Best GPU Under $300 for 1080p Gaming in 2026

What Under $300 Actually Buys in October 2026#

We checked Newegg (in stock, sold by Newegg), Best Buy (Aiea, Hawaii store pickup, in stock) and Amazon on October 8, 2026. Stock changes by the day, so treat every figure as a snapshot.

Prices checked October 8, 2026. Launch prices as stated in TechSpot's reviews. Best Buy figures are store pickup prices from one Hawaii store and will differ elsewhere. Stock and price vary by retailer.

The pattern is plain. Below $300, you choose between one modern card with a catch, a six-gigabyte card, and older cards we couldn't find recent tests for. Every card that was a "budget" card in 2025 has moved up by roughly $130 to $250.

Best Pick: Intel Arc B570 10GB#

Why it's here: It is the only plain new card we found under $300 that has a modern design and more than 8GB of memory. It has 10GB on a 160-bit bus. In TechSpot's testing at 1440p with a fast processor (a Ryzen 7 9800X3D), it performed about like the RTX 4060 and RX 7600. At 1080p, which is easier on a card than 1440p, TechRadar measured an average of 60 fps in its test suite.

Who it's for: Someone building or upgrading for 1080p at 60 fps with a $300 hard limit and a processor newer than a Ryzen 5 5600.

What to buy: The ASRock Challenger B570 10GB at $289.99 at Newegg. At Amazon, ASRock's B570 is sold as a bundle with a 650W 80+ Gold power supply for $299.99, which makes sense if you also need a power supply. We saw a Sparkle B570 at $419 from a third-party seller on Amazon; skip it, and skip anything that costs more than a B580.

Caveats: Two. First, the price: TechSpot's launch review said the card was "Decent Performance, Not Great Value" and that "$200 is the maximum it should cost." At $289.99 it is $90 above that line. We recommend it because nothing else we found under $300 is a better modern card, not because it is a bargain. Second, the CPU, which is the next section. TechSpot also called the 10GB buffer a "marginal" improvement over 8GB and said 12GB should be the minimum for cards at $200 or more.

Check Your CPU First#

Intel's Arc cards have more processor overhead than AMD or NVIDIA cards, which means a slower processor can hold them back. TechSpot tested the B570 with a Ryzen 5 5600 as well as the 9800X3D at 1440p, and the results change by game:

• Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered: the B570 went from 27% faster than the RX 7600 with the 9800X3D to 5% slower with the Ryzen 5 5600.
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2: with the Ryzen 5 5600 at native 1440p, the B570 was 20% slower than the RX 7600, and the RTX 4060 was nearly 50% faster than the B570.
• On average, with the Ryzen 5 5600 the B570 roughly matched the RX 7600, and TechSpot advised choosing a competing card such as the RX 7600 with that processor or a slower one.

Our rule: if your processor is a Ryzen 5 5600 or anything older or slower, the B570 is a risk. Check reviews of your specific games before buying. If you want to stay under $300 anyway, the B570's price advantage still holds, since the RX 7600 was $379.99 at Best Buy. If you have a newer processor, the issue mostly goes away, but not completely: TechSpot's tests show it varies by game.

If You Can Stretch: Intel Arc B580 12GB#

If you can spend about $40 more, buy the Arc B580 instead. It has 12GB of memory and was $329.99 at Newegg. In TechSpot's testing, the B570 was 13% slower than the B580 with the 9800X3D and 8% slower with the Ryzen 5 5600. By our own arithmetic that makes them even on cost per frame: $289.99 for 87% of the speed works out to about $333 per B580-equivalent, against $329.99 for the B580 itself. So the extra $40 buys you 2GB more memory at no loss in value. TechSpot called the B580 "the only model worth buying" at its $250 launch price, and the price has risen along with everything else. The CPU warning applies to it too.

If your limit really is $300, take the B570. If it's $330, take the B580.

Cards to Skip at This Budget#

• RTX 5050 8GB. It launched at $250 and now costs $449.99 at Best Buy and $499.99 at Newegg. TechSpot's July 2025 review averaged 66 fps at 1080p across 18 games, found it 3% slower than the RX 7600, and called it "a disappointing product at $250." At today's price, it makes no sense.
• RX 9060 XT 8GB and RTX 5060 8GB. They are the faster cards: TechSpot found the 9060 XT 8GB 44% faster than the RTX 5050 at 1080p, and the RTX 5060 about 22% faster than the RTX 4060 at 1080p (18 games). But they cost $429.99 and $459.99 at Best Buy, well over the budget. TechSpot's verdict in 2025 was that 8GB shouldn't be on any card priced above $200. Most of the problems it showed were at 1440p or with ray tracing, not 1080p, so these cards can still work at 1080p, but at $430 or more, you are close to our 1440p guide's price range.
• RTX 3050 6GB ($249.99 to $279.99). It is the only card under $300 we saw at Best Buy, and Newegg had several. We found no recent test of it, and 6GB is less memory than the 8GB that TechSpot already called insufficient. We skip it.
• RX 7600 8GB ($379.99 at Best Buy). A fair card, but the price is nearly $90 over the B570, which TechSpot found performs about the same with a fast processor.
• Arc A750 8GB ($209.99), refurbished RTX 2080 ($199.99) and GTX 1650 SUPER ($109.99). These are the cheapest cards we saw, but we found no recent independent tests of them, so we can't tell you how they compare to the B570. If you buy a refurbished card, check the warranty and return policy first. We also did not price the used market.

How to Choose#

1. Confirm you're gaming at 1080p. A 1080p monitor needs far less than 1440p. If you play at 1440p, see our Best GPU for 1440p Gaming Around $500 guide.
2. Set the budget with today's price, not the launch price. Every card here costs more than it launched for, the B570 included.
3. Check the memory size in the listing. Make sure the title says 8GB, 10GB or 12GB. A "6GB" or "4GB" card is a trap at this price.
4. Check your CPU before buying an Arc card. A Ryzen 5 5600 or older is the warning zone.
5. Buy the base model. Premium overclocked versions cost more for very little speed. We saw a Sparkle B570 at $419.
6. Set a ceiling. We'd pay up to $300 for the B570. Above that, or if the B580 is within about $40, buy the B580.
7. Check the power supply. TechRadar lists the B570 at 150W. Check the specific model's power connector against your power supply before you buy.

FAQ#

Conclusion#

At October 2026 prices, "best GPU under $300 for 1080p" has a short answer. The Intel Arc B570 10GB is the pick, at $289.99 at Newegg, as long as your processor is newer than a Ryzen 5 5600 and you accept that it costs about $90 more than TechSpot thought it was worth at launch.

The rest of the list is a warning. The RTX 5050, RX 9060 XT 8GB and RTX 5060 have all moved to $430 or more, the RTX 3050 has only 6GB, and the cheapest older cards have no recent tests we can cite. If you can spend $330, the Arc B580 with 12GB is the better buy, and by our arithmetic it costs about the same per frame.

Check today's price before you buy. Everything here was a snapshot from October 8, 2026, and prices have been moving for months. If the B570 climbs above $300, treat the B580 as the pick. For other budgets, see our Best Graphics Cards for Gaming in 2026 hub, the Best GPU for 1440p Gaming Around $500 guide, the Best GPU for 4K Gaming in 2026 guide, and our RTX 5070 vs RX 9070 comparison.