The Best Graphics Cards Review For 2018

Your guide to the latest and best graphics cards of 2017. Check out our latest reviews and buyer's guide on the top graphics cards for games and virtual reality.

Your buying guide to the best graphics cards in 2018

Whatever your budget, there’s a bewildering array of options when it come to graphics cards. With multiple variations on a theme from each vendor, coupled with impenetrable acronyms and an unpronounceable product names, choosing a graphics card can be a daunting task.

But, stick to a few guidelines and the whole process becomes a lot easier.

If you want to upgrade your PC with a high-performance card for gaming you'll need to be willing to spend anything ranging from around £100 right up to as much as some might consider spending on an entire PC. Budget then, will be your first constraint.

AMD's current range is its RX 500 series of graphics cards, which is a relatively minor update to the RX 480, 470 and 460 from 2016. They are, in general, better value and faster than their predecessors and have a couple of new features including Radeon Chill that reduces power consumption.

However, keep an eye out for the 400-series cards as they can be as fast (or faster) in certain games, so if you spy one at a low price, it could be the better buy.

Plus, there's an entry-level model - the RX 550. This costs under £80 (although more for overclocked versions) and is aimed at e-sports gamers and will play titles such as CS:GO and League of Legends.

1080p resolutions and above :

If you want to play at 1080p resolutions with all the details turned up to 'Ultra' then you'll want something a lot more powerful, such as an Nvidia GTX 1070, 1070 Ti or 1080. AMD now has two cards to compete with Nvidia in the form of the Radeon RX Vega range. 

Many gamers won’t need a card with this level of performance, but high-quality gaming at 4K resolution, 3D, Virtual Reality, high refresh-rate displays and multi-monitor setups can all demand a huge amount of processing power, and in those situations such high-end cards are there to provide the grunt. Don’t worry, there are plenty of excuses you can use to justify your expensive purchase.