We're refreshing our picks
Prices for graphics cards in this category have moved above £500 since our last review. We track the market daily and will restore the under-£500 recommendations the moment products come back into bracket.
In the meantime, here are the nearest brackets with current picks:
Frequently Asked Questions
No, Gigabyte is an independent Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, not a subsidiary or division of Nvidia. Nvidia designs the GPU chips and sets reference specifications, while Gigabyte designs its own circuit boards, cooling systems and factory overclocks around those chips. Other companies such as ASUS, MSI and Sapphire do the same thing, and they are all referred to as add-in board partners (AIBs).
This is a comparison between two different types of company, so the question is a little like asking whether Ford or Michelin makes better cars. Nvidia designs GPU chips, while Gigabyte manufactures graphics cards using those chips. You cannot buy a 'Nvidia graphics card' directly in the same way you buy a Gigabyte one at retail. Gigabyte produces cards using both Nvidia and AMD GPUs, so the better question is whether you want an Nvidia or AMD GPU inside your Gigabyte card.
There have been some consumer discussions online regarding Gigabyte's warranty and RMA practices in certain markets, and the company faced criticism over some motherboard power delivery issues in 2021. However, Gigabyte remains one of the largest and most widely stocked hardware brands in the UK, with standard statutory warranty protections applying to all purchases made from UK retailers. There is no widespread organised boycott of the brand in the UK market.
Both Gigabyte and MSI are considered top-tier add-in board partners with comparable build quality, cooling performance and warranty support in the UK. Independent reviews generally show their flagship coolers, such as Gigabyte's AORUS and MSI's Gaming X Trio, performing within a few degrees of each other. The better choice at any given time usually comes down to price, specific model availability, and personal preference for aesthetics or software.
In terms of absolute performance regardless of price, Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5090 currently holds the top position in most benchmark charts as of mid-2025. However, within the under-£500 budget covered in this article, the Gigabyte RX 9060 XT GAMING OC 16G offers the best combination of modern architecture, VRAM capacity and price. The 'best' card always depends on your resolution, budget and use case.
