If you are a type of gamer who wants to play latest games in full glory at 4K resolution then you will need a high-end graphics card along with a fast modern processor and more than 16GB of RAM. For 1440p and 4K gaming on high settings, you will require a powerful graphics card with lots of video memory. These high-end graphics cards are expensive but they are worth every penny for serious gamers. The price range of these high-end graphics cards is generally between 500 to 700 dollars, which is way lower compared to that of ultimate graphics cards.
On these graphics cards, you can run all the latest games on Ultra settings at 1440p and on high settings at 4K. At 1440p you may get more than 100 frames per second but at 4K you will be at around 50 – 60 fps which is also buttery smooth. Before getting these graphics cards you must have at least 500 Watt good quality PSU otherwise you will face huge problems or it may cause possible damage to your power supply or other computer components. Here in this post, I am going to list down the best top-end video cards for the best gaming experience.
Check out: Best Graphics Cards under 500 dollars
Best High-end Graphics Cards from Nvidia
Here are the top high-end graphics cards for gaming at 1440p and 4k resolutions.
GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition
GeForce RTX 2080 is the second card from the top in the RTX 20 series and one of the most powerful graphics cards for gaming. The card is built on the Turing GPU architecture which is the successor to the Volta architecture, and one of the most advanced GPU architectures ever made. It supports Real Time Ray Tracing, Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning. The card comes with 2944 CUDA Cores, RT Cores for Ray Tracing and Tensor Cores for AI & Deep Learning. It is equipped with 8GB GDDR6 memory having 256-bit interface. For cooling, the card comes with dual fans and black heatsink with vapor chamber design.
RTX 2080 is around 30% to 40% faster than the GTX 1080 and its performance is comparable to GTX 1080 Ti, which is the highest card in the GTX 10 series. It can run latest games on ultra graphics settings at 4K resolution with 50 FPS to 60 FPS. The card requires one 8-pin and one 6-pin PCI-E power connectors and a 650W PSU for working. Connectivity options include three DisplayPort, one HDMI port and USB Type-C connector that supports VirtualLink to connect VR headsets directly.
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| GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition Specifications | |
| CUDA Cores | 2944 |
| GPU Clock | 1515 / 1800 MHz (Base / Boost) |
| Memory Clock | 14 Gbps |
| Memory Size | 8GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Interface | 256-bit |
| Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
| DirectX | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 |
| Output Ports | DisplayPort 1.4 x 3, HDMI 2.0b x 1, USB Type-C |
Buy GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition
GeForce GTX 1080
GeForce GTX 1080 is the flagship graphics card from Nvidia and is currently the top graphics card in the GeForce GTX 10 series. It is around 70% – 80% faster than then Radeon RX 480 which is the top graphics card in the Radeon RX 400 series.
GeForce GTX 1080 is built on the latest Nvidia Pascal architecture that delivers exceptional gaming performance at lower power consumption. GeForce GTX 1080 is almost twice as powerful as the GTX 980 which was the older top-end graphics card. The performance difference between GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 is not that huge with GTX 1080 being around 20% faster. GTX 1080 fully supports DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5 and provides you the best Virtual Reality (VR) experience.
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 consists of 2560 CUDA cores which is 640 more than found in GTX 1070. The standard memory configuration is 8GB and the most important thing is that it comes with GDDR5X memory. GDDR5X is the fastest memory as of today and is almost twice as fast as GDDR5. The memory interface is 256-bits only and the card supports G-Sync, GPU Boost, SLI, DirectX 12, Vulkan, OpenGL. The maximum power consumption of the card is 180W and it needs a minimum of 500 Watt power supply for its working. The card requires an 8-pin PCI-E power connector. Here below are the best GeForce GTX 1080 graphics cards from different manufacturers.
Must Read: Best GTX 1080 Graphics Cards for High-end Gaming PC
MSI GeForce GTX 1080 GAMING X 8G
An overclocked GeForce GTX 1080 from MSI. The card comes with MSI’s patented TWIN FROZR VI cooling technology with dual TORX 2.0 Fans that keep the card temperature low and also makes the card very silent in operation.
You can play latest games like DOOM, GTA5, Elite Dangerous on 4k on high settings at 60+ fps. The build quality of the card is very good and it requires an 8-pin PCI-E power connector a good 500W power supply for its working. The card supports SLI or Scalable Link Interface. Other features include RGB LED Lighting, metal backplate, etc.
| MSI GeForce GTX 1080 GAMING X 8G Specifications | |
| CUDA Cores | 2560 |
| GPU Clock | 1708 / 1847 MHz (OC Mode) |
| Memory Clock | 10108 MHz (OC Mode) |
| Memory Size | 8GB GDDR5X |
| Memory Interface | 256-bit |
| Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
| DirectX | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 |
| Output Ports | DisplayPort x 3, HDMI, DVI |
Buy MSI GeForce GTX 1080 GAMING X 8G
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 G1 Gaming
This is the Gigabyte’s overclocked version of GeForce GTX 1080 that comes with its revolutionary WINDFORCE 3X with Blade Fan Design to keep the card cool even at high load. The card comes with three fans for effective cooling and achieving proper airflow.
The card is really a performer and you can play almost all the latest titles on 4k. Other nifty features include metal backplate, customizable RGB lighting, LED indicators. It is relatively cheaper than the other GTX 1080 cards.
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 G1 Gaming Specifications | |
| CUDA Cores | 2560 |
| GPU Clock | 1721 / 1860 MHz (OC) |
| Memory Clock | 10010 MHz |
| Memory Size | 8GB GDDR5X |
| Memory Interface | 256-bit |
| Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
| DirectX | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 |
| Output Ports | DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort x 3 |
Buy Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 G1 Gaming
EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 SC GAMING ACX 3.0
This is the EVGA’s Superclocked GTX 1080 that comes with dual fans and ACX 3.0 cooling design. This is a rock-solid card that has been decently overclocked. The card comes with dual fans and the ACX 3.0 cooling keeps the temperature well in check even during hours of intense gaming. You can play games like BF4, GTA 5, Fallout 4 on 4k at high settings with 60 FPS. The card is decently priced and well below the GTX 1080 Founders Edition.
| EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 SC GAMING ACX 3.0 Specifications | |
| CUDA Cores | 2560 |
| GPU Clock | 1708 / 1847 MHz |
| Memory Clock | 10000 MHz |
| Memory Size | 8GB GDDR5X |
| Memory Interface | 256-bit |
| Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
| DirectX | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 |
| Output Ports | DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort x 3 |
Buy EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 SC GAMING ACX 3.0
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 AMP Extreme Edition
This is the topmost graphics card from Zotac which is ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 AMP Extreme Edition. The card is highly overclocked and comes with a big heatsink and three cooling fans on top of it. Zotac’s ICESTORM cooling system makes the card relatively cool during heavy gameplay. This card is really a beast and you will need a bigger case to fit in.
It can play games like Battlefield 4, Crysis, Doom, etc. on 4k settings on Ultra. The card is a bit higher priced but its performance justifies it completely. Other features include SPECTRA LED lighting, metal backplate, etc. So if you are looking for one of the most powerful GTX 1080 Ti then you can surely go for this one.
| ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 AMP Extreme Specifications | |
| CUDA Cores | 2560 |
| GPU Clock | 1771 / 1911 MHz |
| Memory Clock | 10.8 GHz |
| Memory Size | 8GB GDDR5X |
| Memory Interface | 256-bit |
| Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
| DirectX | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 |
| Output Ports | DisplayPort x 3, HDMI, DVI |
Buy ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 AMP Extreme
ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 O8G GAMING
This is the most overclocked version of GTX 1080 present today. This GTX 1080 card from ASUS is a monster and it comes with triple fan design. This card can easily outperform other overclocked GTX 1080 cards by a decent margin. This card can handle any game at 4k easily at the highest settings. It is a big card and you need a bigger case to accommodate it. Also, the card has good overclocking potential.
The card runs cool because of the bigger heatsink and three cooling fans. It might be a bit noisy because of extra fans. Features include DirectCU III with Patented Wing-Blade Fans, ASUS FanConnect, Auto-Extreme Technology with Super Alloy Power II, Aura RGB Lighting, GPU Tweak II with Xsplit Gamecaster. It is priced higher than the other GTX 1080 cards here but its high performance makes up for that. So if you are looking at the top-performing GTX 1080 then you can never go wrong with this one.
| ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 O8G GAMING Specifications | |
| CUDA Cores | 2560 |
| GPU Clock | 1784 / 1936 MHz |
| Memory Clock | 10010 MHz |
| Memory Size | 8GB GDDR5X |
| Memory Interface | 256-bit |
| Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
| DirectX | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 |
| Output Ports | DVI, HDMI x 2, DisplayPort x 2 |
Buy ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 O8G GAMING
Best High-end Graphics Cards from AMD
Here are the best high-end graphics cards from AMD for 1440p and 4K gaming.
Radeon RX Vega 64
Radeon RX Vega 64 is the flagship graphics card from AMD and is built on the latest AMD GPU architecture, Vega. It comes with 4096 Stream Processors and 8GB HBM2 memory, which is much faster than the GDDR5X and GDDR5 memory used in other graphics cards. Radeon RX Vega 64 is a powerful graphics card and it performs even better than the GeForce GTX 1080. This is a fully VR ready card and you can play latest games on the highest graphics settings at 1440p and 4K.
Radeon RX Vega 64 is available in both air-cooled and liquid/water-cooled variants. The liquid-cooled variant is more powerful than the air-cooled one but also has higher power consumption. The card supports DirectX 12, OpenGL, 4.5, Vulkan, CrossFire and FreeSync 2. The main disadvantage of this card is its high power consumption and it requires 750W / 1000w (liquid) PSU for its working.
| Radeon RX Vega 64 Specifications | |
| Stream Processors | 4096 |
| GPU Clock | 1247 / 1546 MHz |
| Memory Clock | 1.9 Gbps |
| Memory Size | 8GB HBM2 |
| Memory Interface | 2048-bit |
| Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
| DirectX | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 |
| Output Ports | HDMI x 1, DisplayPort x 3 |
Buy Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB HBM2
Final Words
In the end, I would like to say that I have listed down the best high-end powerful graphics cards for gaming at 1440p and 4K on maximum settings. All these above-mentioned cards come factory overclocked but if you want extra juice out of them then you may overclock them further using reliable overclocking software. If you still have any doubts about which graphics card to get then you can ask me by leaving a comment below.
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