Introduction
All of the current-gen graphics cards that we’ve seen release on the market within this past year have been rather expensive. AMD and NVIDIA have set the pricing bar rather high, which means the vast majority of the SKUs that you can purchase, are not by any means cheap. This does raise concerns when it comes to the next-gen GPU options, but we’re hoping that both of these manufacturers will gain some sense before the latest cards come to market.
However, if you’re the kind of consumer that’s willing to shell out a bit more money for your GPU, you’ll be greeted with some highly powerful cards. Many of the high performance graphics cards tend to sit around the $500 mark, or higher, which means that $700 is an ideal price point to secure you more bang for your buck. But what are these cards? And which ones are the best options to choose in such a volatile and confusing market?
In this buyers guide, we’ll be answering these very questions, with a roundup of the best graphics cards that you can buy, sitting under the $700 mark. All of these cards will be geared towards mid-range and high-end systems striving to ensure the best performance possible.
Suggested Article: Best Budget Graphics Cards to Buy in 2023
Our Recommendations
1. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB
👑 The best 16GB NVIDIA card under $700.
The first card in this roundup is the 4060 Ti, but more specifically, the 16GB version. This particular card is unfortunately one of those options that seemed to be ‘dead on arrival’ due to NVIDIA‘s poor pricing. Geared towards the more budget, or price conscious mid-range side of the market, this card was simply too expensive. However, if you’ve got a bit more money to spend, the 4060 Ti doubles down on VRAM, making it ideal for modern titles that need a little bit more capacity, in order to handle increased performance demands.
Key Specs
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB |
|---|---|
| Base Clock (GHz): | 2.31 |
| Boost Clock (GHz): | 2.54 |
| Memory Size: | 16GB |
| Bus Width | 128-Bit |
| Memory Type: | GDDR6 |
| NVIDIA Architecture: | Lovelace |
| NVIDIA DLSS: | DLSS 3 |
| NVIDIA Frame Generation: | Yes |
| NVIDIA Ray-Tracing: | Yes |
| PCI Express Gen 4: | Yes |
| Graphics Card Power (W) | 115 |
| Required/Recommended System Power (W) | 550 |
Things We Like
Should be able to handle modern games: The 4060 Ti 16GB has a larger capacity than most other cards releasing in today’s market. Having more VRAM should assist with more demanding triple A titles.
Decent Ray-Tracing capability: All of NVIDIA’s RTX 4000 cards offer pretty decent performance when Ray-Tracing is enabled. Although you’ll have to dumb down your settings a bit, you should be able to enjoy Ray-Traced games without any major performance loss.
Things We Don’t Like
Would benefit from a wider memory bus: Although the RTX 4060 Ti has a wider VRAM capacity in comparison to most other cards, it would greatly benefit from a wider memory bus to improve data transfer rates. This would ensure the longevity of the card as gaming performance demands increase.
Expensive considering the performance: The RTX 4060 Ti was not the best received card, and this 16GB version is more of an expensive variant of the cheaper 8GB card. Overall performance could be better considering how expensive this GPU is, versus the rest of the market.
Summary
NVIDIA’s RTX 4060 Ti 16GB card is a great option for those looking to play the latest and greatest titles, at a 1080p or 1440p resolution. Whilst this GPU is a little bit weaker when it comes to performance metrics versus the price, it should serve as a decent mid-range graphics card that can handle Ray-Tracing pretty well.
Features: 4.1/5
Architecture: 4.5/5
Performance: 4.1/5
Value for Money: 3.8/5
Pros
- Increased VRAM capacity should help with modern games.
- Solid Ray-Tracing capability.
- Ideal for 1080p and 1440p gaming.
Cons
- Poor performance versus pricing.
- Would benefit from a wider memory bus.
Where to Buy
Buy the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti on:
2. AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
👑 The best 4K capable AMD card under $700.
AMD‘s RX 6800 XT is the second card in our roundup, and is one of the best options for those looking to play games at 4K. This GPU is part of the previous generation’s Radeon 6000 range. We’ve seen some major performance lifts with Radeon 6000 cards recently, making them an extremely compelling choice if you’re looking to pick up a modern GPU capable of playing the newest games at 4K high settings, the 6800 XT is definitely worth considering. Whilst this card isn’t the newest option on the market right now, it is extremely well priced versus a plethora of alternatives.
Key Specs
| Spec | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT |
|---|---|
| Base Clock (GHz): | 1.82 |
| Boost Clock (GHz): | 2.65 |
| Memory Size: | 16GB |
| Memory Type: | GDDR6 |
| AMD Architecture: | RDNA 2 |
| AMD FSR: | Yes |
| AMD Super Resolution: | Yes |
| AMD Radeon Software: | Yes |
| PCI Express Gen 4: | Yes |
| Graphics Card Power (W) | 300 |
| Required/Recommended System Power (W) | 750 |
Things We Like
Perfect for 4K gaming: The RX 6800 XT is ideal for 4K games, and should easily be able to withstand the modern performance demands we’ve seen with new games. If you’ve got a high refresh rate 4K display, this GPU will be perfect to enjoy your games at buttery smooth framerates.
Well priced: This GPU is one of many AMD cards that has significantly dropped in price over time, making it one of the best value options on the market. The 6800 XT is available for well under $600 for a brand new GPU.
Things We Don’t Like
Requires a higher wattage PSU: The 6800 XT is a rather powerful card, this needs to be said. Because of this, you’ll want to pick up a 750W PSU as a minimum. Although some 750W power supplies can be pretty cheap, you may see yourself spending over $100 to secure a decent unit.
Most AIB options are quite large: We’re in a bit of a strange market with GPU sizes at the moment, with many modern cards causing case clearance and installation problems. Unfortunately, the 6800 XT does follow suit in terms of size, with many AIB cards sitting well over 300mm out of the box.
Summary
The Radeon RX 6800 XT from AMD is currently one of the best 4K capable graphics cards on the market. It comes in at a more than reasonable price point versus the competition, and its only major downside is that the majority of these cards can be quite large. But despite this, the 6800 XT serves as an excellent value option for 4K gaming.
Features: 4.3/5
Architecture: 4.3/5
Performance: 4.6/5
Value for Money: 4.6/5
Pros
- Perfect for top-end 4K gaming.
- Extremely competitive pricing.
- Will be able to handle modern top-end titles.
Cons
- AIB cards can be quite large.
- Requires a higher wattage PSU.
Where to Buy
Buy the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT on:
3. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
👑 The best 4K capable NVIDIA card under $700.
Next up is the RTX 4070. This is another somewhat controversial choice, but we believe it is one of NVIDIA‘s stronger options in the market right now. NVIDIA hasn’t had a great track record with their RTX 4000 cards thus far, but the 4070 is a decent value choice for those looking to play 4K and 1440p games, perhaps with Ray-Tracing enabled. This card comes in with an MSRP of $600, which is pricier than we’d like it to be, but versus other cards at the same price point, the 4070 is a solid option. The biggest bonus of the 4070 SKU is that these AIBs are generally smaller, and that the RTX 4070 is a very strong competitor when it comes to Ray-Tracing.
Key Specs
| Spec | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 |
|---|---|
| Base Clock (GHz): | 1.92 |
| Boost Clock (GHz): | 2.48 |
| Memory Size: | 12GB |
| Memory Type: | GDDR6X |
| NVIDIA Architecture: | Ada Lovelace |
| NVIDIA DLSS: | 3.0 |
| NVIDIA Frame Gen: | Yes |
| NVIDIA Reflex: | Yes |
| PCI Express Gen 4: | Yes |
| Graphics Card Power (W) | 200 |
| Required/Recommended System Power (W) | 650 |
Things We Like
Solid 4K performance: The RTX 4070 is the lowest priced SKU that NVIDIA offer that can cope with 4K games. If you’re looking to play some of your favourite titles at a 4K resolution with some Ray-Tracing enabled, this GPU is a great option to do it with.
Can leverage DLSS 3 technology: DLSS 3 is NVIDIA’s newest piece of tech that allows you to upscale the quality and resolution of your game, but by redrawing it with AI. This reduces the amount of strain and overhead that your GPU will need to deal with at a higher resolution.
Things We Don’t Like
Could be priced better: The biggest caveat to the RTX 4070 is that it wasn’t priced particularly well. Consumers can expect to pick up this GPU for around $600 or higher. Considering the performance metrics of this card, I do feel it should be somewhat cheaper.
MSRP cards can be hard to pick up: The RTX 4070 wasn’t a particularly popular card during its initial release, but any cards that have sold were primarily the MSRP variants. This means that stocking can be a bit lighter for these cards, making the more reasonably priced ones harder to pick up.
Summary
NVIDIA’s RTX 4070 is an awesome 4K capable graphics card, offering solid Ray-Tracing performance too. This GPU should be able to handle modern games without any problems, making it a worthwhile GPU to take a look at. It is a pricier option in comparison to some of the market alternatives, but if you’re willing to shell out for this card, we’d definitely recommend considering it.
Features: 4/5
Architecture: 4.4/5
Performance: 4.3/5
Value for Money: 4.2/5
Pros
- Perfect for a 4K gaming system.
- Handles Ray-Tracing very well.
- Can utilise NVIDIA’s suite of technologies.
Cons
- Pricing isn’t amazing.
- MSRP priced cards are much harder to pickup.
Where to Buy
Buy the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 on:
4. AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT
👑 The best performing graphics card under $700.
For our final recommendation of this roundup, we’ve picked out the 6950 XT from AMD, an absolute titan of a GPU. The ’50’ refresh of AMD cards have seen some major uplifts in performance, but more importantly improved pricing too. The 6950 XT is particularly standout, as this card can be picked up for close to half the price of its original MSRP price tag, making it one of the best value options on the market right now. Consumers can expect absolutely exceptional performance across the board, in 4K and Ray-Traced games. This GPU will be a go-to option for users wanting to play the latest games at maxed out settings.
Key Specs
| Spec | AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT |
|---|---|
| Base Clock (GHz): | 1.89 |
| Boost Clock (GHz): | 2.31 |
| Memory Size: | 16GB |
| Memory Type: | GDDR |
| AMD Architecture: | RDNA 2 |
| AMD FSR: | 2.0 |
| AMD Super Resolution: | Yes |
| PCI Express Gen 4: | Yes |
| Graphics Card Power (W) | 335 |
| Required/Recommended System Power (W) | 850 |
Things We Like
Ideal for a top-end system: The Radeon RX 6950 XT is one of AMD‘s best graphics cards, offering top-end performance in pretty much everything you throw it at. If you’re looking to max out your games, or push your PC with some more complex workloads, the 6950 XT will pair very well.
Competitively priced: This GPU has seen some major price drops since its release back in May 2022, and we expect prices to keep dropping over time. Consumers can secure this card for nearly half its original MSRP price point.
Things We Don’t Like
Ray-Tracing does take a hit in certain titles: Although AMD’s cards have come a long way in the Ray-Tracing department, they haven’t quite caught up to NVIDIA‘s reign. Performance may take a slight hit if you’re maxing out your games with this setting enabled.
Requires a high wattage PSU: The minimum PSU recommendation for this graphics card is 850W, which could set you back a fair bit of cash. If you’re not wanting to spend a fortune on a PSU as well as your GPU, we’d urge you to look at some less power-intensive options.
Summary
AMD’s Radeon RX 6950 XT is one of the best cards on the market right now, geared towards enthusiast level consumers that need the best performance money can buy. If you’re in need of a GPU that can handle everything at maxed out settings, the 6950 XT will not disappoint.
Features: 4.4/5
Architecture: 4.4/5
Performance: 4.7/5
Value for Money: 4.8/5
Pros
- Perfect for top-end enthusiasts systems.
- Can handle maxed out settings with ease.
- Very well priced versus the alternatives.
Cons
- Requires a higher wattage power supply.
- Performance losses with Ray-Tracing enabled.
Where to Buy
Buy the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT on:
AMD or NVIDIA?
The ‘Team Red vs Team Green’ argument will stand the test of time, and always comes up when you’re choosing a graphics card. Although Intel will be able to throw their hat into the mix at some point, their current GPUs don’t quite live up to the same standard that AMD‘s, or NVIDIA‘s do. But without veering off the subject too much, which is the better manufacturer out of these two titans? Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as choosing a victor, because they both have their own key areas where they win, but falter at the same time. Instead of deciding on who is better, I’ll instead be briefly discussing the pros and cons of each manufacturer’s GPU options.
First up is Team Red. AMD has been considered the budget kings for quite some time, and although their current-gen prices don’t exactly echo this, they’re still much better than NVIDIA’s. Effectively, if you’re looking to pick up a cheaper graphics card, AMD is normally the go-to option. Their cards hold up very well versus NVIDIA options, they have a range of SKUs that cover all target areas of the market, and their drivers are very good.
AMD’s biggest downfall however, is that they can’t hold a candle to NVIDIA when it comes to pillar technologies. Tech like DLSS, Ray-Tracing, and Reflex are some of the biggest deciding factors for many consumers looking to buy a GPU. And although AMD have come pretty far with their competitive FSR tech, and Ray-Accelerating units, they’re just not as strong as NVIDIA. NVIDIA win in the performance bracket, and they always have done.
Speaking of Team Green, NVIDIA is a name that everybody will recognise in the PC gaming and hardware space. If you’ve ever built a PC before, or even bought a prebuilt, you will be familiar with them. This is ultimately because they control much of the graphics card space with their exceptional hardware. NVIDIA cards have been a mainstay in the Steam Hardware Survey for a huge amount of time, and NVIDIA’s newer cards have only bolstered these numbers with newer and more powerful additions. This goes to show that NVIDIA are kings of performance, with many consumers picking up their top-end cards to ensure the most amount of frames possible.
But despite their superior performance metrics, NVIDIA’s biggest problem at the moment is pricing, or another way of putting it would be ‘poor value for money’. Whilst the RTX 4090 is the best card you can buy right now, it is over $1500, which is out of the reach for most consumers. And unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. As we move further down the models, even with their newest SKUs, the prices are just plain bad. No one is going to spend $300 on an RTX 4060 when they can buy a Radeon 7600 that performs better sometimes and is cheaper in comparison. Needless to say, while NVIDIA do reign supreme in terms of performance, pricing is not their strong suit.
Why You Can Trust Us
We have a team of passionate PC hardware and gaming enthusiasts are always on hand to test and evaluate a wide range of products. Along with gaming benchmarks and other testing methods, we’ll analyse all aspects of a product to forge a general overview of its quality and value. The results are then relayed onto our audience through YouTube videos and written content. If you’re keen to learn more about our team or editorial promise, head over to the ‘About Us’ section.
How We Tested the Best Graphics Cards Under $700
In order to test and evaluate the best GPUs under $700, there are a number of factors that we take into account, these are:
- Performance
- Architecture
- Thermals
- Aesthetic
- Value for Money
Conclusion
Best Graphics Card Under $700: AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT
The Radeon RX 6950 XT is one of AMD‘s best graphics cards. And although this GPU is a previous generation option, it does pack a massive punch. Consumers can expect unhindered 4K gaming performance, solid metrics in Ray-Traced titles, at a price that I’d say is extremely affordable for this calibre of GPU.
Read our full read our AMD Radeon 6000 coverage, or Buy the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT on Amazon
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these Cards Capable of 4K Gaming?
All of the GPUs in this roundup other than the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB, will be capable of playing games at 4K. While the 4060 Ti does have more VRAM allowing consumers to enjoy a higher resolution, the weaker memory bus width is what lets this card down.
Is DLSS Better than FSR?
Yes it is. While FSR has come a long way, and there are a huge number of games that support it, DLSS is just better overall. There’s fewer problems, and generally speaking, more games that support it.
Is Ray-Tracing Worth It?
Generally speaking no. Although there are many games that make use of Ray-Tracing tech that do benefit from it, the difference either isn’t that noticeable, or the performance loss is too much while Ray-Tracing is turned on.
Are Founders and Reference Models Worth It?
Yes they are. Although these cards may be a bit weaker thermally, they’re often cheaper than their respective AIB counterparts.
