10 Graphics cards for under Rs. 10,000

Graphics cards priced under Rs. 5,000 are excellent replacements for integrated graphics. Some models feature fully passive designs, making them best suited for home theatre PCs. Moving up the price band, graphics cards priced up to Rs. 10,000 are a sweet spot for gamers who are on a shoe string budget. These graphics cards should easily be able to handle most games at full HD albeit with low settings or at the native resolution of an 18.5-inch or a 20-inch LCD monitor with medium to high settings. If you want to build a budget gaming PC, a sub-Rs. 8,000 card is what you should look at.

Here are some options that you can consider if you have a budget of up to Rs. 10,000 for a graphics card. We’ve listed cards across the entire price band – from the most affordable one to the one that’s most powerful.

1. Sapphire Radeon HD 6450

Rs. 2,750

Specifications:

• GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6450
• Video memory: 1GB DDR3
• Core speed: 625MHz
• Memory speed: 1334MHz effective
• Video outputs: D-sub, DVI and HDMI.

The Radeon HD 6000 series is a bit outdated, but the HD 6450 is still a great replacement for even the latest generation integrated graphics. This card is good enough for accelerating video and graphics in applications and web browsers. Featuring a low-profile design, fully-passive cooling and HDMI output, this card is good for HTPCs.

2. Asus GT620-1GD3-L

Rs. 3,760

Specifications:

• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GT 620
• Video memory: 1GB DDR3
• Memory bus width: 64-bit
• Core speed: 625MHz
• Memory speed: 1200MHz effective
• Video outputs: D-sub, DVI and HDMI

A GT 610 is the starting point of Nvidia’s 600 series. We recommend considering at least the GT 620 because it has twice the number of stream processors as GT 610 (48 v/s 96) and the price difference is just a few hundred rupees. This tiny little card comes with a low-profile bracket with which you can install it in tiny HTPC cases.

3.  Zotac GT 630 Synergy Edition

Rs. 4,100

Specifications:

• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GT 630
• Video memory: 1GB DDR3
• Memory bus width: 128-bit
• Core speed: 810MHz
• Memory speed: 1333MHz effective
• Video outputs: 2x DVI

The GT 630 has a greater memory bus width and a faster core than the Nvidia GT 620. This GPU is capable of handling some of the latest games at resolutions lower than full HD. The Zotac GT 630 Synergy Edition is one of the most affordable GT 630 graphics cards. If you don’t have more than Rs. 5,000 and want to play games, this card is what you should consider.

4. MSI R6670-MD1GD5

Rs. 5,950

Specifications:

• GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6670
• Video memory: 1GB GDDR5
• Memory bus width: 128-bit
• Core speed: 800MHz
• Memory speed: 4000MHz effective
• Video outputs: D-sub, DVI and HDMI

Graphics cards with the Radeon HD 6670 GPU are available in both DDR3 and GDDR5 variants. The latter is more powerful and can easily handle games at 1920 x 1080 with low to medium settings. The MSI R6670-MD1GD5 sports a custom design with a chunky cooler for efficient heat dissipation.

5. XFX HD-675X-ZNLC

Rs. 6,600

Specifications:

• GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6750
• Video memory: 1GB GDDR5
• Memory bus width: 128-bit
• Core speed: 700MHz
• Memory speed: 4000MHz effective
• Video outputs: D-sub, DVI and HDMI

The Radeon HD 6750 GPU is still great value for money for under Rs. 7,000. This variant of XFX’s HD 6750 graphics card offers D-sub, DVI and HDMI video outputs. The HD 6750 is marginally faster than the HD 6670.