AMD RX 6650 XT to Nvidia 3060: Best gaming GPUs you can buy under Rs 30,000

To give you a quick recap, GeForce GTX 1650 is an entry-level card that comes with 4GB of VRAM, which should be enough to play online multiplayer titles and light games. However, AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Forza Horizon 5 will require you to dial down texture quality and graphic presets to low or medium.

If you are someone who wants to get into gaming or is on a tight budget, the Geforce GTX 1650 is one of the best cards available right now despite being launched in 2019. It is available on several websites and usually sells for around Rs 12,500.

Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT 4GB

The AMD Radeon RX 6500 is another entry-level card that comes with 4GB of VRAM . Based on the RDNA 2 architecture, it supports ‘AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution’ feature and ‘Smart Access Memory for select Ryzen processors.’

The dual fan card operates silently and comes with an HDMI 2. 1 and DisplayPort 1.4a port. One thing to note here is that if your PC doesn’t feature PCIe 4.0 connectivity, the performance might drop a bit.

Similar to the GeForce GTX 1650, it can comfortably run most games on medium to low settings on 1080p and is good for light titles like Fortnite and Counter-Strike. Reviewers had initially bashed the RX 6500 for its high price, but with the cost now down to Rs 15,000, it is a good choice for those who don’t want an NVIDIA card.

Inno3D GeForce RTX 3050 TWIN X2 8GB

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 is the cheapest graphic card from the company that offers ray tracing. Packing 8GB of VRAM, the card can easily run most AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Death Stranding on 1080p or 2K on medium to high settings but might struggle with recent titles that require more memory. If you turn on ray tracing, be ready to enable DLSS and dial down settings to medium or low.

On the connectivity front, the Inno3D GeForce RTX 3050 Twin X2 comes with 3 DisplayPort 1.4a and one HDMI 2.1 port. It is currently selling for approx. Rs 22,000 and is the best budget card that offers ray tracing.

Asus Dual Radeon RX 6650 XT OC Edition 8GB

AMD’s Radeon RX 6650 XT is a mid-tier card that comes with 8GB VRAM and supports DirectX ray tracing and AMD Fidelity FX. On paper, it is slightly faster than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT and offers performance similar to the NVIDIA  GeForce RTX 3060.

If you don’t care about ray tracing performance and want a card that can easily most AAA titles like FarCry 6 and Cyberpunk 2077 at 60fps or more on high settings at 1080p or 2K resolution, the Asus Dual Radeon RX 6650 XT OC Edition is a no brainer. Like all other cards on the list, it is available on several websites and can be purchased for somewhere around Rs 26,000.

Colorful GeForce RTX 3060 NB DUO 12GB

According to Steam’s Hardware Survey conducted in March 2023, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 is the most popular card on the platform, and for a good reason. With 12GB VRAM, it can easily run recent titles at max graphics, with some like Cyberpunk 2077 with psycho ray tracing running at 40-45 FPS.

The Colorful GeForce RTX 3060 NB DUO comes with three fans that operate silently, and runs cool most of the time, even in Indian summers. If you are looking for the most powerful card under Rs 30,000 that can comfortably run games with ray tracing enabled at 1080p or 2k on medium to high settings, the Colorful GeForce RTX 3060 NB DUO is your best bet. It usually sells for Rs 31,000, but you might occasionally find it for Rs 30,000 during sales or when clubbed with discounts.