Best GPUs under $100 in 2024

It’s no secret that the best graphics cards have substantially increased in price lately. Even what’s considered a budget graphics card aren’t exactly inexpensive. But what are your options if you have a tight budget and still want to get gaming? Or if you have more modest requirements for a graphics card that only really needs to be able to put an image on your screen? I’ve been scouring the internet for the best graphics cards that cost under $100, and here are my choices.

Related

Best budget GPUs in 2024

It’s tough to find a graphics card on a budget these days, but there are still some good options available

Our picks for the best GPUs under $100

Editor’s choice

AMD Radeon RX 580 GPU

Get this card if you want to game on a budget

The Radeon RX 580 is a decent midrange card that still offers good performance for the buck, especially in OpenGL titles like Minecraft. Many variants of this particular GPU cost around $100.

Pros

• Can push decent framerates at 1080p
• 8GB VRAM
• Good value for money

The Radeon RX 580 gets my recommendation as the best GPU under $100, thanks to being one of the few graphics cards in that price range that is still decent for gaming use. First released at the height of the cryptocurrency mining run on Ethereum, it was the highest-performing GPU AMD had at the time, with good performance at 1080p or 1440p. There are plenty of variants of this GPU out there that can be had for less than $100.

One of the best things about this graphics card is that it comes with 8GB of GDDR5 VRAM, allowing it to use higher texture sizes than most GPUs on this list. Notably, the RX 580 also comes with 2,304 stream processors or 1,424 MHz max boost clock, both of which enable smooth performance of games at 1080p. It’s worth noting that AMD recently pushed out a driver update for this GPU to improve its OpenGL performance, notably still used by Minecraft. That driver boost came with up to 81% more FPS in Minecraft, for the RX 580, as tested by YouTuber 54 FPS.

Most designs for the RX 580 graphics card feature dual-fans for optimum cooling. They also use one 6-pin supplementary PCIe power cable, making it easy to use in almost any build with a recent PSU. The only time it might struggle is if you are trying to replace a graphics adapter from a slim workstation, but if so, there are plenty of options on this list that will work. With one DVI-D, one HDMI 2.0 and three DisplayPort 1.4 ports, the RX 580 can run up to five displays without needing adapters, something that modern GPUs can’t do. This was a great GPU in its day, and still has some life left in it.

Best for troubleshooting

MSI GeForce 210 1GB

The cheapest Nvidia GPU out there

$40 $41 Save $1

The MSI GeForce 210 comes with 1GB of VRAM, so while you won’t be playing games on this graphics card it’s perfect for troubleshooting a PC without onboard graphics or replacing a faulty onboard graphics adapter.

Pros

• Low profile design
• No additional power requirements
• Cooling fan

Cons

• You won’t be able to game on this

Sometimes, all you need is a spare GPU capable of displaying an image on screen for troubleshooting purposes. The MSI GeForce 210 fits that bill precisely, so you can keep it stashed in a drawer just in case. Its low-profile design and 20W power draw also make it a good replacement for OEM workstations, which often don’t come with additional PCIe power cables or are too thin for full-width graphics cards.

Now, I mentioned this graphics card won’t do much more than display an image on your screen, and that’s true enough. That’s partly because it only has 1GB of DDR3 VRAM, which is enough to get Windows running but not much else. You can overclock it with MSI Afterburner if you feel the desire, but nothing you do will get significant performance boosts from this low-powered card.

Still, for rejuvenating an older PC for web browsing use, or saving a computer from the scrap heap, it can’t be beat for the sub-$50 price tag it can be found at. MSI uses military-grade components in its graphics cards, including this one, so the estimated lifespan of the capacitors is over ten years. I can’t say how many years it will have left after being on a warehouse shelf for so long, but it has a good chance of lasting a few more once put into active service.

Best AMD low-profile

Yeston Radeon RX 550

Pretty in pink

$85 $89 Save $4

The Yeston Radeon RX 550 is a low-profile graphics card with 4GB of VRAM and a polarizing neon pink cooling shroud. It’ll support 4K at 60 FPS from its HDMI output, and also has VGA and DVI-D outputs, perfect for projector use.

Pros

• Low-profile design
• 4GB of VRAM
• DirectX 12 compatible

Some of the most popular games in the world don’t need expensive graphics cards. If you’re part of the huge percentage of the worldwide gaming population playing esports titles like League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 2, and Overwatch 2, a more modest GPU is all you really need. This AMD Radeon RX 550 from Yeston is a single-slot, low-profile GPU with 4GB of GDDR5 which is more than enough for esport gamers to enjoy high frame rates.

The 512 stream processors are perfect for other uses too, like home theater PCs. With a modest 40W power requirement, it can be powered solely from your PCIe slot, which means OEM towers can use this card to replace an old or faulty graphics adapter. It has FreeSync, which reduces tearing when paired with a compatible monitor, has one HDMI 2.0 capable of 4K60 output, a VGA and DVI-D output, and it can encode and decode the space-efficient HEVC codec. Plus, this pretty-in-pink graphics card is a low-profile design, making it able to fit in smaller cases. All-in-all, this is a great GPU for a home theater PC, or for a starter PC for someone who likes MOBAs and other esports titles.

Best Nvidia low-profile

PNY GeForce GT 730

Workstation integrated graphics replacement

The PNY Nvidia GeForce GT 710 comes with 4GB of DDR3 VRAM, so it’s clear it’s not a GPU designed for gamers. What it will do is slot into almost any workstation as a replacement for a broken graphics output or help you troubleshoot a CPU without integrated graphics.

Pros

• Low-profile design
• Cooling fan
• Three graphics outputs

Cons

• 2GB of DDR3 VRAM
• Old chipset

When it was first released, the GT 710 was an inexpensive way to add more display outputs to a PC, and not much has changed since. With 192 CUDA cores and 4GB of DDR3 memory, this graphics card is able to output a 4K60 display from it’s HDMI or DVI-D outputs, and has a VGA output in case you need to send a signal to an older monitor or a projector.

The PNY GT 710 is also low-profile and able to slot into a wide variety of smaller chassis as a result. That’s good news for home theater PC use, as this card is substantially cheaper than many other low-profile cards. With a 19W power draw, it runs completely off the electricity provided by the PCIe slot, and it has a cooling fan to keep temperatures in check. It’s important to keep your expectations in check. This is a low-spec, low-cost GPU, and as a result, it can’t keep up with gaming very well. It might be able to play less demanding titles at 1080p or 720p, but likely closer to 30FPS than to the 60FPS that we’d like to see for gaming use.

Best Intel

ASRock Arc A310 Low Profile

Good encoding and decoding performance

The ASRock Arc A310 Low Profile graphics card has two fans to keep it cool under use. It’s perfect for replacing an aging graphics card in a workstation or using in a home theater PC for encoding and decoding a variety of video formats.

Pros

• Low-profile design
• PCIe 4.0 with good encoding performance
• HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 2.0 outputs

Cons

• 4GB of VRAM
• Only two outputs

The entry-level ASRock Intel Arc A310 graphics card has 4GB of GDDR6, making it the most advanced and recent graphics card on this list. You get one HDMI 2.0 and one DisplayPort 2.0 output, both capable of 8K60 output. The double-fan cooler should offer plenty to cool the 75W TDP, and it’s low-profile, so it will slot nicely into older, space-constrained OEM desktop units. However, make sure to note that it is dual-slot in thickness, so check clearance for a fit before you buy it.

This card uses the Intel ACM-G11 graphics processor with 6 Xe cores (768 stream processors at 2.0 GHz). It’s even got six ray tracing cores, although with how system-intensive ray tracing is, it’s probably not actually usable in-game. The 4GB of GDDR6 has a 64-bit memory interface, which means plenty of memory performance for encoding or decoding use. The Arc line of GPUs can encode and decode AV1, which no other graphics chip on this list can achieve. It’s also compatible with H.264, H.265, and VP9, making this a media encoding powerhouse for media PCs or even for light content creation.

Even with this being a modern GPU, it’s not aimed at budget gamers. In the Intel Arc range, that’s taken by the Arc A750, which costs $289. This card is for anyone with basic GPU acceleration needs, perhaps light graphics work or the occasional video render. It’s impressive that a sub-$100 GPU can handle these tasks at all, when many cheaper cards can only manage to get the operating system displayed.

Low-profile with dual-fans

ASRock Radeon RX 550

Great for smaller builds

This ASRock Radeon RX 550 is well-designed and built. With 4GB of VRAM, it’s capable of playing eSports titles like League of Legends, Rocket League, or Overwatch 2, and it has FreeSync for smooth frames without tearing.

Pros

• Quiet when running
• No extra power connector needed
• 4GB of VRAM

Cons

• The RX 570 or 580 are better value

When the AMD Radeon RX 550 was released, it was aimed squarely at esports gamers. Designed for less-demanding titles like League of Legends, Rocket League, and CS:GO, this is the little card that can. With a low-profile design and two fans, it can fit into most chassis and is just as at home on home theater PC duties as it is pushing frame rates for online gaming.

It has a 50W TDP, so it’s entirely powered from the PCIe slot without a supplementary PCIe cable. You get one HDMI 2.0 port and one DisplayPort 1.4. It has FreeSync for adaptive frame rates with a supported monitor to reduce frame tearing and supports DirectX 12. The 320 stream processors have a 1,100 MHz max boost clock, and the 4GB of GDDR5 runs on a 128-bit memory bus.

The best thing about this card is that you can get playable frame rates in a wide range of titles. While so many graphics cards in this budget-constrained category are unable to say that, it’s nice when you can definitively say that gaming is an option. It’s not as good a value as our top pick, the RX 580, but that card is larger and needs more power, meaning the RX 550 can be used in more situations without spending any extra money.

What you need to know about buying a GPU that costs less than $100

Fairly limited options out there

If you’re looking for a graphics card under $100, you probably already know that some sacrifices will have to be made. You’re unlikely to pair it with one of the best CPUs, unless you’re using it as a troubleshooting spare for a CPU without onboard graphics. Any modern budget GPU starts from $165, so you know anything lower than that is a tall order.

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Best GPUs for gaming in 2024

The GPU is arguably the most important part of any gaming PC build, so we’re here to help you choose the right one

Our top pick, the Radeon RX 580, was released in 2018, so it’s getting on in years. Unlike most of the cards on this list, it comes with 8GB of VRAM, which means it can tackle AAA gaming if the in-game settings are tweaked accordingly. And fans of Minecraft will be happy, as the recent tweaks to the OpenGL performance mean this card can push hundreds of FPS at 1080p.

If budget is the primary driver and all you need is an image on your display, the MSI GeForce 210 is hard to beat. Its low-profile design makes it a viable replacement for older desktops, even if the low 1GB of VRAM means it won’t be able to play games beyond Solitaire and the like.

Editor’s choice

AMD Radeon RX 580 GPU

The Radeon RX 580 is a decent midrange card that can still give you a good bang for the buck performance, especially in OpenGL titles like Minecraft. A plenty of variants of this particular GPU goes for around $100.