Best graphics cards: the top gaming GPUs

Our top graphics card picks for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K

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I can only assume you’re reading a list of the best graphics cards because you’re interested in buying a graphics card. In which case, consider me your convenient Environmental Storytelling Skeleton, my eroded bone-hand found clutching a final scrawled testament: stay away .

If you can, anyway. GPUs are, to put it charitably, in something of a tizz, being caught up in the industry-wide memory chip shortages that have been engorging RAM and SSD prices , possibly delaying the Steam Machine , and making Larian do unwanted game optimisations . It’s been a weird few months. Graphics cards have also seen price hikes and stock shortages, making right now a pretty lousy time to upgrade – despite welcome advances in their performance tech, like DLSS 4.5 and FSR Redstone .

Regretfully, adverse market conditions mean little to currently-owned cards that decide to break down or just fall too far behind in the system requirements race, so there will be those out there who need a new one ASAP. If that sounds like you, may this guide prove useful: it’s based entirely on in-house RPS testing with our varied set of benchmark games. If sticking with what you’ve got is a possibility, mind, that likely makes more economic sense for the time being.

The best graphics cards for gaming

• Intel Arc B580 - the best cheap graphics card
• Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB - the best 1080p graphics card
• AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT - the best 1440p graphics card
• Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 - the best graphics card for 4K

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

Intel Arc B580 specs VRAM: 12GB GDDR6 GPU Power: 190W Recommended PSU: 600W

The distant-third party of gaming GPUs is also the only one that appears serious about producing quality budget models. Thus we have the Intel Arc B580 , a relatively light-on-the-wallet card that can match or even beat Nvidia’s slightly pricier RTX 4060 on game performance, especially when it’s paired with a new CPU.

There are some arguments to go for the RTX 4060, or even save up more for the newer RTX 5060 . For one, both these GPUs support DLSS, which simply looks better than Intel’s XeSS 2 upscaler. Their frame generation tech is better too. However, if you’re putting together a rig on a tight budget, it stands to reason you’ll be playing at 1080p, and neither of Nvidia’s tech advantages are as compelling here. Upscaled 1080p usually looks fuzzier than when the same trick is performed at 1440p or above, so it’s often better to stick with native rendering, and frame generation isn’t all that useful either because it needs a strong base of regular, non-generated frames to ward off input lag. That base is harder to build with cheap graphics cards, so again, it’s not a feature you’d end up using much.

The Arc B580 also exhibits numerous stability upgrades that make it a generally more appealing prospect than Intel’s previous low-end cards, like the Arc A750 . That needed months of driver updates to soothe its crashing problems, but the Arc B580 coped well with every game I tried straight out of the box.

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Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB specs VRAM: 16GB GDDR7 GPU Power: 180W Recommended PSU: 600W

I’ve previously recommended this GPU’s predecessor, the RTX 4060 Ti , for 1440p duties. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB can handle 1440p well enough, but in these days of sluggish AAA releases and mandatory ray tracing effects, it probably makes more sense as a do-anything 1080p engine.

Of the RTX 50 series, this hits that sweet spot where it’s not too expensive for Full HD – like the RTX 5070 would be – but it is strong enough for triple-digit framerates in ultra-quality games, especially if you take the sharpness hit and deploy DLSS. Go beyond ultra, by enabling ray tracing or path tracing , and the RTX 5060 Ti can also produce visibly smoother results than the RTX 4060 Ti before it, while also maintaining decent leads over the non-Ti RTX 5060.

Just be sure to get the 16GB version. There is an 8GB RTX 5060 Ti that might save you a few quid, but for halving your VRAM supply, it’s not really worth it. 16GB will keep you in good standing should you ever decided to upgrade to a 1440p monitor, too.

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AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT specs VRAM: 16GB GDDR6 GPU Power: 304W Recommended PSU: 700W

Nvidia’s RTX 5070 Ti used to have this spot, and it’s still a good current-gen GPU. But the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is just as fast in most games, and as of the 2026 RAM disaster, is both cheaper and more widely available too. A lot cheaper, at current pricing, and thanks to AMD’s FSR Redstone update, its upscaling and frame gen suite is far more competitive with Nvidia DLSS – so FSR no longer feels like a losing choice.

The RX 9070 XT can even serve as a cut-rate 4K device, though it shines at 1440p, producing 150fps in a native-rez, Ultra-quality Total War: Warhammer III . 143fps in Cyberpunk 2077 , with Ultra settings and FSR Quality enabled, is another 5070 Ti-rivalling result, and adding maxed-out ray tracing to the latter only sees it fall to a still-smooth 82fps. Path tracing is on the cards at this resolution, too, and generally, there’s also enough of a performance gap to justify investing in the Radeon over the non-Ti RTX 5070 as well.

It’s possible that this GPU’s value proposition changes as it continues sustaining a battering by the waves of DRAM hoarding; hypothetically, should it rise to costing the same as the RTX 5070 Ti, I’d probably have the GeForce instead. But right now, this second? The RX 9070 XT is a much better deal.

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Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 specs VRAM: 16GB GDDR7 GPU Power: 360W Recommended PSU: 850W

Don’t bother with the fancifully expensive, more power-hungry RTX 5090 ; the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 can dish out most of the performance at half of the price. It’s still expensive, true, and at the time of writing is difficult to find in stock at reputable retailers. Still, nothing else makes as much sense for slick 4K specifically, so it’s worth holding out for if max-rez, max-quality luxury is what you seek.

Even without any upscaling, the RTX 5080 can handle most rasterised 4K games at frightfully fast framerates, and with some help from DLSS, you can safely go full Ultra Quality with ray tracing and path tracing effects. As one of Nvidia’s newest GPUs, it also enables MFG in DLSS 4, which – in exchange for a bit of extra input latency – can triple or nearly quadruple your initial framerate using interpolated frames.

Why are some graphics cards so expensive?

The tragedy of gaming GPUs is that there seems to be a different answer for this with every passing year. You may remember the dark days of 2020-21, when production shortages and profiteering, bot-wielding resellers conspired to leave new GPUs either out of stock or upsettingly expensive for months on end. It hasn’t truly been that bad since, but ’normal’ pricing has risen over previous hardware generations, possibly after retailers and manufacturers saw how much some were willing to pay for a new model.

Starting in late 2025 and now into 2026, a new pain-in-the-arse has also swollen up: memory shortages. Driven by tech companies mass-buying DRAM for what they may simply imagine to be major AI infrastructure, the lack of these chips for consumer hardware (be it graphics card, RAM sticks, or SSDs) has caused supply to slow and prices to inflate once more. The best part? At the time of writing, this doesn’t look to be correcting itself anytime soon, short of a sudden burst of the AI bubble.

Which graphics cards have ray tracing?

Ray tracing can be a huge upgrade to how your games handle lighting, shadows and reflections, but you need compatible GPU to take advantage of it. Right now, that includes all of Nvidia’s RTX GPUs, from the 20 series to the 50 series, as well as of AMD’s desktop-grade Radeon GPUs from the RX 6000 series onwards. Intel’s Arc graphics cards support ray tracing as well.

Which is better, AMD or Nvidia?

Ah, another question whose answer shifts with time. Quite frankly, there have been stretches in the past few years where Nvidia’s GeForce cards have made their AMD Radeon equivalents look like Happy Meal toys, but then more recent RTX releases have had the scent of a market share overlord who doesn’t really need to try so hard anymore. Thus, allowing AMD space to catch up, as they did with the much-improved FSR Redstone.

As it stands, neither manufacturer is wholly “better” than the other, and it’s more valuable to understand the distinctions in what they each tend to offer. These are, to be sure, generalisations, but typically Nvidia graphics cards are higher-tech, a bit better for ray tracing or path tracing, and more expensive. AMD graphics cards don’t sport quite as many features, but can match Nvidia on non-RT games performance, often for less cash.

Intel are just happy to be here.

How often should I upgrade my graphics card?

Probably less than you think. As high as certain games’ system requirements have climbed in recent years, even the toughest runners can still be playable on GPUs from several generations back, so don’t feel you need to keep up with the two-ish year upgrade cycle that manufacturers like to stick to.

That said, when the time does come, and you’re set on a refresh, it’s worth investing in something that will last for another few years of adequate service. That’s why this list is full of current-gen models, even though you could arguably find older yet much more affordable alternatives on the secondhand market. These will run out of graphical puff much sooner, especially at the lower end, so you’ll just end up needing another upgrade in shorter order anyway.

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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