This year’s journey in the graphics card market has been a rollercoaster of advancements and challenges, particularly marked by the introduction of the NVIDIA RTX 40-series and AMD Radeon 7000 series. These launches were not without their trials, as both AMD and NVIDIA navigated through rough receptions of their lower-tier offerings. Despite these initial setbacks, AMD made commendable advancements with its RDNA 3 microarchitecture, especially in enhancing hardware-accelerated ray tracing capabilities. Although AMD’s progress is noteworthy, NVIDIA continues to lead in this technology. Both companies have also concentrated their efforts on refining technologies such as FSR 3.0 and DLSS 3.5, which are crucial for resolving frame pacing issues and ensuring smoother gameplay experiences.
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The future of the graphics card market appears to be entering a quieter phase. Predictions for 2024 suggest a relative calm in the segment, with major releases from NVIDIA and AMD expected only in the latter half of the year or the year after. These forecasts stem from rumours and industry speculations. For instance, whispers within the tech community suggest that AMD might be reallocating its focus towards the development of RDNA 5, potentially putting some RDNA 4 designs on the back burner. In a similar vein, NVIDIA’s leaked roadmap hints at a next-generation launch set for 2025, indicating a less eventful 2024 when considering graphics cards for gamers. On another front, Intel’s discrete GPU endeavours, marked by quiet launches, have yet to disrupt the market or secure a substantial share.
Price: ₹1,10,000
Claiming the top spot this year is the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. This graphics card has made significant leaps in both raster and ray-tracing performance. AMD’s previous offerings in ray tracing were not industry-leading, so the generational improvement seen in the RX 7900 XTX is quite substantial. However, it’s worth noting that when it comes to real-world applications i.e. video games, AMD’s ray-tracing still has some catching up to do. This gap is partially bridged by AMD’s FSR technology.
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The card initially launched to moderate fanfare, but subsequent price adjustments and driver updates have notably enhanced its performance, with some reports indicating up to a 20 per cent increase in FPS. Power efficiency, a common point of contention in high-end GPUs, is not particularly remarkable in either of the competing cards. However, what ultimately clinched the win for the RX 7900 XTX was its approximate 2 per cent performance advantage over the RTX 4080, coupled with its more competitive pricing.
Runner Up: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 (Buy now)
Price: ₹1,35,000
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, despite being narrowly outperformed by the AMD RX 7900 XTX, excels in games that utilise hardware-accelerated ray tracing. It doesn’t boast as much VRAM as its AMD counterpart, but it remains highly competitive in high-resolution gaming scenarios. The card’s future potential and performance gains are likely to hinge on the advancements NVIDIA makes in their DLSS technology, paralleling AMD’s developments in FSR. Honestly speaking, if you want more ray tracing eye candy, then NVIDIA cards currently have the advantage.
Price: ₹31,000
The ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 OC Edition 8GB GDDR6 earns the Best Buy accolade. There was a time when 60-class GPUs were considered affordable, but times have changed, and these cards now command a premium, being approximately 1.5 times more expensive than their predecessors. Despite this, the RTX 4060 stands out for its value proposition, particularly in the realm of 1080p gaming.
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It was a close call between this card and the RX 7600, both of which offer limited VRAM but excel in their respective price-to-performance ratios. The RTX 4060’s edge came from its greater market availability and the resulting competitive pricing. For gamers who prioritise value for money, the ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 OC Edition is an unbeatable choice.
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