GeForce GT 1030 and Radeon RX 550 are the two latest budget graphics cards launched by Nvidia and AMD respectively. These entry-level graphics cards are aimed at gamers who just want to play less demanding games, eSports games, and older games on their budget gaming PC. These two graphics cards are priced under 100 dollars and here I am going to provide you with the complete details and specifications of these entry-level graphics cards for gaming on a budget.
Must Read: Best Graphics Cards under 100 dollars for Gaming
Radeon RX 550
Radeon RX 550 is an entry-level graphics card in the Radeon RX 500 series lineup and is based on the Polaris GPU architecture from AMD. This graphics card is aimed at users with moderate gaming needs and who have a lower budget. However, the card is powerful enough to run eSports titles and older games at high graphics settings with playable frame rates.
The card has got Polaris 12 GPU built on 14nm FinFET process and comes with 512 Stream Processors and 2GB / 4GB GDDR5 memory. The memory interface is 128-bit wide and memory speed of 7Gbps. The card supports all the major latest graphics APIs that include DirectX 12, Vulkan, and OpenGL 4.5. The maximum power consumption of 50 Watt and it does not require external power from the PSU. The card sells at under 100 dollars and the price can vary according to different graphics card manufacturers.
| Radeon RX 550 Specifications | |
| Stream Processors | 512 |
| GPU Clock | 1183 MHz |
| Memory Clock | 7000 MHz |
| Memory Size | 2GB / 4GB GDDR5 |
| Memory Interface | 128-bit |
| Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
| DirectX | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 |
| Output Ports | DP, Dual DVI, HDMI |
GeForce GT 1030
GeForce GT 1030 is an entry-level GeForce 10 series graphics card that Nvidia has introduced to tackle AMD’s Radeon RX 550. GeForce GT 1030 is based on the Pascal GPU architecture and has got Pascal GP1080 GPU built on the 16nm FinFET manufacturing process. This budget graphics card from Nvidia comes with 384 CUDA Cores and 2GB GDDR5 video memory (VRAM) having 64-bit interface.
There is not much detail out about GeForce GT 1030 but it is expected to perform much better than the older budget graphics cards that include GeForce GT 730, GeForce GT 740, GeForce GTX 750 and can be at par with older mid-range graphics card which is GeForce GTX 750 Ti. GeForce GT 1030 has a maximum power consumption of 30W and it does not require additional power from the PSU. The card is expected to be priced at around $69 – $79. Below you can see KFA2 GeForce GT 1030 EXOC Graphics Card that comes with 64-bit 2GB GDDR5 memory. This is a low profile graphics card and has got DVI and HDMI connectors.
| GeForce GT 1030 Specifications | |
| CUDA Cores | 384 |
| GPU Clock | 1252 MHz / 1506 MHz (approx) |
| Memory Clock | 6000 MHz |
| Memory Size | 2GB GDDR5 |
| Memory Interface | 64-bit |
| Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
| DirectX | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 |
| Output Ports | DVI, HDMI |
Radeon RX 550 vs GeForce GT 1030 Comparison
Both Radeon RX 550 and GeForce GT 1030 are budget or entry-level graphics cards having almost similar kinds of specifications we can expect similarities in performance too. The advantage of Radeon RX 550 is that it has a wider memory bus-width of 128-bits and this results in a much higher memory bandwidth (almost double) compared to that of GeForce GT 1030.
Radeon RX 550 comes with 512 Stream Processors while GeForce GT 1030 has only 384 CUDA Cores but we cannot compare them as a whole because you cannot equate Nvidia CUDA Cores to AMD’s Stream Processors because both have different GPU architecture and their working is also very different. You can read the difference between CUDA Cores and Stream Processors from the link given below.
Must Read: CUDA Cores vs Stream Processors Explained
The advantage of GeForce GT 1030 over Radeon RX 550 is that it has a lower power consumption of 30W only, but this won’t make any huge difference at all because both these graphics cards have lower power consumption as such, and both do not require external power connectors from the PSU. In terms of performance you cannot expect them to run latest games or AAA titles at 1080p but what you can expect is decent gaming performance in older games and in eSports titles at high graphics settings and with more than comfortable frame rates.
| Specifications | Radeon RX 550 | GeForce GT 1030 |
| GPU architecture | Polaris | Pascal |
| Manufacturing Process | 14nm FinFET | 16nm FinFET |
| Pixel Pipelines | 512 | 384 |
| Memory Size | 2GB / 4GB GDDR5 | 2GB GDDR5 |
| Memory Interface | 128-bit | 64-bit |
| Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 | PCI Express 3.0 |
| DirectX | 12 | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Power Consumption (TDP) | 50W | 30W |
Final Words
So if you are looking for a latest budget graphics cards for your PC then Radeon RX 550 and GeForce GT 1030 are the ones that you should go for. They are cheap, have lower power consumption, are built on the latest GPU architectures, and offer a decent amount of gaming performance. If you have any queries or want to ask something about graphics cards then please leave a comment below.
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Which among these Graphics Cards, namely, GeForce GT 1030 or Radeon RX 550, better for 4K video editing & Playback [Ultra HD Blu-ray files]. [I don’t want to play any games.]
I mainly use “Avidemux 2.7” AND “mkvmerge GUI” for video editing purposes.
My computer specificatins r as follows:
Motherboard: GA-B150M-D3H
CPU: 15-6500 @ 3.20GHz
RAM: 8GB
Monitor: LG FullHD 23inch IPS
OS: Win 7 Ultimate-64bit
Processor Graphics in use: Intel HD Graphics 530
OpenGL version: 4.4
OpenCL version: 2.0
Vulkan Version: 1.0.31
Thanking You
Johny
Between these two I would suggest Radeon RX 550 but I strongly recommend you to go for GeForce GTX 1050 2GB GDDR5 which is a much better card and is slightly higher in price compared to RX 550.
I’ve decided to follow your recommendation and buy GeForce GTX 1050 2GB GDDR5.
Thank You very much sir
Johny
You are welcome Johny.
I have a small 3rd gen i5 HTPC needing low profile cards, and connected via HDMI to an AV receiver and TV.
I’d like to update from the integrated video to get 4K 60Hz (hdmi 2.0) support. Which of these cards is best? Is there a better alternative? This system will never game.
Thanks, Paul
Both are good and have almost the same performance. However, it is a bit difficult to find low profile RX 550. I think you should be totally fine with GTX 1030 and the model i recommend for it is Gigabyte GeForce GT 1030 Low Profile 2G [GV-N1030D5-2GL]. You can check it out at https://graphicscardhub.com/best-geforce-gt-1030/. If you want for a powerful gaming one then you can go for MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GT LP (https://graphicscardhub.com/best-low-profile-graphics-card/). If you have any more doubts then feel free to ask.
Wonderfull explanation.
I have myself a humble system with Asus M5A88-V EVO motherboard, 16GB DDR3 RAM memory and eight core AMD FX 8320 processor. I use basically Photoshop, Lightroom and Vegas 17. I also use 3 monitores with this setup. A 27” Dell (display port, hdmi and vga) plus two Samsung 15” with D-Sub conection only (SyncMaster 510n) as satellites monitors. Recently I have upgraded my system to Windows 10 pro and it is time to upgrade my video card. My budget is low, below 200 dollars. What is the best choice in this cenario?
Thanks a lot for any help.
I suggest GTX 1650 SUPER and the specific model that I would like to recommend is the MSI GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X. You can check it here https://graphicscardhub.com/best-gtx-1650-super/
Thank you so much Akshat.
This model is absolutely a winner, but way expensive here in my country (Brazil), Could you please give me a cheaper alternative?
Thanks again.
OK, then go with GTX 1650 (non-SUPER).
Ok Mr. Verma.
I’ll take a look. Thank you very much.
Cheers.
Hey bro which one among these two gpu should I choose for my small rig (for gaming at 720p)😊
Setup
i3 3220 3.3ghz
6gb ram
450watts psu
Go with the GeFore GT 1030 (GDDR5 version). The specific model that I would like to suggest is the ZOTAC GeForce GT 1030 2GB GDDR5.
Is Arez rx 550 very bad than gt 1030
It costs a bit less than 1030 in my region.😊
Both these cards perform almost similar. How much is the price difference between the two in your region?
Asus Arez rx 550 2gb costs nearly 5000rs or 70dollars while zotac gt 1030 2gb costs nearly 6500rs or 90dollars in my region
then go with the RX 550 only.
Ok thanks bro. Btw is there any difference between Asus Arez rx 550 and any other brands like gigabyte or Asus itself as they cost much higher than this Arez model. Just asking 😊
No difference in the specifications and performance. It is just that they may have a slightly better cooler and a bit higher clock speeds.
Ok thanks bro you r the best.🥰 U cleared all my doubts.
Will be supporting u all the time 😊
Thank you and you are most welcome.
Bro hope u remembers me😊
One more doubt.😅
Can I overclock Arez rx 550 just as any other model.
If yes , will it give a considerable amount of boost for gaming and also upto how much can I overclock 🤗
It is not worth the risk overclocking a budget graphics card because the performance boost you will get is almost negligible.
Ohh😕
But in many vids I saw that overclocking gt 1030 and cards like that gives a good boost to games . Like 5 to 10 fps more🤔.
And I don’t want to risk destroying the card by overclocking too much, I don’t even plan to change anything except core clock speed and memory speed.
Well, I don’t recommend it for this Arez model because the cooler seems to be very basic. However, if you want to overclock it then just overclock the GPU core to 50MHz more in steps of 10MHz and don’t touch the memory speed.
Didn’t knew that I should not touch the memory speed(don’t know why 🤨) . I will do as you say when I buys this card probably in the next month. Before that just clearing my doubts.
And btw can I use this card to do small scale animations, modelling and stuff like that in Blender, unity and programs like that.
Memory overclocking is very tricky because it can lead to serious instability and artifacts on the screen. It can only be done when you know in advance that the memory used on the card is rated for higher speeds compared to what it is actually running on. Yes you can use it small animations and other workloads.
Thanks bro for your wonderful explanations😍
Bro last day when I went to Asus’s site and looked about the Arez Rx 550 2gb gddr5, why is it written that it has 6000mhz ( effective) memory speed while other models have 7000mhz. Should I be worried about that 😃
May be it uses a lower clocked memory or its memory is underclocked. I don’t think you will have a significant performance loss.
Ohh😯 k then.
And Can I play NFS heat at 720p low with my above mentioned setup as it’s minimum requirements is quite low.
I think you can but I suggest you to upgrade your RAM to 8GB or more.
And bro is there any other gpu that I should consider looking except gt 1030 and rx 550 under this 6000rs category (better if 5000rs and same performance)
These are the only options in this price range.
I have a HP elitedesk 800 g2 sff, and I do know that it only has a 200w PSU. I’ve read on many forums that people have not had issues with a 1050ti/1650. I personally don’t want to risk the extra 40w going from gt1030 to a 1050ti/1650. Because the 800g2 uses a much more efficient 6th Gen i5-6500, they were able to go from 240w to 200w. So I’m sure I could pick up a used G1 power supply and gain 40w and move to a 1650? The gt 1030 (zodiac – I think is the only variant that fits ssf) is $100. An extra $50 for a zodiac 1650 plus a used HP PSU sounds attractive. Thanks for any thoughts.
I think with G1 power supply (240W), you can run low profile GTX 1050 Ti / GTX 1650.
I am building a new pc for window11…during install i get a gop error..so windows will only install in legacy mode not uefi..my video card is too old a radeon hd6770.i am thinking upgrading my video to a gt1030which is cheap around aud$150 for a 2gb..
I am just worried i might not use the uefi mode..which controls secureboot.. my pc hv tpm2 ..the last time i build a pc was 10years ago so i am familiar with mbr boots and not uefi.
My question is which video card is uefi compatible..windows 11 require directx12…my card is directx11..thks
Well, all modern generation graphics cards are UEFI compatible.
thks..i wont have to worry so much i guess modern means like a less than 5 yrs old..all the best