GPU Hierarchy 2021 – Graphics Card Tier List For Gaming

Variety is both a blessing and a curse in the world of PC gaming.

The number of options to choose from when it comes to hardware can be mind-boggling, especially when you need to consider all of those options in order to find a product that best fits your needs and your budget.

To help you find the right graphics card, we have put together a table that ranks GPUs according to their performance, so you should be able to narrow down your selection more easily.

We’ve analyzed thousands of benchmarks from manufacturers, third party testers and reputable outlets in order to create the ultimate GPU tier list.

We keep this hierarchy up to date as new GPUs come out, so be sure to check back for fresh info or bookmark the page!

Below, you’ll find all of the GPUs listed above grouped into several tiers according to the kind of performance that they offer.

Keep in mind that these are only approximations based on the more demanding AAA games. Since hardware requirements and optimization differ wildly from game to game, it’s difficult to provide an accurate general overview of the kind of performance each GPU offers.

As such, the different tiers are only there to give you a general impression as to what kind of performance you can expect from these GPUs. If you’d like to know precisely how the GPU you’ve got your sights set on would perform in a specific game, then it’s probably a good idea to look up some benchmarks.

Related:The Best Graphics Cards For Gaming (2021 Reviews)

S-Tier

The first tier is comprised of the very best, most powerful GPUs currently on the market.

They can maintain a stable 60 FPS when running the latest AAA game in 4K, and they can hit higher framerates in 1440p more easily than weaker GPUs can.

A-Tier

The second tier is comprised of 4K-ready GPUs i.e. GPUs that are capable of providing solid performance in 4K.

However, they tend to be a better overall fit for gaming in 1440p instead, as they are capable of offering more consistent performance and higher framerates in that resolution.

B-Tier

The third tier GPUs are capable of taking on 4K, albeit they can only barely manage to maintain playable framerates in such a high resolution when it comes to the more demanding games.

As such, they are better picks for 1440p, and when it comes to 1080p, they can hit triple-digit framerates relatively easily in certain games.

C-Tier

The fourth tier includes weaker GPUs that are only just powerful enough to manage playable framerates in 1440p, and they are thus better picks for 1080p gaming, as they can more easily maintain stable framerates in that resolution.

D-Tier

Finally, the fifth tier is comprised of the very weakest GPUs currently available.

These GPUs can only hope to maintain a stable 60 FPS in 1080p and are, in general, not powerful enough if you plan on hooking them up to a 1440p display and play games on it at that resolution.

Conclusion

The separate tiers are only supposed to give you an overall impression as to what kind of performance you can expect from the GPUs listed under it, so if you’re after more accurate performance metrics, be sure to look up some benchmarks.

You should also keep in mind what types of games you will be playing. Even the weakest GPUs mentioned in our GPU tier list are more than reasonable if you will be playing Fortnite or CS:GO for example.