The Best GTX

Why Buying A New GTX Does Not Make Sense Anymore

Let’s be direct: there is no best GTX to buy new in 2026. NVIDIA ended the GTX line with the 16-series, and any sealed GTX 1650, GTX 1660 Super, or GTX 1630 you still see on shelves is old stock selling for more than it should. Those cards lack DLSS upscaling, lack usable ray tracing hardware, lack AV1 encoding, and lack the current driver priority that RTX 30-series and 40-series cards get. If you are building or upgrading a gaming PC today, an RTX card will last longer and hold resale value better for the same money. The only reason to talk about GTX at all is the used market, where prices have finally dropped to where these cards make sense for very specific, low-budget builds.

I have tested GTX cards alongside their RTX replacements in budget systems for years. The pattern is consistent: a used GTX is fine for 1080p medium settings in older or esports titles, but it falls apart in newer games that expect upscaling. Without DLSS, a GTX 1660 Super has to render every pixel natively. An RTX card in the same price range can render at 720p internally and reconstruct to 1080p, which is often a 30 to 40 percent performance gap. That is not marketing. That is the difference between a stable 60 fps and a stuttery 40 fps in games like Alan Wake 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and Starfield.

The Only Used GTX Cards Still Worth Considering

If your budget is hard-capped under $120 used and you understand the limits, three GTX models are still defensible. Everything else — GT 1030, GTX 1050 Ti, GTX 1630, most 3GB GTX 1060s — should be skipped. They are too slow, have too little VRAM, or cost more than faster used alternatives.

First is the GTX 1660 Super 6GB. This is the best all-around used GTX for 1080p. It runs Valorant, League of Legends, CS2, Fortnite, and Apex Legends at 100+ fps on competitive settings, and handles GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Elden Ring at 1080p medium around 55-60 fps. Power draw is modest at 125 watts, so it works with a decent 450W power supply and a single 8-pin connector. The failure mode to watch is VRAM. Six gigabytes is already tight. You will need to leave textures on medium in newer games or you will get hitching. Also avoid single-fan ITX models pulled from prebuilts unless your case has good airflow — they run hot and loud, often hitting 82-84C under load.

Second is the GTX 1080 Ti 11GB. On raw speed it still beats an RTX 3060 in some older games, and the 11GB buffer holds up better than you would expect. It suits someone with a 650W+ power supply who plays at 1080p high-refresh or 1440p medium and does not care about ray tracing or DLSS. The trade-offs are serious: it is a 250-watt card from 2017, most units have been mined on or gamed on heavily for seven-plus years, and it has no DLSS, no AV1, and weak NVENC for streaming compared to RTX. Only buy one if you can test it in person, check for artifacting after 15 minutes of load, and confirm temperatures stay under 83C. If the seller will not let you stress test, walk away.

Third is the GTX 1650 GDDR6 low-profile version, and only for prebuilt office PCs with no power connector. If you have a Dell Optiplex or HP Pavilion with a 260W power supply and you want to play indie games, Minecraft, or older titles at 1080p low-medium, this is the safest plug-in upgrade. It draws all power from the PCIe slot. Do not pay more than $80-90 used. Anything more and you should be saving for an RTX 3050 6GB, which also runs without a power plug in some models and adds DLSS.

What To Buy Instead Of A GTX

For almost everyone, the cheaper new RTX option is the smarter buy. If you were looking at a $160 new GTX 1650 — do not buy it. For about $280-300, a new RTX 4060 is roughly 90 percent faster than a GTX 1660 Super, uses only 115 watts, and gives you DLSS 3 Frame Generation and AV1 encoding for Discord and OBS. That means you can buy a smaller power supply, run quieter, and keep the card for three to four years instead of one.

If you can stretch to $550-600, the RTX 4070 Super is where 1440p high-refresh becomes comfortable without compromises. I have run it at 1440p ultra with DLSS Quality in Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Call of Duty at well over 100 fps, while a GTX 1080 Ti struggles to hold 55 fps at native 1440p medium in those same titles. It also runs cooler than the old flagship, typically 65-70C with a two-fan cooler.

On a strict budget, shop used RTX instead of used GTX. A used RTX 3060 12GB for around $180-200 is a better long-term pick than any GTX 1660 Super at $100. You get DLSS 2, much better NVENC, and double the VRAM. The only time the $100 GTX wins is when you absolutely cannot spend the extra $80. Be honest with yourself here: if you plan to play anything released after 2023, save the extra month and get the RTX card.

Who Should Still Buy A GTX And Who Should Not

A used GTX suits three people. One, parents upgrading a kid’s first PC for Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite at 1080p — a $90 GTX 1660 Super is plenty. Two, someone reviving a 2016-2019 office tower as a second PC or living room emulator box where power and budget are tight. Three, troubleshooters who need a cheap display-out card for testing systems.

Everyone else should skip GTX. Do not buy a GTX for 1440p gaming, for streaming, for Blender or DaVinci Resolve, or for a new build you want to keep for more than two years. The lack of DLSS and AI upscaling is a hard wall. Newer Unreal Engine 5 games already assume upscaling exists. A GTX owner has to drop resolution and live with blur or low fps. An RTX owner just turns on DLSS Quality. The failure mode I see most is buyers spending $130 on a used GTX 1660 Ti, then six months later spending $300 on an RTX 4060 anyway because Starfield or Stalker 2 will not run well. That ends up costing $430 instead of $300.

If you do buy used GTX, insist on a dual-fan model from EVGA, ASUS, MSI, or Gigabyte, ask for photos of the card running, and budget for new thermal paste if temperatures exceed 83C. Replace the paste, clean the fins with compressed air, and undervolt slightly in MSI Afterburner. That alone often drops noise by 30 percent on old 1080 Ti and 1660 Super cards.

FAQ

Is any GTX card still good for gaming in 2026?

Only used, and only for 1080p medium or esports. The GTX 1660 Super is the safest used pick. For new games with ray tracing or heavy effects, even a budget RTX card with DLSS will beat a faster-on-paper GTX.

Should I buy a new GTX 1650 or GTX 1660 Super?

No. New old stock is overpriced, usually $150-220, and has no warranty advantage over a new RTX 3050 or RTX 4060. Buy used under $120 if you must have GTX, otherwise buy RTX new.

Is a used GTX 1080 Ti better than an RTX 3060?

Sometimes in older games at native resolution, yes, by 5-10 percent. In newer games with DLSS, the RTX 3060 pulls ahead by 25-40 percent and uses 80 watts less. Unless you find a clean 1080 Ti under $150 and have a strong power supply, get the RTX 3060.

How much power do I need for a GTX upgrade?

A GTX 1650 needs no extra connector and works with most 300W+ prebuilt supplies. A GTX 1660 Super needs a 450W supply with one 8-pin. A GTX 1080 Ti needs a quality 650W supply with two 8-pins. When in doubt, check the label on your power supply before buying.