What are the Best GPUs under $100 for 2023?

NVIDIA NVS 310

The NVIDIA NVS 310 is another low-profile under-$100 GPU you can get right now, though it is almost 10 years old as of 2023. It is mainly targeted at professional applications such as rendering and modeling. If you want to use this card as a gaming card, don’t.

The specs include a core clock of 50MHz, and a memory configuration of 512MB GDDR3 with a memory bandwidth of 64 bits. It is also capable of driving 23 displays with a maximum resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels.

Apart from driving low-level modeling and rendering, this card is also capable of handling Blu-ray movies and 720p video content satisfactorily. It has only one connectivity port – a dual DisplayPort. It also features the following Compute APIs: CUDA, DirectCompute, and OpenCL.

AMD Radeon HD 7470

The AMD Radeon 7470 is a nice small form-factor GPU upgrade from integrated graphics. To be factual, this is not a gaming graphics card. If you are looking for an ultra-low budget gaming GPU, look at the other options in this review.

Meanwhile, this card will run your graphics fairly well, and will power your movie watching and other PC applications quite well. It can power 4 connected displays, with connectivity options including HDMI, VGA, and DisplayPort 1.2.

Other specs include a core clock of 625MHz, a 1GB GDDR3 video memory with 64-bit bandwidth, and HDR/HDCP support. This card plays videos in HD quite satisfactorily, with a maximum output resolution of 2560×1600 pixels.

AMD Radeon R7 240

This is another small form factor GPU from AMD, built on the Oland Pro GCN 1.1 architecture, with 2GB DDR3 RAM. This card is a younger sibling of the R7 250 and may be considered the lowest card in that series. However, don’t let that fool you because this card packs quite a punch in terms of performance when pitched against its peers. The heck it can even square up with the likes of Geforce GT 710, though the latter is built on a more recent platform.

It can play most games at low resolutions and settings but will struggle at higher settings. Don’t expect much with modern games, because this baby is quite limited in terms of processing power.

It has 320 stream processors, a core clock of 60MHz, and will drive up to 2 displays. Connectivity options include HDMI, VGA, and DVI. It also has the ability to drive up to 3 displays, with a maximum resolution of 4096 x 2160 pixels.

AMD Radeon HD 6350

The AMD Radeon HD 6350 1GB small form factor gaming GPU offers the most features and functionality in its class with complete DirectX 11 support and decent performance in games, display features, and technologies. It is designed to deliver a feature-laden gaming/computing experience for low-budget gaming users.

The Radeon HD 6350 enables a seamless HD gaming experience with amazing image quality. At the “heart” of the unit is a 650MHz graphics processor, with 80 stream processors and a 128-bit memory interface. It is also able to power up to 3 displays with a maximum resolution of 2560×1600 pixels.

If you are using your PC for movie watching or as a media center, it handles playback quite well. Things like video playback, editing, and transferring content to portable media players are fast and easy.

However, don’t expect much in terms of performance. If you want to play the most recent games, you just have to dial down the settings for a playable experience. Don’t forget that it will not even play some titles because it supports only Direct X 11.

Its multi-monitor support for advanced multitasking is quite useful, and the Short Form Factor design fits in today’s Low Profile desktops and workstations (short bracket mounted on card). The Card is can be converted to a standard ATX design with (included) tall bracket for standard chassis as well.

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GeForce GT 210

This card is quite a reasonable upgrade from an integrated GPU, as it offers decent entry-level performance for gaming. It is built on the Fermi architecture and will allow you to play supported games at around 30fps, though this is strictly not a gaming card.

This card is a cheap upgrade if you are unsatisfied with the integrated graphics of your pre-built OEM PC, so it fits the bill. If you are running a home media server or light photo/video editing, then this card might be the cheap upgrade you need.

Some of its specs include 1GB of RAM with 128-bit bandwidth, a core clock of 475MHz, 24 CUDA cores, a maximum digital resolution of 2560×1600, and the ability to support 2 connected displays. Connectivity options include Sub-15, HDMI, and DVI.

AMD Radeon R7 250

This is another fine under $100 previous-generation graphics card, albeit an elder sibling of the R7 240. This card performs even better than the R7 240 for gaming, but if you are going to play the latest games, you won’t get much performance. You are better off keeping it at the lowest settings. (see the table below for supported game setting recommendations.

The card is based on the same architecture as the 240 (Oland Pro), with 1GB of fast GDDR5 memory running at a 128-bit bus. There are also 384 Stream processors and the card is capable of supporting 3 displays. Connectivity options include DVI, HDMI, and VGA.

Geforce 8400 GS

The Geforce 8400GS is a great ultra-budget under $100 card you can get right now as an upgrade from crappy integrated graphics. It’s a great card that handles watching HD-DVD and Blu-ray movies on a PC with ease, thanks to its processing capabilities.

With its NVIDIA PureVideo HD Technology, you experience smooth video playback, accurate colors, precise image scaling, video decode acceleration, and post-processing, all provided by the graphics card to give you the best HD experience possible. This feature also offloads from the CPU to help reduce power consumption.

You can also utilize this as a gaming card, but don’t expect great performance in most games because this is not a gaming card. You will have to dial down the settings and resolution before you can get some decent playing experience.

Some of its specs include a 1GB DDR3 video memory running on a 64-bit bus, 8 CUDA cores for parallel computing, a core clock of 520MHz, a maximum digital resolution of 2560 x 1600, and connectivity options including DVI, VGA, and HDMI.

GeForce GT 610

This is another fine Fermi architecture, a low-profile GPU from the previous generation 600 series from NVIDIA that will enable you to game and watch HD videos, and at the same time support up to 2 displays.

This card is a good upgrade from an integrated GPU for better computing, whether for work or play. It comes with 1GB DDR3 RAM at 64-bit bus width. It also has a core clock of 810MHz and 48 CUDA cores for compute capabilities. The card is also able to output up to 2560 x 1600 pixels, with DVI, HDMI, and VGA outputs.

Finally, it is also 3D-Ready, as you can actually watch your 3D movies with a capable monitor and 3D goggles.

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