of GDDR6 memory across a 384-bit memory bus.

With all those high specs, it is capable of reaching high frame rates with 4k performance behind it. As we saw in our RX 7900 XTX review, the card performs well across the board. But even in the hard-hitting highest resolution provides a strong frame rate.

Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 7700 XT

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Best old gen AMD graphics card

Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 7700 XT

Core clock speed

1,900MHz, 2,171MHz Game, 2,544MHz max

Stream processors

3,456

Memory

12GB GDDR6

Dimensions

280 x 128.75 x 52.57 mm

PSU required

700W

TBP

245W

How We Review

Hands-on Review

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Pros

• Great performance for a sub $500 GPU 
• Well-designed cooling keeps temps at less than 85°C
• Sapphire Pulse keeps the price low without unnecessary extras

Cons

• Only $50 less than the RX 7800 XT which has better framerates
• Ray tracing performance is still lackluster, but much improved
• Relatively high power draw even compared to its predecessor

With the launch of AMD’s Radeon RX 7700 XT and 7800 XT cards, Team Red effectively lit the fire underneath Nvidia as far as mid-range gaming was concerned. With punchy, yet affordable gaming performance at 1440p, the RX 7700 XT represents a significantly good investment. Even compared to the last generation of cards.

AMD’s ray tracing performance is still considerably lackluster compared to that pumped out by the likes of NVIDIA’s dedicated hardware, however, that’s without a doubt a more limited gaming setting, and for most titles, the support for ray tracing is non-existent, with decent rasterized shadows producing equally comparable quality, usually at a far lower performance hit as well.

The RX 7700 XT MSRP is $50 cheaper than the 7800 XT and its NVIDIA competition, the RTX 4060 Ti, and for that alone, it makes it a perfect budget pick for those looking to amp up their gaming to the realms of 4K. In games like CyberPunk 2077, with ray tracing on at a modest level, you’re talking 79 fps on average at 1440p. Doom Eternal, another ray tracing title nets the RX 7700 XT a sweet 210 fps, and Far Cry 6 clocks in at 122 respectively as well.

Sapphire’s Pulse edition is also a fantastic AIB choice, with strong cooling performance throughout, keeping the card chilled at sub 85°C with plenty of headroom for some slight overclocking tweaks as well. The only downside (maybe, maybe not) is a lack of RGB or significant aesthetic detailing on the card itself. Although that could be a win if you prefer something a little less flashy. 

AMD’s RX 7700 XT is a fantastic choice for those looking to jump into 1440p gaming as we found in our review of the 7700 XT, and with an incredibly attractive price point, it makes it a no-brainer, even compared to last-gen’s RX 6800 XT and the competition.

MSI Gaming Radeon RX 7600 Mech 2X

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Best 1080p AMD graphics card

MSI Gaming Radeon RX 7600 Mech 2X

Core Clock Speed

1,720MHz base, 2,695 MHz OC boost, 2,280 MHz game

Stream processors

2,048

Memory Size

8GB GDDR6

Dimensions

235 x 125 x 47 mm

PSU Required

500W

TBP

165W

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Pros

• Overclocked model for improved performance offering
• Small size able to fit in most cases and avoids any sag

Cons

For the best AMD card for 1080p, there is an RDNA 3 option available. Moving away from the usual release lineup, the RX 7600 was the next to release after the flagship first launched. But it does provide good performance for budget gamers and those looking at HD graphics especially esports titles that will run fast on the lower-end card.

The card is built with the Navi 33 XL GPU variant on the RDNA 3 architecture. Made with TSMC’s 6nm process, it has a die size of 204mm² with 13.3 billion transistors on the monolithic die. It features 8GB of GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus clocked in at 18 Gbps to give a 288 GB/s bandwidth. The cores are made up of 2,048 shaders, 128TMUs, 64 ROPs, 32 CUs, and 32 RT cores.

For the clock speeds, the RX 7600 factory card comes with a base clock of 1,720MHz, a game clock of 2,655MHz, and a boost clock up to 2,655MHz. This requires a TDP of 165W with a suggested power supply of 450W that only needs one 8-pin connector. For the video output, it has one HDMI 2.1a and three DisplayPort 2.1 ports.

XFX Speedster SWFT 210 RX 6600

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XFX Speedster SWFT 210 RX 6600

Core Clock Speed

2491MHz Boost, 1626MHz Base

Stream Processors

1792

Memory Size

8GB GDDR6

Dimensions

241mm x 131mm x 41mm

PSU Required

550W

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Pros

• Budget friendly
• Sleek design

Cons

• Lower quality build

For the best budget option, the RX 6600 is the AMD GPU to go for. Although it might be limited in performance to just 1080p, you can rely on the use of FSR and RSR upscaling to push it further in what it can achieve in terms of framerates. With a launch during a period of highly inflated prices, it is now at a much better price point and offers a much better value than any newer options.

Built with the Navi 23 XL it is on the older RDNA 2 generation now. With TSMC’s 7nm process, it has 11.06 billion transistors on the 237mm² die size. This fits on 1,792 shading units, with 112 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 28 CUs, and 28 RT cores. Along with 8GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus clocked at 14Gbps for a 224GB/s bandwidth.

For the clock speeds, the RX 6600 factory setting has a 1,626MHz base frequency, with a boost of up to 2,491MHz, and a game clock of up to 2,044MHz. For the power required, it runs with a TBP of 132W and will only require a power supply rated for 450W. So it is small yet powerful for basic gaming performance as we found in our RX 6600 review.

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Things to consider

Let’s be honest; choosing the right graphics card for your specific needs is never an easy task. There are a tonne of key areas that you need to consider before coming to a final conclusion. Understanding how a product works and what to look for is something we take very seriously. We try to educate people on these areas as often as possible so they can make their own informed decisions.

So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at the areas we feel you should consider before purchasing a graphics card.

Price

The first, and potentially most important aspect of any hardware choice, is its price. That’s right, whether you’re looking at one of the latest gaming monitors or a high-end motherboard, you must ensure that it falls within your budget. Price is an interesting area when it comes to your PC’s GPU. Most people (unless you’re building a premium tier PC that isn’t restricted by budgetary requirements) try to stick to a strict price point. Which is exactly what you should be doing if you ask me.

However, what new PC builders may not be aware of is the current price of a graphics card in relation to the rest of the build. Let me give you an example. If you’re building a PC in the region of $1,000, you’d be expected to put at least $400-$500 aside for the graphics card. Yes, 50% of the overall budget. Even though that might sound a little crazy, it’s actually the smart way to go. The next section will explain this point further.

Performance

Most people reading this article will be seeking a graphics card for one of two reasons; they either need more graphical power for a gaming PC or a content creation PC. Most other tasks don’t require the need for a powerful GPU. Since games started to shift their performance demands from the CPU to the GPU, more people have been investing larger amounts of money in their graphics processors – something we should all be looking to do if the aim is higher in-game FPS.

Obviously, this isn’t the only factor that goes into your PC’s ability to run games, but it’s certainly the main contributing factor. The GPU, ultimately, controls what screen resolution your PC can handle, what frames your PC is likely to get, and how well it can render graphics in creation-type scenarios. This is why you must find the perfect balance between price and performance when selecting your next graphics card.

Figure out what games you want to play and at what graphical settings before jumping into a purchase. If you don’t, you might end up with a GPU that simply isn’t good enough for your needs.

Cooling

The next factor to consider before purchasing a GPU is the cooling system it comes equipped with. Cooling and performance go hand-in-hand when it comes to… well, most hardware components. That’s because when under stress or high load they tend to create heat – a lot of heat.

Heat will compromise your hardware’s efficiency levels and as a result, could lead to a lesser gaming experience. Believe me, no one wants that. For that reason, having the correct cooling is absolutely essential and an area that should be considered well in advance of your next GPU purchase.

Size

Finally, we have size. You might be thinking at this stage – bigger is always better. Thankfully, that isn’t always the case. When we reference size, we’re talking about the physical dimensions of a product. Some people aren’t always aware that graphics cards can vary in size dramatically – with budget offerings usually being much smaller than high-end offerings. Always make sure that your case has the capacity to accommodate the size of the GPU you’re looking to purchase.

Clock speeds

If you have any PC building experience then you probably already know what clock speeds mean. If you don’t, then don’t worry; they’re pretty easy to understand. Clock speed, or clock rate, is the speed at which your microprocessor (in this case, the GPU chip itself) runs. It basically refers to how fast your GPU performs instructions.

Each GPU is clocked at a different speed, meaning each one can perform tasks at different rates. Even though clock speed is one of the most important factors in a GPU purchase, it isn’t the sole factor that affects your in-game performance. That comes down to a number of factors.

VRAM

VRAM is your GPU’s video RAM (random access memory). It has a direct impact on how well your graphics card performs and how much data it can read at any one time.

VRAM is very similar to your computer RAM; it stores data that your GPU can access at any time in any order. The more VRAM you have, the more access you have to data without having to go via the CPU. Higher-resolution game formats require more VRAM, as do tasks like anti-aliasing. For that reason, we always recommend looking for at least 6GB of VRAM when purchasing a GPU.

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Which is AMD best GPU?

At the top of the ranks, the RX 7900 XTX is the AMD GPU to go for. With the new architecture in it, it has the advantage of good enhancements that bring it to the top.

What is the fastest AMD GPU?

The fastest GPU is the RX 7900 XTX. As the flagship of the RDNA 3 lineup, it can reach a boost clock of 2,500 MHz at reference, with custom cards reaching higher.

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Other AMD pages

If you’re looking to read more about AMD graphics cards, then we have a few pages to read up on what’s on offer.

• What does XT mean in AMD GPU?
• What is the fastest AMD GPU?
• How to update AMD GPU drivers

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Final word

So, there you have it; our comprehensive guide to the best AMD graphics cards available right now. It was pretty tough coming up with a definitive five, especially when you consider how closely matched some of the cards are. Ultimately, though, we feel we’ve done a pretty good job in narrowing down the options.

AMD has come a long way in the last 5-10 years when it comes to graphics cards and the architecture behind them. We’re just now seeing exactly what they can do with the new technology they have at their disposal. Hopefully, the trend continues and the battle for GPU hierarchy becomes as close as it has been between AMD vs Intel CPUs.