Things you need to know before buying a new graphics card

The graphics card market has stabilised after three long years of global supply chain issues and crypto-boom, and a lot of people have started considering buying a GPU/ building a PC lately. But buying a graphics card (GPU) can be incredibly challenging if you are just starting in the world of gaming or graphics-heavy productivity work. Words like 'clock speed,' 'memory bandwidth,' 'GPU architecture' and complex naming schemes can catch a newbie off-guard, but you may be surprised to know that you may not even need them!

So, how should a layperson go about purchasing a graphics card? What kind of budget should you have when buying a graphics card? Do you need to understand specific categorisations or certain brands? In this article, we will provide you with all the basic know-how you need to get started.

How much should you spend on a new graphic card?

Deciding how much you want to spend on a graphics card is the most crucial factor. Your GPU (graphics processing unit) requirement entirely depends on your intended use, and a lot of people need to correct this area when they first decide to buy a GPU. Most people buy GPUs for gaming, and the most popular gaming category is '1080p', a term popularised after the monitor resolution of 1920*1080p, which is what most people use in everyday life. Here are some categories for GPUs according to their price level for your better understanding.

Category 1: Entry-level GPU options

If you have financial constraints and are content with gaming on slightly older yet enjoyable games, opting for a wallet-friendly GPU priced between BDT 14,000 to 18,000 is a suitable choice. You can also play modern titles with these GPUs if you are okay with sacrificing a bit of graphic details.

Category 2: Mid-range GPU investment

For those willing to invest more for good graphic details and longer-term gaming performance, a mid-range GPU priced at approximately BDT 26,000 to 30,000 is recommended. This investment ensures smooth gameplay at high graphics quality for several years to come, making it a worthwhile choice for 1080p gaming builds.

Category 3: High-end GPU for enhanced resolution

For gamers seeking to elevate their gaming experience to a higher resolution like 1440p (2560*1440p), opting for a more powerful GPU is necessary. These GPUs, priced between BDT 40,000-70,000, cater to individuals with specific gaming preferences or professionals utilising graphics cards for specialised applications such as professional video rendering or doing architecture projects.

Keep in mind: When planning your gaming PC or a professional workstation, keep the GPU on top of your financial priority as it is the most important component impacting gaming and rendering performance. If top-notch performance is your goal, always give your GPU the spotlight—even if it means passing up on fancy RGB RAMs or other aesthetic considerations.

Should you worry about lesser-known brands?

This might sound sacrilegious as we all prefer to buy electronic items from reputed brands, but this doesn't apply in the same way to GPU brands. There are currently only three companies that design consumer-level graphics cards, which are: Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. All the other brands in the market take the reference GPUs from these three companies and design some of the internal circuits and cooling solutions with their engineering units.

This is an extremely sophisticated process, and only companies with the exact resources to accomplish it can operate in the market. That's why it is very rare to encounter an online discussion thread where users refer to a GPU brand as 'bad' or 'unreliable'. So, if you come across lesser-known companies or companies that you are not familiar with, don't get worried thinking that their products will be a 'bad purchase'. Sometimes buying from lesser-known brands can save you some extra bucks, even though retailers will try to have you believe otherwise because of the higher margins they get from selling the more expensive GPUs from the famous brands.

Ignore the fancy details: You don't need them

It's usual for inexperienced buyers to get lost in the fancy technical terms of GPU specifications, but knowing these is not very necessary to buy a graphics card. Different generations of graphics cards are built on different architectures, and it's not possible to directly compare different GPUs across different architectures. So don't get worked up on the technical details such as 'clock speed' or 'memory bandwidth'. Watching some reviews or benchmarks will serve you just fine.

Current market: Our suggestions

Even after considering everything above, buying a GPU in the Bangladeshi market can prove difficult. Our GPU market is very saturated, and there are not many decent options available at the starting price points. Here are our GPU suggestions from different price ranges. Keep in mind that pricing and availability might differ across stores.

PELADN RX 580 8G (for budget gaming)

Price: BDT 14,000/-

This AMD card has aged gracefully over the years, delivering very playable performance even in the latest games with low to mid graphic details in 1080p, and you can play older God of War titles or Red Dead Redemption 2 with good details.

AMD RX 5500XT 8GB 

Price: Around BDT 19,000/-

The AMD RX 5500XT 8GB GPU in the mentioned price would be another decent choice, but other widely available AMD GPUs like the 6500XT or 6400XT might not be as favourable in their current market price range.

AMD RX 580 4 GB (cheapest 1080p option)

Price: Around BDT 11,000/-

If you are on an even tighter budget, we suggest you opt for the 4GB version of the RX 580. The 4GB version might come up short in some of the titles as 4GB VRAM is not always enough for graphic details. If you are planning to play older games or first-person shooters like Valorant or Counter-strike, opting for the 4GB one might even save you some money.

Keep in mind that right now, the Nvidia graphics cards in this price segment might not be helpful purchases considering their market prices. There are Nvidia cards like the GTX 1630 or GTX 1650 retailing for well over BDT 18,000, and these will provide objectively worse performance than the RX 580.

Intel ARC A750 8 GB (for future-proof gaming)

Price: BDT 29,000/-

Our recommendation for the most well-rounded and future-proof GPU is the Intel ARC A750 8 GB. Other cards with similar performance metrics will cost you around BDT 35,000 to 40,000, such as the AMD RX 7600 or the Nvidia RTX 3060. The A750 can play any demanding title with heavy graphics details at 1080p, and this card is also very good for graphics-heavy productivity workloads such as video rendering.

Intel has recently entered the GPU market as only the third consumer-level GPU designer-manufacturer. The Intel cards initially struggled with software updates and optimisation, but after several updates, these cards are finally delivering very stable performance.

AMD RX 6600

Price: Around BDT 26,000/-

This AMD card could be another decent option for 1080p gaming if you need to save the extra 3k that would have cost from buying an ARC A750. This card can play any title at 1080p with good graphic details. But if your budget permits, then we would suggest spending that extra money as the performance uplift is significant and as an investment for the future. 

Are there other alternatives?

The only other GPU available at the BDT 30,000 price point is the Nvidia RTX 3050, which has significantly worse performance metrics than the Intel ARC A750. There used to be a clear Nvidia GPU supremacy for productivity work, and Nvidia has long exploited its market position to increase its GPU prices. But currently, the Intel cards have proven to be reliable options in this regard.

Always remember that making informed purchasing decisions for computer parts has never been easier. We suggest that you always spend a little bit of time researching before you buy any product, and this practice will leave you better off every time.