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I tested $200-ish GPUs from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel—but no matter who wins, budget gamers lose
(www.tomshardware.com)
this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2025
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Cards like Radeon 8GB RX 480 and Nvidia 6GB GTX 1060 were around $250 and were excellent lower midrange cards 8 years ago.
A lower midrange card like the Radeon 16GB RX 9060 is around $380. (Based on price today in Denmark)
So an increase of 50% in 8 years. Not nearly as bad as it has been in several periods in between, when for instance the modest RX 580 was above $500 due to mining, and midrange cards were essentially dead.
But the main problem is that a card like the 16GB RX 9060 is basically the entry point today, there are no good value options below that AFAIK.
Edit:
I was informed about the 12GB Intel Arc B580, which is both cheaper and better than the 8GB Radeon RX 9600 XT.
With the RX 9600 XT be SURE you get the 16 GB version.
The Arc B580 is pretty good for what it is. Yes it's worse than the RX 9060, but it's also about $100 cheaper. If you're playing at 1080p it's a perfectly valid choice.
I have to admit that the Arc cards have been a surprisingly bright point. Even the A310 I have currently installed in my media server is decently capable for its price.
AFAIK the Arc B580 is better and cheaper than the 8GB RX 9060, better as in faster in part because it has 12 GB RAM.
So right now B580 is probably the best value for money budget card.
I really hope Intel will continue to make Graphics cards, but it doesn't look so good.