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Playing games at 4K demands a proper high-end configuration to maintain the acceptable frame rates (FPS). Without the right hardware, your rig will struggle to keep up and you will suffer from frame dropouts and extremely low FPS. But is the 4K gaming only reserved for those who get to spend more? No, not really, it’s all about how you spend your money. And if you are on a limited budget then you want to make sure you get the best hardware within that budget that allows you to play your favourite games with the best of visuals. That’s where the cheapest 4k graphics card comes in to help you play your game at your favourite 4k resolution without having to spend a fortune on your rig.
A graphics card is one of the most important factors that make or break a 4K gaming experience. Hence, looking for the cheapest 4k graphics card for gaming is an important quest, and also not a very easy endeavour but rather quite a complex one. You have to know exactly what you’re looking for, and then find the best option that meets those requirements while staying within your budget.
Below here, we have tried to assemble a list of some of the best graphics cards that allow you to play at 4K resolution. As long as you know which one is best for your gaming rig, and meets all of your requirements, then you can’t go wrong with picking any one of these.
Table of Contents
Cheapest 4K Graphics Card
MSI GeForce GTX 1080
This is the cheapest option you will get in the market for smooth 4K gaming. This graphics card has been a top performer for a long time. When it had its price reduced, the demand increased putting the prices on a rollercoaster ride. With the friendly price, this is an ideal option for people with 1440p monitors and desire to crank up the settings of the graphics. It is an excellent choice for people who want to get to VR immediately. Consumes low power, and it is more powerful compared to other graphics cards within the same price range. It features an 8GB GDDRX memory, quiet and cool and it is also VR and 4K ready.
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EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
This can be said to be the 4K gaming ultimate GPU. This graphics card was launched in March 2017, and it gave Nvidia the crown for performance. The performance it offers for 4K gaming is unbeatable and cannot be compared to any other. It was an improvement of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 which was previously the leader in the market. The 4K performance was delivered with maximum settings at more than 60 to 70 fps. This great 4K graphics card is ready for anything. If you have a high-resolution monitor, the card is possible got this great card to play 5K gaming. It is a little high priced it is affordable. You can be assured to get maximum value for your money. It is the most powerful graphics card you can buy below $1000. With its 11 GB GDDR5X memory, both 4K and 5K gaming will run smoothly.
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PNY GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
This graphics card for 4K gaming has three fans and a boost GPU frequency. This frequency is overclocked to 1645MHz on the outer side of the box. This makes it faster compared to the boost speed of the founders’ edition by 63MHz. It is larger compared to the Nvidia model for it has a size of 4.96×12.36 inches. The silver and black design of the GPU shroud gives it a beautiful aesthetics. You can also have one with red accents, but some people claim that this is a more garish look. Unlike the other graphics cards, it does not have LEDs. The card uses an eight-pin and a six-pin power connector. Others features include a one HDMI 2.0b port and three display ports.
Asus Strix GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
This card uses three 90mm fans with low noise. They are certified by the IP5X, meaning that they are resistant to dust. With 11.73×5.28×2.07 inches this edition is a little larger compared to the founder’s edition. The aluminum heat sink reduces the heat in the dissipation area of the graphics card, and this is why it is larger than the rest. On top of this, it has mm heat pipes and its three times quieter and 30 percent cooler than the Nvidia. Asus’ 1080 Ti is equipped with a 1708 MHz boost factory to overclock, and the video RAM is also overclocked by 100MHz thus increasing its speed to 11.1 Gbps. This graphics card requires 8-pin power connectors even if it is a 250-watt solution. It comes equipped with PWM fan header which makes it possible for you to adjust the thermals either manually or automatically. It also has an RGB header which used the Asus Aura Sync software. You can use this software the cards RGB LEDs to strobe, breath among others. The card runs quite cool and quiet. It offers 2x Display port 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.0 and 1xDual-link DVI-D.
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You might also want to check out our review for the Cheap gaming laptops for under $500
Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Amp Extreme
This is the biggest graphics card in this roundup. It has dimensions of 12.8 x 5.83 x 2.23 inches and hence requires you to have enough space in your casing before you but this graphics card since it is a 2.5 Slot card. It is equipped with a 90mm fan. The fan will only spin when the GPU comes beyond 60 degrees Celsius to cool it down. It provides an out of the box frequency with 1759MH boost clock which is quite aggressive. It possesses a VRAM of 11.2 Gbps which is quite excellent for 4K gaming. The aesthetics of the graphics card are excellent. It is made of gunmetal gray color and sharp looking edges that give it a pretty and clean look. It also has RGB lighting, and you can use the Spectra software to tweak three lighting zones such as breathe, cycle color and much more. The graphics card uses an 8- pin power connector. In regards to ports, it is equipped with 1x HDMI 2.0band 3x Display port 1.4.
Conclusion
A graphics card is a key element to building the best gaming PC. The best graphics card is not only for new PCs, but it is also a significant and easy way to upgrade your old PC. 4K gaming will require your PC to have a high resolution, and the graphics will do it for you. The best 4K graphics card will change your gaming life completely. The above product round-up gives some of the most outstanding graphics cards you will get on the market at the lowest price.
