Graphics card deals of the week – 26th August 2020

Hardware Editor

26th August 2020 / 12:15PM

With less than a week to go before the new Nvidia Ampere RTX 3000 cards get announced, it’s probably not the best time to be buying a new graphics card right now. That said, graphics card deals hunters could be in for a surprisingly good couple of weeks soon, as retailers will be looking to offload their current stock as quickly as possible so they can get on with selling the new stuff. As a result, you could say it’s actually great time to be looking for a new graphics card, especially if you’re not that fussed about having the latest and greatest. While Nvidia prices have largely risen in the UK this week due to the expiration of that rather good Ebay voucher doing the rounds, lots of AMD cards have seen some very tasty price drops, resulting in some fantastic 1080p and 1440p bargains.

To help you get the best price on your new graphics card purchase, I’ve put together this list of all the cheapest graphics card deals around right now so you can see exactly how they stack up against the competition. I’ll also tell you exactly what each card is capable of when it comes to gaming performance, and how much prices have changed week-on-week. Let’s get to it.

If you’re not sure which graphics card deal you should buy, one of the best ways of working out what card you need is to think about the resolution of your gaming monitor. If you’ve got a 1920×1080 monitor, for example, then there’s no need to buy one that’s intended to play games at 4K. On the other hand, if you’re also thinking about upgrading your monitor soon, then you’ll probably want to get a graphics card that can make the most of that future resolution as well.

The other thing to think about is what kind of gaming experience you actually want from it. Are you dead set on playing games at the very best graphics settings? Or do you just want something that will get the job done on Medium? If you’re not that bothered about playing on Ultra, you don’t need to spend nearly as much as on your new graphics card as you would if nothing but max settings will do – all of which I explain below. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the cheapest graphics card deals of the week.

Graphics card deals

Nvidia graphics card deals:

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 deals: (DO NOT BUY)

UK prices have gone up this week due to last week’s Ebay voucher expiring, but there’s been a drop of $10 in the US. Either way, the vanilla GTX 1660 still isn’t a great buy when it’s so close in price to its Super-fied sibling. It’s a decent graphics card for 1080p gaming, capable of hitting 60fps on Medium to High settings in nearly all of today’s most demanding games (as well as a bit of 1440p potential as well as long as you’re happy with playing on Medium quality settings on today’s big blockbusters), but at these prices your money is still better spent elsewhere – either on the GTX 1660 Super, or AMD’s Radeon RX 5500 XT. For more information, have a read of my Nvidia GTX 1660 vs 1660 Super comparison article.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super deals:

Another rise in the UK but no change in the US this week, the GTX 1660 Super is still the Nvidia graphics card to buy if you’re after a good 1080p GPU. The GTX 1660 Super is a bit faster than the regular GTX 1660, capable of producing at least 60fps on High graphics at 1080p in today’s biggest games, and at least 60fps on Medium at 1440p, and nigh on identical performance to the GTX 1660 Ti. It’s a good option if you’ve got a 1080p monitor with a high refresh rate as well.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti deals: (DO NOT BUY)

GTX 1660 Ti prices have fallen in both the UK and US this week, with the latter dropping by a sizeable $30. Really, though, you’re still better off with the cheaper GTX 1660 Super in my eyes, as you’re not really gaining much by opting for the Ti – just have a read of my GTX 1660 Super vs 1660 Ti article for more information. Sure, it’s capable of hitting 60fps on max settings at this resolution, and it’s also able to deliver a consistent 60fps on Medium to High settings at 1440p, but right now it’s just not a good deal.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 deals:

Another big rise in the UK after the expiration of that rather good Ebay voucher, while US prices have fallen by $10. Either way, the RTX 2060 is still a better buy than both the GTX 1660 Ti and RTX 2060 Super right now. It’s a great GPU for hitting well over 60fps on Ultra settings at 1080p, and it’s currently our top Nvidia pick for the best 1440p graphics card on a budget. To see how it stacks up, have a read of my GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 article.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super deals: (DO NOT BUY)

No change in US prices for the RTX 2060 Super this week, but UK prices have risen by another £35. Sure, it’s a bit faster than the regular RTX 2060, capable of hitting 60fps on max settings at 1440p more regularly, but most of the time you’ll get a very similar gaming experience. Really, UK and US buyers should opt for the more powerful RTX 2070 instead. For a closer comparison of how the RTX 2060 Super stacks up against its non-Super sibling (and its closest AMD competition), have a read of our RTX 2060 vs RTX 2060 Super vs RX 5700 article.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 deals:

Despite UK prices rising back up to usual levels this week, the vanilla RTX 2070 is still a good buy compared to its other RTX siblings – especially when it’s only £20 / $20 more than the RTX 2060 Super. After all, the RTX 2070 is a great 1440p graphics card and can pretty much hit 60fps on max settings in every big game you can play today (and definitely 60fps+ if you knock it down to High). Personally, I’d recommend going with AMD’s Radeon RX 5700 XT card instead, but if you’re adamant about sticking with Nvidia, this is the card to buy – have a read of our RTX 2070 vs RTX 2070 Super vs RX 5700 XT comparison piece for more info.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super deals: (DO NOT BUY)

The RTX 2070 Super is the best Nvidia graphics card for 1440p gaming right now, capable of hitting 60fps on max settings in every big blockbuster going, but it hasn’t been particularly good value for months now. It’s dropped by £60 in the UK thanks to the aforementioned Ebay voucher, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get hold of in the US for a decent price. Personally, you’ll probably be better off with the vanilla RTX 2070 instead of the Super right now.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 deals: (DO NOT BUY)

Recently, stock levels have been so low for the RTX 2080 that prices have shot up massively, and the cheapest prices we can find massively outstrip the faster 2080 Super card below. Sure, this is one of the most powerful graphics cards you can buy today, capable of delivering a flawless 60fps+ 1440p experience on max settings, as well as a decent Medium experience at 4K, but the RTX 2080 Super is still 100% the better buy.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super deals: (DO NOT BUY)

UK prices have risen once again for the RTX 2080 Super, but US prices have actually fallen by $20. It’s still a sizeable chunk of change over the RTX 2070 Super, though, and at this kind of price you’re probably better off waiting until Nvidia unveils their RTX 3000 cards. The RTX 2080 Super delivers exceptional 1440p performance, or 60fps on Medium to High at 4K, but it’s probably best to put the wallet away for a few weeks until we know how much the RTX 3080’s going to cost.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti deals: (DO NOT BUY)

The RTX 2080 Ti may be the best and most powerful graphics card you can buy right now, but prices have shot up by hundreds of pounds / dollars this week, making it a terrible buy – especially when Nvidia’s RTX 3000 cards are just round the corner as well.

AMD graphics card deals:

AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT deals:

The RX 5500 XT is still a fantastic graphics card for the money, offering brilliant 1080p performance on Medium to High settings in all of today’s biggest games. While prices haven’t changed in the UK this week, a new discount in the US has seen this card drop by just over $20, making it considerably better than what’s going on over with Nvidia’s GTX 16-series cards at the moment, plus you get a free copy of Godfall with it, too. It’s a great buy.

AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT deals:

Another discount in the US has seen prices drop by $20 this week, making the RX 5600 XT another great buy, especially when it means it’s quite a bit cheaper than its equally fast rival, the RTX 2060. The RX 5600 XT is an outstanding GPU that blows every Nvidia GTX 16-series card out of the water, too, both in terms of performance and overall value for money. Plus, you get two free games with it, too – Godfall and WOW’s Shadowlands expansion – making it extra good value.

AMD Radeon RX 5700 deals: (DO NOT BUY)

In truth, AMD have rather shot themselves in their own foot with the RX 5700 now the almost-as-fast RX 5600 XT has arrived. The RX 5700 is still a great card for top notch 1080p gaming and Medium to High 1440p performance, but when its faster, more powerful sibling, the RX 5700 XT isn’t that much more, you may as well spend the extra and get a faster card in the process. Prices haven’t changed much this week, but there’s really no need to buy this card right now over the RX 5600 XT.

AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT deals:

A drop of £10 in the UK this week and static prices in the US means the RX 5700 XT is still a great buy right now. It’s more than capable of delivering 60fps on High to max settings at 1440p, as well as well over 60fps when gaming at 1080p. It’s not quite as fast as Nvidia’s RTX 2070 Super, but it comes mighty close for a lot less money – just take a look at our RTX 2070 vs RTX 2070 Super vs RX 5700 XT comparison piece for more info.

How to get a great graphics card deal:

When you’re buying a new graphics card, there are two important things you need to consider: the resolution of your monitor, and what kind of quality setting you’d like to aim for when playing games. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT is by far the best 1080p graphics card for max settings at the moment, for example, but Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1660 or AMD’s Radeon RX 5500 XT are also excellent budget options as well that will get you smooth frame rates on Medium to High settings.

As for 1440p, my top picks would be AMD’s RX 5700 XT or Nvidia’s RTX 2070 for flawless 60fps gaming on max settings at this resolution, but AMD’s RX 5600 XT and Nvidia’s RTX 2060 will also do you just fine as well if you’re happy with Medium to High quality at this resolution. This makes the RX 5600 XT quite a good card to go for at the moment, especially if you currently have a 1080p monitor but are thinking about upgrading to a 1440p in the near future.

If you’ve got a 4K monitor, on the other hand, then you should probably consider an RTX 2080 Super as an absolute minimum. The RTX 2070 Super can make a decent fist of 4K gaming, but only on Low-Medium settings, so if you’ve got the budget, I’d currently recommend either an RTX 2080 Super or, if you’ve got the budget, an RTX 2080 Ti right now. Really, though, you should probably wait until the end of the year to buy a 4K graphics card, as both Nvidia and AMD are due to announce their next-gen GPUs before the end of 2020.

Tagged with AMD, Best PC Gaming Deals, Deals, graphics card, graphics cards, Hardware, Nvidia.

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Who am I?

Katharine Castle

Hardware Editor

Katharine writes about all the bits that go inside your PC so you can carry on playing all those lovely games we like talking about so much. Very partial to JRPGs and the fetching of quests. She’s also RPS’ resident deals herald.

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