Best Gaming GPU

(This article is one of 16 parts in our Tech Awards 2025: Editor's Choice content series.)

NVIDIA’s GeForce GPUs remain the most widely used in the world (and so is its mindshare), but its dominance in 2025 isn’t as absolute as it once was. AMD has shifted its attention to the mainstream crowd instead of chasing the high-end 4K gaming throne, rolling out a strong alternative in that space. Yet the biggest surprise came from Team Blue, with Intel finally fielding a budget-friendly GPU that holds its own against both rivals in the entry-level gaming segment.

In over two decades of testing new gaming gear, none was as unique as the opportunities presented themselves in 2025. Taking this once-in-a-lifetime chance that aligns with our Tech Awards celebratory phase, we were able to pit various contenders for different gamers and budgets, and graphics fidelity to carve out distinct winners across three very different performance tiers:-

So without further ado, here are our “Best of Gaming” GPU nominees for 2025.

Nominees

1. Intel Arc B580 (12GB) / US$249
2. AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT (16GB) / US$349
3. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (8GB) / US$299
4. AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (16GB) / US$599
5. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (16GB) / US$749
6. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 (32GB) / US$1,999

Best 1080p Gaming GPU

For the budget-conscious gamers, you have, for the first time, three entirely credible options from the likes of AMD, Intel and NVIDIA. Such diversity was sorely lacking for the better part of the 21st century, but here we are in 2025 with Intel finally in the running, along with the big boys.

Apart from being price conscious, this category of nominees have be serious options for those relying on smaller screens and thus can easily get by gaming on 1080p resolution. The contenders in our three-way race were:-

• Intel Arc B580 (12GB) / US$249
• AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT (16GB) / US$349
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (8GB) / US$299

And the winner is...

Intel Arc B580 – Best 1080p Gaming GPU

Intel’s Arc B580 is truly a breath of fresh air for gamers on a tight budget, delivering far more than its price tag suggests. At US$249, it’s not just another entry-level GPU; it’s a card that punches above its weight with a 12GB VRAM configuration and offers headroom that NVIDIA and AMD’s equivalent cards simply don’t provide in this segment. That extra memory makes a tangible difference, letting gamers enjoy smoother 1080p gameplay while still holding its own in 1440p without compromising on graphical settings.

That said, the Arc B580 is not without its trade-offs – XeSS 2 is still not as widely supported as NVIDIA’s DLSS and its content creation performances is nothing to shout about – but for the target audience, those omissions aren’t likely to matter much anyway. What Intel offers instead is an honest, straightforward gaming card that delivers where it counts: performances that more than justifies its price tag, a manageable form factor, and overclocking potential.

Check out our full review here.

The Intel Arc B580 is available at Amazon and Newegg

Best 1440p Gaming GPU

Now, for those who’ve moved on to at least a 27-inch monitor, chances are, you would have also opted for a 1440p resolution screen to appreciate and make the best use of the added screen real estate. While many GPUs can technically push 1440p resolution, if the clause was smooth, fast, high refresh rate capable graphics card to power your gaming needs, complete with resolution enhancement technologies like AMD FSR or NVIDIA DLSS to refine your graphics fidelity, these are the very best contenders in the field:-

• AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (16GB) / US$599
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (16GB) / US$749

And the winner is...

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT – Best 1440p Gaming GPU

For gamers targeting 1440p performance with 4K aspirations, the Radeon RX 9070 XT is a fantastic alternative to NVIDIA’s mid-range GeForce RTX 5070 Ti cards. Its US$599 price point is especially appealing, delivering comparable performance while being significantly cheaper than the RTX 5070 Ti.

While NVIDIA’s DLSS 4 remains the superior AI upscaling and frame generation technology, AMD’s decision to equip its latest cards with 16GB of memory gives them an edge now and even for future game demands. FSR 4 is limited right now but it has great potential to finally rival DLSS, and if AMD continues refining it, the gap between its AI-powered upscaling tech and DLSS could narrow further.

Check out our full review here.

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is available at Lazada, Amazon and Newegg

Best 4K Gaming GPU

And the winner is...

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 – Best 4K Gaming GPU

It shouldn’t come as a shock that the GeForce RTX 5090 takes the crown for 4K gaming. With 32GB of high-speed GDDR7 memory and a staggering 21,760 CUDA cores, it not only delivers unrivalled gaming performance but also doubles up as the most capable consumer GPU for AI inferencing today. The RTX 5080 can hold its own at 4K, but the 5090 stands apart – it has enough raw horsepower to push most titles at maximum settings without leaning on NVIDIA’s DLSS. Part of this win comes by default, since AMD has shifted its focus to the mainstream market, leaving NVIDIA unchallenged at the very top. Still, the RTX 5090 earns its place as a genuine successor to the RTX 4090, and is also miles ahead of what AMD can offer at this juncture.

Check out our full review here.

For those who find the GeForce RTX 5090 either too expensive or you’re not getting stock on your preferred model, then check out the fairly capable and more readily available cousin, the GeForce RTX 5080. And, we’ve tested all eligible options here.

The other Contenders for the Best Gaming GPU

AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB

The Radeon RX 9060 XT doesn’t try to be something it’s not. It’s a budget-tier graphics card aimed squarely at gamers who just want smooth 1080p performance, decent thermal behaviour, and a card that won’t choke the moment you crank up the texture settings. And for the most part, it delivers. It trades blows with the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti in traditional rasterised games, and comfortably outpaces the GeForce RTX 5060 non-Ti card, especially in titles that push past 8GB of VRAM. The 16GB option gives it some breathing room for newer games, and while it doesn’t quite have an answer to DLSS 4’s Frame Generation, the performance you get without it is still pretty good. If it wasn’t for the Intel Arc B580’s ultra-competitive price point, the Radeon RX 9060 XT would be a cinch to win the Best 1080p Gaming GPU.

Check out our full review here.

AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB is available at Lazada and Amazon

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 8GB

GeForce RTX 5060’s launch has been far from smooth. Between delayed pre-launch drivers and wider frustration over NVIDIA’s segmentation strategy – which has seen multiple SKUs with similar names but vastly different specs, like the RTX 5060 Ti 8GB and 16GB – it’s easy to see why gamers’ reaction to this card has been negative. But if you tune out the online drama and look at the RTX 5060 on its own – as a budget 1080p gaming GPU – it honestly isn’t a bad card. In fact, on pure hardware terms, it does exactly what it needs to. Unfortunately, it’s 8GB for the non-Ti version and US$299 SRP makes it hard to recommend over the Intel Arc B580 and even AMD’s Radeon RX 9060 cards.

Check out our full review here.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 8GB is available at Amazon, Lazada and Newegg

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is arguably the most solid GPU offering from the RTX 50 Series, picking up where the 4070 Ti Super left off with a good performance boost while trimming US$50 off the launch price. Unlike the GeForce RTX 5080, which felt more like an incremental update over the RTX 4080 non-Super and Super cards and stuck with the same 16GB of memory, the 5070 Ti’s more “affordable” US$749 price tag and new 16GB offering seem like NVIDIA’s most sensible mainstream GPU in the RTX 50 Series. If NVIDIA-exclusive but impressive tech like DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation are important to you, then the RTX 5070 Ti could be the most bang for buck GPU in the RTX 50 Series family.

Check out our full review here.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB is available at Amazon, Lazada, Newegg and Techyard

Performance Figures of all GPUs Tested

Here’s a snapshot of how all the nominees performed from our testing.

(This article is one of 16 parts in our Tech Awards 2025: Editor's Choice content series.)

Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.