As graphics cards become more powerful, they are also getting larger, which makes it difficult to fit them into smaller cases. If you are interested in building an entry-level to mid-range ITX gaming PC, then here are some of the best compact graphics cards that you can buy right now.
Best Small Form Factor ITX Build Graphics cards
The following are some of the best compact graphics cards that you can buy right now for small form factor ITX PC builds.
- ASUS Dual RTX 4060 Ti OC Edition – Best For DLSS 3.0
- MSI RTX 4060 Ti Ventus 2X Black 8G OC – Great Asus Dual Alternative
- ASUS Dual RTX 3060 Ti V2 OC Edition – RTX 4060 Ti Rasterization
- ZOTAC RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC – Best Mainstream Nvidia Card
- Gigabyte Radeon RX 6500 XT Eagle 4G – Best Budget AMD Card
- ASUS Phoenix GTX 1650 OC Edition – Best Budget Nvidia Card
ASUS Dual RTX 4060 Ti OC Edition – Best For DLSS 3.0
Architecture: Ada Lovelace | CUDA Cores: 4352 | Boost Clock: 2565 MH | VRAM: 8 GB GDDR6 | PSU: 450W
The mid-range RTX 4000 series graphics cards have had a lackluster launch because of the price to performance that they have to offer. The performance of the RTX 4060 Ti is slightly better than the RTX 3060 Ti, but the new card does support DLSS 3.0 AI image upscaling. If you are planning on playing games that support this feature, then we can recommend this card. Otherwise, if you are only interested in rasterization performance, then you could save some money and go with the older RTX 3060 Ti instead.
The ASUS Dual RTX 4060 Ti OC Edition is a compact graphics card, unlike the triple fan variants, and will fit into your ITX case easily. It features 4352 CUDA Cores, 136 4th-generation Tensor Cores, and 34 RT cores. It has a boost clock speed of 2565 MHz and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM. One of the drawbacks of this graphics card is that it has a very limited 128-bit memory bus.
Pros:
- DLSS 3.0 support
- Handles 1080p and 1440p well
Cons:
- 128-bit memory bus
- Performance slightly better than older 3060 Ti
- 8GB VRAM
MSI RTX 4060 Ti Ventus 2X Black 8G OC – Great Asus Dual Alternative
Architecture: Ada Lovelace | CUDA Cores: 4352 | Boost Clock: 2565 MH | VRAM: 8 GB GDDR6 | PSU: 450W
The MSI RTX 4060 Ti Ventus 2X is a great alternative to the ASUS Dual RTX 4060 Ti OC Edition. It has the same specifications, and we can only recommend it if you are interested in DLSS 3.0 support. If you are only interested in the rasterization performance, then you can save some money and go with the RTX 3060 Ti instead.
Pros:
- DLSS 3.0 support
- Handles 1080p and 1440p well
Cons:
- 128-bit memory bus
- Performance slightly better than older 3060 Ti
- 8GB VRAM
ASUS Dual RTX 3060 Ti V2 OC Edition – RTX 4060 Ti Rasterization
Architecture: Ampere | CUDA Cores: 4864 | Boost Clock: 1710 MH | VRAM: 8 GB GDDR6 | PSU: 550W
Since the rasterization performance of the RTX 4060 Ti is not that impressive compared to the 3060 Ti, you can get a 3060 Ti at a discounted price and get better value for money. Furthermore, you could overclock the card and get RTX 4060 Ti performance out of it. It does not support the latest DLSS 3.0 AI image upscaling technology but you can still use DLSS 2.0, which works pretty well.
The ASUS Dual RTX 3060 Ti V2 OC Edition features 4864 CUDA Cores, 152 3rd-generation Tensor Cores, and 38 second-generation RT cores. It also has 8GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit memory bus, which is more than the RTX 4060 Ti.
I myself have been using the RTX 3060 Ventus 2X from MSI for the past 1.5 years and have not upgraded to the RTX 4060 TI because most of the games that I play do not support DLSS.
Pros:
- Better value than RTX 4060 Ti
- Almost the same rasterization performance as RTX 4060 Ti
- Can be bought at discounted price
- Holds up at 1080p and 1440p
- Reasonable overclocking performance
Cons:
- No DLSS 3.0 support
ZOTAC RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC – Best Mainstream Nvidia Card
Architecture: Ampere | CUDA Cores: 3584 | Boost Clock: 1807 MHz MHz | VRAM: 12 GB GDDR6 | PSU: 450W
The RTX 4060 is very similar in performance to the RTX 4060, with the major difference being the support for DLSS 3.0 AI image upscaling. The 3060 does support DLSS 2.0, which is pretty good and works well. If you are only interested in rasterization performance, then you can save some money and get the RTX 3060 to get better value for money than the 4060.
The ZOTAC RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC is a compact graphics card that can be bought at a discounted rate since it is a generation old at this point. It features 3584 CUDA cores, 112 Tensor Cores, and 28 RT Cores. The boost clock speed of the card is 1807 MHz, and it comes with 12 GB of GDDR6 VRAM on a 192-bit memory bus. Zotac recommends using a 450W power supply unit.
Pros:
- Better value than RTX 4060
- Rasterization performance almost on par with RTX 4060
- Can be bought at discounted price
- Holds up very well at 1080p
- Reasonable overclocking performance
- 12GB VRAM
Cons:
No DLSS 3.0 support
Gigabyte Radeon RX 6500 XT Eagle 4G – Best Budget AMD Card
Architecture: RDNA 2| Cores: 1024 | Boost Clock: 2815 MHz | VRAM: 4 GB GDDR6 | PSU: 300W
The Gigabyte Radeon RX 6500 XT Eagle 4G is an impressive entry-level card for gamers that want to play competitive games at 1080p. It can even run AAA games if you turn down some of the settings. The card does feature RT cores, but they do seem unnecessary, seeing how low the ray tracing performance of the card is. The 4GB of VRAM is not going to get you far, seeing how demanding titles are using 8GB VRAM. It is still a solid card if you want to game at 1080p, are not interested in AI image upscaling, and are on a budget.
Pros:
- Great value
- Can be bought at discounted price
- Holds up very well at 1080p
- Inexpensive
Cons:
- Useless RT cores
- 4GB VRAM can be limiting
ASUS Phoenix GTX 1650 OC Edition – Best Budget Nvidia Card
Architecture: Turing | CUDA Cores: 896 | Boost Clock: 1635 MHz | VRAM: 4 GB GDDR6 | PSU: 250W
The ASUS Phoenix GTX 1650 OC Edition is the most compact card on the list with a single fan cooler. Since this is an entry-level graphics card, it does not need a lot of cooling and will fit into any case. The GTX 1650 was released as a replacement for the GTX 1050, so it is a bit old and is based on the Nvidia Turing architecture, but that also means that you can get it at a discounted price.
The ASUS Phoenix GTX 1650 OC Edition features 896 CUDA Cores and a boost clock speed of 1635 MHz. It has a TDP of 90W, and a 250W power supply unit is recommended for the graphics card. So you will not need to upgrade your power supply unit.
The 4GB of VRAM can be limiting in some titles, but the GTX 1650 is more than capable of running competitive games such as Fortnite and Apex Legends at 1080. It can even run AAA titles such as GTA 5.
Pros:
- Great value
- Can be bought at discounted price
- Holds up well at 1080p
- Inexpensive
Cons:
- Only 4GB VRAM
These are some of the best compact graphics cards that we can recommend for small form factor ITX builds in 2023. To learn more, check out our articles on the recommended CPUs and graphics cards for running Starfield. You can also check out our article on the best RTX 4000 series graphics cards for gaming in 2023.