8 Most Power Efficient Graphics Cards for Your Gaming PC in 2022

• Thermal Design Power (TDP): 132 watts
• MSRP: $329
• Memory Size: 8 GB
• Suggested Power Supply Unit (PSU): 300 watts

Even the most budget-oriented gamers will be pleased with this one. It’s more than decent for 1080p gaming, even at Ultra settings. The RX 6600 (not to be confused with the XT variant), even trades blows with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3060, which uses 160 watts of power.

So it’s a no-brainer if what you’re looking for is performance-per-watt. The best part is that you can pair it with a measly 300-watt PSU, which helps a lot in keeping the budget under control. It might be officially a mid-range card, but we recommend going for this one even if your budget is for low-end. It’s that good; forget about AMD and Nvidia’s low-end offerings.

• Thermal Design Power (TDP): 160 watts
• MSRP: $379
• Memory Size: 8 GB
• Suggested Power Supply Unit (PSU): 500 watts

If you want a little better future-proofing than what the plain RX 6600 offers, then the RX 6600 XT is its more robust bigger brother. It runs on 160 watts maximum, allowing users to gain more performance for just 50 more dollars or so, depending on the brand.

This will bump up the PSU requirement by quite a bit and will move your budget from low-end to mid-range, but it’s worth it if you plan on keeping the card for up to four years while gaming at 1080p. Against its equivalent, the RTX 3060, this is a better deal, unless you want Raytracing.

• Thermal Design Power (TDP): 200 watts
• MSRP: $399
• Memory Size: 8 GB
• Suggested Power Supply Unit (PSU): 600 watts

Considered by many as the best price-to-performance GPU in this current generation of computer hardware, the RTX 3060 Ti has wowed many gamers. Because it’s an overkill 1080p card, and a solid 1440p gaming card (though with a few compromises).

That very well means it’s the best of both worlds and also a good transitory GPU for those looking to upgrade from 1080p to 1440p. Ideally, it’s only a little more expensive compared to AMD’s RX 6600 XT or even Nvidia’s RTX 3060, so you’d be wise to grab this one instead. That is assuming you’re okay with the significant wattage bump and the higher PSU requirements.

• Thermal Design Power (TDP): 220 watts
• MSRP: $499
• Memory Size: 8 GB
• Suggested Power Supply Unit (PSU): 650 watts

The reason why a lot of Nvidia fans only consider the RTX 3060 Ti to be an “entry-level” 1440p card is that the RTX 3070 will zoom past it on that resolution. But for 1080p, the two are quite close. Still, if you really want something more future-proof for 1440p, then the RTX 3070 is a more secure option.

It does cost $100 more than the RTX 3060 Ti, but the card makes up for it by only having a TDP that’s 20 watts higher. That means you don’t have to worry too much about your electricity bill when switching from 3060 Ti to 3070.

• Thermal Design Power (TDP): 250 watts
• MSRP: $579
• Memory Size: 16 GB
• Suggested Power Supply Unit (PSU): 650 watts

AMD does have an answer for Nvidia’s RTX 3060 Ti, and no, it’s not the RX 6700 XT, sadly. It’s the more expensive RX 6800 (not to be confused with the XT variant). This card is only 30 watts more power hungry than the Nvidia RTX 3070. What does seal the deal is its better performance.

Granted, the price is higher by about 80 dollars (when comparing MSRPs), but it’s a better deal nonetheless, especially if you want a more future-proof option for your 1440p monitor. Really, you can’t go wrong with the 3060 Ti, the 3070, and the RX 6800. But if you do want the best for just 1440p and your 650-watt PSU, then go for the Radeon RX 6800.

• Thermal Design Power (TDP): 300 watts
• MSRP: $649
• Memory Size: 16 GB
• Suggested Power Supply Unit (PSU): 750 watts

With a significant TDP jump from the non-XT variant, the RX 6800 XT is quite a beast when it comes to 1440p, perhaps even overkill. It is advertised as a 4K card and on that front, it handles the segment well; though if you want a high framerate (anything above 60 FPS) at 4K, then there are more capable options.

Still, it’s a good card for when you want to try out some transitioning to 4K or want some budget 4K performance that still handles Ultra settings for the latest games. Forget about your mid-range PSU, however, this is the big leagues, and you will need a high-end PSU for this.

• Thermal Design Power (TDP): 300 watts
• MSRP: $699
• Memory Size: 16 GB
• Suggested Power Supply Unit (PSU): 850 watts

As proof of just how efficient AMD’s architecture is for this generation, here’s the RX 6900 XT. It’s a tier higher than the RX 6800 XT, but get this; it draws the same amount of power. Oh, and it also only costs 50 dollars more due to sales (though its original MSRP used to be higher).

Really, at this generation, the only reason to grab the RX 6800 XT over this is if you already have a 750-watt PSU and you don’t want to spend another premium for an 850-watt PSU; that’s what this card needs, likely for power spikes. It’s a better 4K card, for that matter.

• Thermal Design Power (TDP): 335 watts
• MSRP: $1,099
• Memory Size: 16 GB
• Suggested Power Supply Unit (PSU): 850 watts

We’re still recommending AMD’s cards in this segment, which is 4K maxed out. Because Nvidia’s offerings in this segment are just too power-hungry. The RTX 3090 is rated for 350 watts (and performs a bit worse than the 6950 XT) while the RTX 3090 Ti consumes a whopping 450 to 480 watts.

Paired with all the other PC components, that’s like a microwave heating up the air sustained for several hours. So if you want to keep things under control for your neighborhood’s power grid while still aiming for a pleasant maxed-out 4K experience, AMD’s 6950 XT is the way to go.