GPU Tier List 2026: Every Graphics Card Ranked

Last reviewed 26 October 2026. Frame rates come from one source and one test machine, so treat the tiers as bands rather than a precise ranking.

I am Mubashar, and I run this site and its calculator. I do not benchmark cards myself, so every number below is from Tom’s Hardware’s published GPU hierarchy, which I link at the end. The tier boundaries, the commentary and the buying advice are my own.

How this tier list works

Tom’s Hardware tested each card across 11 games at 1080p, 1440p and 4K at high or ultra settings, with no upscaling and no frame generation, on a Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Each score is the geometric mean of those games, which stops one very fast result from skewing the average. Their page was last updated on 24 June 2026.

I sorted the cards by their 1440p ultra score, because 1440p is where most buying decisions sit today. The thresholds are mine:

• S tier: 115 fps or more at 1440p. Fast at 4K too.
• A tier: 90 to 115 fps. Excellent at 1440p, good at 4K with upscaling.
• B tier: 70 to 90 fps. Comfortable 1440p at high settings.
• C tier: 50 to 70 fps. A good 1080p card, playable 1440p.
• D tier: under 50 fps at 1440p. Fine for 1080p, struggles above it.

S tier: 115 fps and up at 1440p

The top eight cards. The surprise here is how close the RX 9070 XT sits to the RTX 5070 Ti: 116.5 fps against 116.8 at 1440p. At 4K the Nvidia card pulls ahead slightly, 68.6 fps against 65.8. Only eight cards in the whole ranking average above 65 fps at 4K ultra without upscaling, and they are all in this tier.

A tier: 90 to 115 fps

This is the sweet spot for 1440p without paying flagship prices. The RX 9070 and RTX 5070 launched at the same $549 and the Radeon is about 8% faster at 1440p here (104.0 against 96.4). Older cards like the RTX 3090 and RTX 4070 Ti sit here too, which matters if you shop used.

B tier: 70 to 90 fps

Strong 1440p cards that are no longer the newest. The RX 9070 GRE and RX 7800 XT both belong here, and Tom’s Hardware noted the 9070 GRE is the only Radeon still near its launch price. The RTX 5060 Ti 16GB lands at the bottom of the tier at 73.4 fps, and its 16 GB of memory is the reason it holds up at 4K, with 40.2 fps against 28.1 for the 8 GB version.

C tier: 50 to 70 fps

Where most budget buyers shop. These cards play new games at 1080p at high settings and manage 1440p at medium to high. Look at the 4K column and you will see why memory matters: the 8 GB cards in this tier (RTX 5060, RTX 5060 Ti 8GB, RX 9060 XT 8GB) fall off sharply once the settings climb. Our best budget GPU guide takes this tier apart in detail with current prices.

One oddity: Tom’s measured the RX 7600 XT at 102 fps at 1080p but only 50 at 1440p, a steeper drop than similar cards. I have left it where its 1440p score puts it.

D tier: under 50 fps at 1440p

These are 1080p cards. The RTX 5050 and Arc B570 are current-generation products that land here, which is the main reason I would not buy either at today’s prices. Older cards like the RTX 3060 12GB and RX 6600 are still usable at 1080p with sensible settings.

AMD GPU tier list

AMD’s current range runs from S down to C. The RX 9070 XT is S tier, the RX 9070 is A, the 9070 GRE is B and the RX 9060 XT cards are C. Last generation, the RX 7900 XTX is still S tier and the 7900 XT sits in A. AMD’s weakness is ray tracing and upscaling quality compared with Nvidia, though Tom’s Hardware reported the RX 9070 XT beats the RX 7900 XTX in ray tracing and ties the RTX 4070 Ti.

Nvidia GPU tier list

Nvidia holds the very top: the RTX 5090, 4090 and 5080 are the three fastest cards in the test. The RTX 5070 Ti is S tier, the 5070 is A, and the 5060 Ti and 5060 are B and C. Nvidia’s strengths are DLSS, frame generation and ray tracing. The price is the issue: TechSpot found Nvidia’s cards up about 19% in a single month this summer, and recommended Radeon for most buyers.

Intel Arc tier list

Intel has two cards in the ranking. The Arc B580 is C tier at 50.7 fps and the B570 is D at 44.3. Both are cheap and have more memory than Nvidia’s equivalents, which helps them at higher settings. Driver quality has improved a lot, but reviewers still call Arc support hit or miss.

Ray tracing changes the order

This tier list is raster performance, meaning games without ray tracing. Turn ray tracing on and Nvidia cards move up the list. Tom’s Hardware notes the RTX 5090 leads at every resolution and the RTX 5070 Ti is the last card with reasonable value before prices climb steeply. If you play ray-traced games, weigh the ray tracing results, not only this table.

How to use this list to pick a card

• 1080p at 60 fps and up: C tier is enough, and D tier works with lowered settings.
• 1440p at high settings: B tier or better.
• 4K: S tier. Only the S-tier cards average around 65 fps or more at 4K ultra without upscaling.
• High refresh rate competitive play: the 1080p column matters most, and your processor starts to matter as much as the card. Check for a limit with the CPU bottleneck test.
• Keeping the card five years: go up a tier and take the version with more memory.

A card can be too fast for the rest of the PC. If you are pairing a high-tier GPU with an older processor, enter both into the bottleneck calculator first. For an AM4 build, our best AM4 CPU and Ryzen 5 5600 pairing guides show what each processor can feed.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Tom’s Hardware: GPU benchmarks hierarchy 2026 (frame rates, updated 24 June 2026)
• TechSpot: GPU pricing, Q3 2026
• PC Gamer: best graphics cards

Related tools and guides

• Bottleneck calculator: check your own CPU and GPU pairing.
• Best budget GPU: current prices and picks.
• GPU bottleneck: signs, causes and fixes.
• Best GPU for Ryzen 7 5700X.
• Best GPU for Ryzen 5 7600 and 7600X.
• Best GPU for Ryzen 7 7800X3D.