The YouTube channel PC Centric has evaluated current graphics card models for summer 2026, naming the best and worst choices for building a gaming PC. The channel reported that choosing a gaming graphics processing unit remains a difficult task in 2026 because paying a high price does not always guarantee matching performance.
The reviewer identified AMD's Radeon RX 9070 XT as the main favorite among current offerings. At a relatively affordable price point, the card features 16 GB of video random-access memory, confidently handles video games in 2K and 4K resolutions, and delivers excellent performance with ray tracing enabled.
Another successful option highlighted by the expert is the Radeon RX 9070 GRE. In terms of speed and performance, the card almost catches up to Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5070 while selling at a lower price.
Graphics cards, or GPUs, serve as the primary hardware component responsible for rendering visual graphics in gaming systems. Video memory, known as VRAM, allows cards to store high-resolution textures and complex image data required by modern video games running at high display resolutions like 2K and 4K.
Top budget graphics cards
In the budget market segment, PC Centric noted that buyers should consider the RTX 5060, the RTX 5050, and the Intel Arc B580. The reviewer singled out the RTX 5060 Ti equipped with 8 GB of video memory as a notable option for competitive and multiplayer gaming.
The expert explained that while an 8 GB RTX 5060 Ti works well for competitive titles where high frames per second are essential, 8 GB of memory can become a severe limitation in single player games running on high graphics settings.
Modern game engines increasingly demand larger memory pools to render complex assets without graphical stuttering. As high definition graphics standards advance, cards equipped with larger VRAM capacities generally offer greater longevity for high end titles.
Cards to avoid in 2026
Among the less successful purchases on the market, PC Centric placed the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti. Although the reviewer noted that the card itself is excellent and supports current Nvidia technologies, an ongoing memory crisis has driven up prices noticeably, causing the card to lose much of its appeal. A similar pricing issue affects the lower tier RTX 5070 model.
The reviewer also advised against buying the 8 GB version of the Radeon RX 9060 XT, which sells for a higher price than the 8 GB RTX 5060. Limited VRAM volume is already causing problems in modern video games, forcing players to lower texture quality and other graphical settings to achieve stable performance.
GeForce RTX 5090 was categorized separately as the most irrational purchase available. While it stands as the most powerful gaming graphics card on the market, its price near $4,000 turns the device into a solution strictly for hardware enthusiasts, making such expenditure unjustified for the vast majority of gamers.
Steam survey trends
The findings follow a user survey conducted by Steam, the PC gaming platform operated by Valve, which named the most optimal gaming PC configuration for July 2026. Steam reported that the GTX 3060 retained its title as the most popular graphics card among surveyed users, while Nvidia RTX 50 series models and configurations featuring 16 GB of VRAM are steadily growing in popularity.
