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Gaming at 4K requires powerful GPUs, especially for ray tracing. So, we are showcasing some of the best GPUs you must buy for 4K gaming.
Gaming at 4K is considered the best because it delivers the ultimate experience, thanks to sharper visuals, higher clarity, and lower jagged edges, among other things. However, 4K resolution has about four times more pixels than 1080p. Therefore, you need a GPU that is roughly about four times more powerful to play at 4K, which reduces the number of options you have to choose from.
In this article, we have put together a list of some of the best GPUs you must buy for 4K gaming. You will find the list below.
Note: The list is subjective and reflects the writer’s opinion.
List of the Best GPUs for 4K Gaming
Buying a powerful GPU is an expensive affair. Some of the best GPUs, like the Nvidia RTX 5090 or 5080, tend to cost $3000 or $1500, respectively. However, other graphics cards can offer a decent 4K gaming experience without costing an arm and a leg. Here are a few options you should choose from:
1) Nvidia RTX 5090
Price: $3,500 to $4,000
The Nvidia RTX 5090 is the most powerful GPU you can buy for 4K gaming. One can argue that the new RTX 5090 is not worth it since it is way too expensive and barely stays in stock. However, the fact is that it is quite powerful, and if you manage to get one, then you have nothing to worry about.
Even the most demanding AAA will run above 60 FPS at the highest graphics settings. Turning on ray tracing will obviously lower the frame rate a bit, but DLSS will bring it back up. You cannot get a GPU better than this as of this writing.
| Specifications | Details |
| Architecture | Ada Lovelace |
| Shader cores | 16384 |
| RT cores | 128 |
| TMUs | 512 |
| ROPs | 176 |
| Base core clock speeds | 2235 MHz |
| Boost core clock speeds | 2520 MHz |
| Memory capacity | 24 GB (GDDR6X) |
| Memory bus width | 384-bit |
| Memory bandwidth | 1.01 TB/s |
| Manufacturing node | 5nm |
| Thermal design power (TDPs) | 450W |
2) Nvidia RTX 5080
Price: $1,500 to $2,000
If spending over $3,500 is a bit much for you, you should get the Nvidia RTX 5080 instead. It costs half as much as the RTX 5090 but can deliver 60 – 65% of its performance. Therefore, the RTX 5080 can easily provide a solid 4K@60FPS gaming performance that most gamers are looking for.
Some of the most popular AAA titles, like Cyberpunk 2077, The Last of Us, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Horizon Forbidden West, and more, can easily achieve 60 FPS at 4K resolution. However, if you want to play with ray tracing turned on, you will either have to lower the resolution or utilize DLSS 4.
| Specifications | Details |
| Architecture | Blackwell |
| Shader cores | 10752 |
| RT cores | 84 |
| TMUs | 336 |
| ROPs | 112 |
| Base core clock speeds | 2295 MHz |
| Boost core clock speeds | 2617 MHz |
| Memory capacity | 16 GB (GDDR7) |
| Memory bus width | 256-bit |
| Memory bandwidth | 960.0 GB/s |
| Manufacturing node | 5nm |
| Thermal design power (TDPs) | 360W |
3) AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT
Price: $850 to $950
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is currently available for under $900 at many retailers, which is significantly lower than the cost of the RTX 5080. However, the Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers more than 90% of what the RTX 5080 achieves in many modern games, making it a far more attractive choice at this price range.
AMD has also improved its ray tracing performance significantly and is closer to Nvidia’s performance than ever before. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is an excellent choice for 4K gaming at this price range.
| Specifications | Details |
| Architecture | RDNA 4 |
| Shader cores | 4096 |
| RT cores | 64 |
| TMUs | 256 |
| ROPs | 128 |
| Base core clock speeds | 1660 MHz |
| Boost core clock speeds | 2970 MHz |
| Memory capacity | 16 GB (GDDR6) |
| Memory bus width | 256-bit |
| Memory bandwidth | 644.6 GB/s |
| Manufacturing node | 4nm |
| Thermal design power (TDPs) | 304W |
4) Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti
Price: $800 to $900
If you want AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT-like performance from an Nvidia GPU, you can get the Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti. Its performance is close to the Radeon 9070 XT and has the same 16GB of memory. Therefore, it can achieve 60 FPS at 4K resolution in many games, including competitive and AAA titles. However, you must turn down a few settings to achieve this. Or, you can enable DLSS to get a solid 60 FPS in some games.
| Specifications | Details |
| Architecture | Blackwell |
| Shader cores | 8960 |
| RT cores | 70 |
| TMUs | 280 |
| ROPs | 96 |
| Base core clock speeds | 2295 MHz |
| Boost core clock speeds | 2452 MHz |
| Memory capacity | 16 GB (GDDR7) |
| Memory bus width | 256-bit |
| Memory bandwidth | 896.0 GB/s |
| Manufacturing node | 5nm |
| Thermal design power (TDPs) | 300W |
5) AMD Radeon RX 9070
Price: $700 to $800
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the cheapest GPU on this list, but don’t let that fool you. This graphics card can deliver a decent 4K gaming experience, thanks to its 16 GB of memory and FSR 4 upscaling technology. Achieving 60 FPS won’t be a problem unless you apply Ultra graphics settings in the game. With optimized settings in the game, most games will run smoothly. If you are on a budget, you cannot get a GPU better than this at this price range.
| Specifications | Details |
| Architecture | RDNA 4 |
| Shader cores | 3584 |
| RT cores | 56 |
| TMUs | 224 |
| ROPs | 128 |
| Base core clock speeds | 1330 MHz |
| Boost core clock speeds | 2520 MHz |
| Memory capacity | 16 GB (GDDR6) |
| Memory bus width | 256-bit |
| Memory bandwidth | 644.6 GB/s |
| Manufacturing node | 4nm |
| Thermal design power (TDPs) | 220W |
Final Thoughts
This concludes the list of some of the best GPUs you can choose from for 4K gaming. The Nvidia RTX 5090 is obviously the best choice if you have the budget for it, but if you don’t, others like the RTX 5080 and AMD Radeon 9070 XT are also great alternatives. Choose a GPU that best suits your needs and performance requirements.
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