Best graphics card buy in September 2024

Last spring, we did an analysis of the price situation for graphics cards, where the aim was to determine which model at the time gave the most performance for the money. It was an interesting and fun exercise, showing that graphics cards that were dismissed as uninteresting at launch due to too high a price tag could be seen in a whole new light thanks to lucrative promotions and more aggressive pricing.

As the next generation of graphics cards from AMD, Nvidia and Intel are not expected to appear until the beginning of 2025, we thought it would be in order with an updated analysis before the fall. Promotions and sales have come and gone in recent months while new ones have been added, and so the situation may look noticeably different now than it did in April.

The goal of this article, just like April’s edition, is to survey the current retail price situation for the graphics cards on the market and figure out which model offers the most performance for the money. This means that we do not start from the graphics card manufacturers’ recommended prices, but rather look at cards that are on sale or sold especially cheaply by individual stores.

To link performance figures to the prices, SweClocker’s performance index for graphics cards is used, which can be seen in its entirety in the expandable box above. SweClocker’s performance index is an average of the performance measured from twelve different games at the resolutions 1,920 × 1,080 (1080p), 2,560 × 1,440 (1440p) and 3,840 × 2,160 (4K UHD) pixels.

It is worth noting that the figures from this index are only based on screening performance from the respective graphics card. By raster performance we mean that modern rendering techniques such as ray tracing are not activated – a technology that affects performance more negatively on AMD’s cards compared to, for example, Nvidia’s. With that said, we have ray tracing-performance taken into account in our analysis of the results as well as the purchase recommendations presented at the end of the article.

Most performance per kroner under 5,000 kroner for gaming at 1080p

We start by looking at graphics cards that cost under SEK 5,000 and are suitable for gaming at 1080p resolution with high detail settings, where the breakpoint used is that the models land below the Geforce RTX 3070 in the performance index. Here there is some overlap with individual models also ending up in the next table of 1440p-targeted cards.

*Performance per kroner (PPK) is based on a formula where the score from the performance index is divided by the price of the graphics card and then multiplied by 1,000.

For September’s price check, we have a new master on the block, and this time it doesn’t say AMD or Nvidia on the box. Instead, it is the upstart Intel that takes first place by a landslide thanks to an aggressive campaign at Inet for the Arc A750 graphics card. It is far from the fastest graphics card on the market, but for SEK 2,390 it is undeniably a lot of performance for the money.

Next up, we have April’s winner Radeon RX 6650 XT, which has gone up in price a bit in recent months (including the rather expensive shipping price from the Portuguese retailer on the Amazon marketplace) and is now just over SEK 3,000. This is closely grouped with the Radeon RX 7600, which is only marginally more expensive. Price pressure on Nvidia’s Geforce RTX 4060 also makes that card an interesting candidate for affordable 1080p gaming under SEK 3,500.

Most performance per kroner under 8,000 kroner for gaming at 1440p

Next, we have compiled a table of graphics cards that are particularly suitable for gaming at the 1440p resolution, where it is then about models that end up above the Geforce RTX 3070 in the index. We have set the price break point at SEK 8,000, as it is partly a pain threshold for many who upgrade, but also because models above that price level do not offer a particularly high performance per krone (PPK) value.

*Performance per kroner (PPK) is based on a formula where the score from the performance index is divided by the price of the graphics card and then multiplied by 1,000.

Moving on to graphics cards suitable for gaming at 1440p resolution, we see a repeat of the previous price tag at the top in the form of the Radeon RX 6800 via Portuguese retailer NR INFO on Amazon. However, the model is no longer an obvious choice, as the more modern cards Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT have dropped in price and offer only marginally worse performance per kroner – while they can be purchased from a Nordic retailer.

There has also been an interesting development on the Nvidia side, where the Geforce RTX 4070 has slipped below the 6,000 kroner mark in connection with a campaign at Webhallen. The card still doesn’t offer quite the sharp price/performance ratio in pure rasterization as AMD’s cards, but does have other features that some may appreciate – including more competent handling ray tracingbetter energy efficiency and support for class-leading scaling via DLSS.

Recommended purchases in different price ranges

With the mapping done, we thought we’d try our hand at recommending a handful of graphics cards in different price ranges for users with varying upgrade needs and hardware backgrounds. It is worth noting that the recommendation applies on the condition that the price of the model in question is the same as at the time of publication. As prices can change significantly from day to day, it may be worth keeping an eye on price comparison sites like Prize hunt to see if the model is sold cheaper elsewhere.

The safe choice for gaming at 1080p – Geforce RTX 4060

While the Intel Arc A750 currently offers the best price/performance ratio, it is also one of the weaker modern cards. For those who want a little more wind under their wings, and also don’t want to fight with potential software difficulties or Resizable BAR requirements, we therefore also highlight the Geforce RTX 4060 as a good choice for 1080p gaming.

The card we have looked at is MSI’s Ventus 2X, which is sold for SEK 3,399 by Complete right now. It is a very nice model that should fit in most normal chassis models, at the same time that it is very low-power and thus does not need very many resources on the ventilation or power supply front. The model costs a few hundred bucks more than the Radeon RX 6650 XT and Radeon RX 7600, but we think the price premium is more than offset by wider functionality.

By functionality we mean more competent ray tracing performance, hardware support for upscaling with DLSS and a generally better video encoder part of the graphics chip. Like the two AMD cards, however, the Geforce RTX 4060 is not something we would recommend for gaming at higher resolutions due to a rather limited amount of graphics memory at 8 GB.

Suitable for: Anyone who wants an affordable card for gaming at 1080p with wide functionality.
A worse choice for: Anyone who wants to play at higher resolutions.
Good upgrade from: Geforce GTX 1070, Geforce GTX 1660, Radeon RX Vega 56

The balanced choice under SEK 6,000 – Geforce RTX 4070

While some are only interested in the highest possible raster performance for the money, there is a growing interest in modern rendering techniques such as ray tracing and support for the best possible scaling. In the latter cases, it is Nvidia that applies, and with a rather sharp price reduction, the Geforce RTX 4070 therefore takes its place as our last recommendation in this article.

Here, it is Webhallen that is running a campaign MSI’s Ventus 2X model for SEK 5,990which is a very nice price tag for a Geforce RTX 4070. Like the Radeon RX 7800 XT, this is a graphics card that lends itself well to gaming at 1440p, and it was also the second Editors’ Choice for last year’s winter computer. AMD’s card is about 7 percent faster on average when rasterizing at 1440p, but Nvidia offers other technical advantages that some users may appreciate.

Suitable for: Anyone who wants good screening performance in 1440p and use ray tracing as well as DLSS.
A worse choice for: Anyone who wants the highest possible screening performance for the money.
Good upgrade from: Geforce GTX 1080 Ti, Geforce RTX 2070, Radeon RX 5700 XT