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Today, we’re going to take a closer look at the 10 best graphics cards for 1440p 144hz gaming in 2024.
Luckily, GPU prices are finally normalizing, which means many of you are back in the market for a shiny new graphics card.
If you plan on building a PC around a 1440p 144hz gaming monitor, it might be challenging to pick the right one without paying extra for power you’re not going to fully utilize.
For that reason, we’ve hand-selected, reviewed, and benchmarked some of the best GPUs you can get for 1440p 144hz gaming to help you pick the right one for your needs–Your main considerations should be your budget, the types of games you play, and if you plan on doing other activities on your PC except just gaming.
First, we’re going to display a graph with the benchmark scores as well as a few more displaying frame rate comparisons at 4K, 1440p, and 1080p.
GPU Benchmarks for 1440p in 5 Games
*IMPORTANT: All of the data was recorded on ULTRA SETTINGS; keep in mind that adjusting in-game settings will greatly improve your FPS*
We felt these games represented a good mix of beautiful and complex gamescapes as well as high-intensity multiplayer action where frames are life or death.
These graphs represent the average frames during testing and will likely differ slightly from our results depending on your personal setup, so your mileage may vary.
As you can see, the numbers don’t lie. Sure, some cards perform better than others depending on the specific game, but that’s due to the games’ requirements, optimization, and so on.
So, now with all that out of the way, let’s get into the reviews.
Best Graphics Cards for 1440p 144Hz Gaming in 2024 Round-Up
The table below will give you a quick look at our selections for the ten best GPUs for 1440p 144hz gaming currently available on the market. To read a full review, simply click on ‘review>>’ in the respective row.
Product | Image | Rating | |
1. MSI GeForce RTX 4080 Gaming X Trio ''Best GPU for 1440p 144hz gaming in 2024 overall'' |  | 9.9 | |
2. XFX Speedster MERC310 AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX ''Best AMD GPU for 1440p 144hz gaming'' |  | 9.8 | |
3. MSI GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming Trio ''By far the best-performing card for 1440p 144hz gaming'' |  | 9.7 | |
4. PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT ''Best bang for your buck'' |  | 9.6 | |
5. Zotac GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Trinity OC ''Best mid-tier option'' |  | 9.6 | |
6. EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra ''Best 1440p 144hz card from the last generation'' |  | 9.5 | |
7. PowerColor Red Devil AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT ''Editor's pick'' |  | 9.4 | |
8. ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity OC ''Best affordable GPU for 1440p 144hz'' |  | 9.3 | |
9. EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra ''Last resort'' |  | 9.1 | |
10. ASUS ROG Strix NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti V2 OC ''Honorable mention'' |  | 8.9 |
1. MSI GeForce RTX 4080 Gaming X Trio
CUDA Cores: 9728 | Base Clock: 2205 MHz | Boost Clock: 2610 MHz | Memory: 16 GB GDDR6X | Memory Clock Speed: 22400 MHz | Memory Interface: 256-bit | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Dimensions: 337 x 140 x 67 mm
REASONS TO BUY
- Comparable performance to the RTX 4090 at 1440p at a significantly lower price
- Fantastic performance per dollar
- Outclasses 3000-series cards in most titles
- Capable of 1440p 144hz in all current games
- Attractive aesthetics with a hint of RGB
- Excellent cooling courtesy of MSI
- Future-proof for at least 3-4 years
- Dual BIOS
- Excellent VRAM
REASONS TO AVOID
- Large, heavy, and power-hungry
- Higher price
Our Rating: 9.9/10
MSI only continues to impress with their 4000 series GPU, specifically with the addition of the GeForce RTX 4080. Similar to the 4090 model, this beast of a unit debuted in September 2022 but was publicly released a month later than the 4090 in November 2022.
Although it may not pack the same punch as the RTX 4090, this 4080 model offers an outstanding 1440p 144hz performance while being much easier on your wallet.
As far as clock speed, the RTX 4080 operates at a frequency of 2205 MHz, which can be boosted up to 2610 MHz; these metrics measure up just under those of the 4090.
One major difference with the 4090 is the amount of VRAM. The RTX 4080 features 16 GB GDDRX VRAM, connected by a 256-bit memory interface. While impressive, this is not in the ballpark of the 4090 or even the prior 3090 models, which contain 8 GB more VRAM and are connected by 128 more bits of the memory interface.
This metric is still clearly an upgrade from the 3080 models, containing a 6 GB upgrade from the 3080 and a 4 GB upgrade from the 3080Ti.
Still, for gaming, and especially 1440p gaming, 16GB of GDDR6X memory clocked at 22,6 Gbps is more than enough and will be sufficient for the foreseeable future.
While not to the level of the 4090, the 4080 features steep upgrades to clock speeds, CUDA cores, ray tracing, and tensor cores. The phenomenal base clock of 2.21 GHz and 2.51 boost clock are an absurd 75% upgrade and 47% upgrade from the RTX 3080.
In addition to that, the 9728 CUDA cores of the 4080 are a 12% upgrade from the 3080 but are massively outclassed by the 16,384 CUDA cores of the MSI 4090. The 4080 also comes equipped with 304 tensor cores and 76 RT cores, impressive in their own regard but are significant dips from the 4090.
Now, taking a look at some specific games, the 4080 brings us some interesting results. With regards to 1440p gaming, the 4080, in many cases, can reach comparable levels as the 4090, with both cards being able to produce 144+ FPS in all but the most taxing games on high settings.
As you can see from our benchmarks, the RTX 4080 shines at 1440p, and the difference between the RTX 4090 in FPS is often negligible.
Take a look at the benchmarks:
Another upside of this card is power usage. Overall the RTX 4080 has much less power draw than the RTX 4090, peaking at around 320W. While that’s still a lot, and you’ll need at least an 800W power supply to be safe, the RTX 4090 peaks at around 450W, requiring nearly 50% more power.
As far as cooling of this particular card, you’re getting one of the very best–MSI’s aftermarket cards have always posted top numbers for thermals.
In addition, this card also features a reinforced backplate, and thermal pads are placed beneath the brushed-metal flow-through backplate to provide additional cooling.
Overall, if you’re set on an Nvidia and looking for the best GPU for 1440p 144hz gaming, trust us and buy the RTX 4080 instead of the 4090. Not only will you save around $500-600, but when we look at the performance per dollar, it’s not even close. Be smart; buy the RTX 4080.
2. XFX Speedster MERC310 AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
Stream Processors: 6144 | Base Clock: 1855 MHz | Boost Clock: 2615 MHz | Memory: 24 GB GDDR6 | Memory Clock Speed: 20000 MHz | Memory Interface: 384-bit | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Dimensions: 344 x 128 x 57 mm
REASONS TO BUY
- Capable of 1440p 144hz in all current games
- Fantastic performance per dollar
- Outperforms the RTX 4080 at the same price point (in most games)
- Comparable 1440p performance to RTX 4090 in a lot of games at a much lower price point
- High-quality construction
- Solid cooling
- Dual BIOS
- Massive, lighting-fast VRAM
REASONS TO AVOID
- Weaker Ray Tracing performance compared to 40-series cards
- Large and power-hungry
- Weaker aesthetics
Our Rating: 9.8/10
The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is AMD’s flagship GPU, and it’s an absolute beast.
While it does not compete with the Nvidia 4090 in most cases, you can reliably beat the RTX 4080 in many titles when it comes to FPS. When shopping for the best card for 1440p 144hz gaming, this one should absolutely be on your shortlist.
The AMD 7900 XTX was first released in November 2022 and was made available to the public as of December 2022. It is a direct competitor of the acclaimed MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 and somewhat the 4090 in some areas.
With a base operating frequency of 1855 MHz and a boost clock of 2615 MHz, this powerful unit measures to similar levels of the Nvidia 4080 and even to the 4090 in this regard.
One major difference between the AMD 7900 XTX and the Nvidia 4080 is the enormous amount of VRAM. This GPU features 24 GB GDDR6 VRAM and is connected by a 384-bit memory interface.
This is a 50% increase in both metrics compared to the 4080 and puts this AMD unit on par with the MSI 4090. And while this doesn’t affect gaming in any noticeable way, the 7900 XTX is a better-rounded card at the same price point.
Unfortunately, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX is significantly outclassed by the Nvidida 4080 concerning processing cores. Coming in with 6144 units, this is nearly 3600 less than the 4080 and over an absurd 10,000 less than the 4090.
Again, while this will not create a massive drop in performance for 1440p gaming, we would recommend you look elsewhere if you want to maximize 4k capabilities and professional workloads.
When looking at performance in terms of average frame rate for Call of Duty Modern Warfare II at 1440p, the RX 7900XTX outperforms the Nvidia 4080 by 40%, with the same margins also applying under Ultra settings. This is a substantial difference and the largest difference noted between the two.
The 7900 XTX also outperformed the RTX 4080 by an average of 10 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, while the 4080 outperformed the 7900XTX by six average FPS in Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
Overall, the 7900XTX is a step down in ray tracing performance, but it holds its own with average frame rates compared to the RTX 4080.
Take a look at the in-game performance:
In regards to size, this is another massive GPU. It has total measurements of 13.54 x 5.04 x 2.24 inches, making it a bit cumbersome–Make sure to double-check if you have enough space in your case for it.
The last thing worth noting here is the appearance. While this is a perfectly functional aftermarket card with solid cooling, it doesn’t offer the striking visuals of ASUS or MSI cards, for example.
In totality, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a superb GPU for 1440p 144hz gaming for those who do not require the bells and whistles of a 4000 series Nvidia unit. Frame rates are comparable with the RTX 4080, even exceeding the performance of the RTX 4080 in some games at the same price point.
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3. MSI GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming Trio
CUDA Cores: 16384 | Base Clock: 2235 MHz | Boost Clock: 2535 MHz | Memory: 24 GB GDDR6X | Memory Clock Speed: 21000 MHz | Memory Interface: 384-bit | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Dimensions: 337 x 140 x 77 mm
REASONS TO BUY
- Unmatched gaming performance
- Superior performance for 1440p 144hz gaming
- Beats AMD’s flagship GPU in most titles
- Crushes 30-series cards
- High-quality construction
- Attractive aesthetics
- Excellent cooling system
- Massive VRAM
- DLSS 3 + better RT performance than its predecessor
- Dual BIOS
REASONS TO AVOID
- The most power-hungry card on the market
- Large and heavy
- Overkill for 1440p gaming
Our Rating: 9.7/10
Looking for a top-of-the-line GPU of the newest generation? Look no further than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 for the next generational leap from the 3090Ti and 3090 models.
With this GPU, you’re getting the best possible 1440p performance, a highly future-proof product, and bragging rights for the price of a used car.
Let’s take a look at the specs first, as they absolutely blow its predecessors, the RTX 3090, out of the water. The only metric in which they are identical is VRAM, coming in with the same 24 GB GDDRX VRAM as the 3090 models, connected by a 384-bit memory interface.
Apart from that, the RTX 4090 offers a lot of improvements–The internals of the 4090 come in with significantly higher clock speeds, CUDA cores, RT cores as well as Tensor cores.
This GPU features a base clock of 2.23 GHz and a boost clock of 2.52 GHz, which is nearly a 50% jump from the 3090. In addition to that, its 16,384 CUDA cores are a roughly 50% leap in performance as well.
In a real-world example, this high-performance GPU received an incomparable 3D Firestrike Ultra score of 21,872, which was the highest score ever recorded. On average, this GPU runs much faster with all games tested compared to the 3090 and 3090Ti units, with 71% faster averages compared to the 3090 and 59% faster when compared to the 3090 Ti.
One of the standout features to note is the Nvidia DLSS3, exclusive to their 4000-level units, which is an AI-powered super boost that can significantly increase your frame rates in games that support it. While it works perfectly, the downside to it is that there are only a handful of games that support it.
Another feature keeps you from wondering if your favorite games could have compatibility issues. Have no fear; this powerful unit supports DirectX12 Ultimate, which allows for any modern game to run successfully on this unit.
Here is the average FPS for some of the most popular games at 1440p:
Now, in terms of construction, this GPU is massive but with beautiful aesthetics featuring a slick silver and black color scheme. This monster takes up three slots and weighs nearly 5 pounds, with measurements of 13.3 x 3.1 x 5.5 inches–Again, make sure to double-check if you have enough space in your case.
Even though this is the best-performing GPU on the market today, it stays nice and cool thanks to the triple-fan cooling system from MSI.
Finally, the power usage is in line with the performance, at around 450W. This makes it the most power-hungry video card in 2024, topping the RTX 3090 by 100W. You’ll need at least an 850W power supply to run this card (we recommend at least 1000W).
No doubt, this RTX 4090 from MSI is the absolute best-performing graphics card in 2024. It’s also the most expensive one. And while it can easily produce 144 FPS in the vast majority of games at 1440p, both the 4080 and 7900 XTX offer better performance per dollar, making this not a very smart option if we strictly talk gaming.
On the other hand, if you want the best industry has to offer, it doesn’t get any better than this.
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4. PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Stream Processors: 5376 | Base Clock: 2000 MHz | Boost Clock: 2400 MHz | Memory: 20 GB GDDR6 | Memory Clock Speed: 20000 MHz | Memory Interface: 320-bit | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Dimensions: 290 x 128 x 51 mm
REASONS TO BUY
- Excellent performance for 1440p 144hz gaming
- Outperforms Nvidia’s 4070 Ti
- Comparable performance with 4080 in most titles (at 1440p)
- Fantastic performance per dollar
- Plenty of fast VRAM
- High-quality build
- Effective and quiet cooling system
- Fairly compact for a high-end card
REASONS TO AVOID
- Weak Ray Tracing performance
- Very little in terms of aesthetics
- Still very power-hungry
Our Rating: 9.6/10
The AMD RX 7900 XT is a solid graphics card encompassing both price and performance advantages. Comparing it to the Nvidia RTX 4080, we can see similar performance in most games but at a cheaper cost.
For the average gamer looking for 1440p at 144hz, this is the sweet spot for value and performance if you’re willing to dial the settings back in some cases.
The card is more frequently compared to the RTX 4070 Ti; however, when it comes to 1440p gaming, your overall experience here will be similar to the RTX 4080.
Looking at frames per second, testing games such as Cyberpunk 2077 or Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the AMD 7900 XT pulls ahead of Nvidia by an average of roughly 10%. While in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the performance is practically identical.
In games such as God of War or Red Dead Redemption 2, we see the opposite, with a 10-15% better performance from Nvidia. Some of this has to do with driver optimization and the games themselves, but as you can see, the difference is minimal.
Have a look at the FPS the 7900 XT produces at 1440p:
The internal hardware supporting this unit is packed with 5376 processing cores and pushes 2GHz clock speed. With boosting potential up to 2.4GHz, this makes for a strong overall package.
Compared to the Nvidia RTX 4080, clock speeds are very similar. However, the AMD is far outclassed in CUDA cores, as even the 4070 Ti comes packed with nearly 1,500 additional cores.
In terms of VRAM, this card features more than both the RTX 4080 and 4070 Ti, with 20GB of GDDR6 memory clocked at 20 Gbps. While AMD still uses the slower GDDR6 memory (compared to the X version Nvidia uses), the difference is negligible and even more so when we discuss gaming only.
When it comes to build quality, this PowerColor card has a sleek all-black design that looks discrete in your case. It supports one HDMI 2.1, two DisplayPort 2.1, and one Type-C output, giving you plenty of connectivity for up to 4 screens simultaneously.
In comparison to the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, this unit does not lag far behind whatsoever. With clock speeds nearly identical and processing cores and memory metrics not far behind, the RX 7900 XT packs nearly the same punch as the XTX for 1440p gaming.
Both units compete with the Nvidia 4080 and hold their own in many regards.
The AMD 7900 XT is more compact than both the 7900 XTX and the Nvidia 4080, coming in at a weight of 4.52 pounds.
Its overall measurements are 11.42 x 5.04 x 2.02 inches, and it features the same three-fan cooling system, which works great–It’s nice and quiet, and we haven’t experienced any overheating issues, even when we pushed the card to its limits.
All things considered, the AMD RX 7900 XT represents a fantastic value when it comes to 1440p 144hz gaming, as it competes directly with the RTX 4080 and leaves the RTX 4070 Ti in the dust.
Still, the RTX 4080 is the better overall video card, but if you’re looking to spend the least amount of money for premium 1440p performance (144+ FPS in the majority of games), the RX 7900 XT is your best choice. Talking only gaming, this is the king of the performance per dollar category.
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5. Zotac GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Trinity OC
CUDA Cores: 7680 | Base Clock: 2310 MHz | Boost Clock: 2625 MHz | Memory: 12 GB GDDR6X | Memory Clock Speed: 21000 MHz | Memory Interface: 192-bit | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Dimensions: 307 x 119 x 59 mm
REASONS TO BUY
- Strong performance at 1440p
- One of the best performance-per-dollar ratios
- Outperforms the majority of cards from the 30-series lineup
- Fantastic cooling system from Zotac
- Nice factory overclock
- High-quality build
- Nice aesthetics with RGB elements scattered around the card
REASONS TO AVOID
- Significantly less VRAM than AMD competitors
- You will have to dial the settings back in the most taxing games
- Weak Ray Tracing performance
- Physically large
Our Rating: 9.6/10
Looking for a GPU that approaches the quality of the esteemed 40-series without quite the price tag? If so, the ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 4070Ti may be the right option for you.
A newly released model as of January 2023, the RTX 4070Ti presents an excellent option for 1440p gaming. But beware, Most of the latest releases and taxing games will be out of reach on the highest settings.
As far as the raw specs, the 4070 Ti comes with a base clock of 2310 MHz and can run at a boosted frequency of up to 2610 MHz. This puts the ZOTAC model right on par with the higher-end models in this metric while setting it far apart from the 30-series cards.
Memory-wise, the 4070Ti comes equipped with 12 GB GDDRX VRAM and is connected via a 192-bit memory interface. In comparison, The 4080 has 4 GB more RAM, and even the older RTX 3080 models have roughly the same amount.
If you are looking to upgrade from a 3000 series, VRAM will not be a deciding factor here.
In addition, there are several other metrics where the ZOTAC 4070Ti is more on par and even outclassed by the 3080 model. Coming in with 7680 CUDA cores, it is outdone by both the 3080 and 3080Ti, with the 3080Ti having nearly 3000 more cores.
While the specs are not impressive, the actual in-game performance is. On average, with 1440p gaming, this unit provides modest improvements from its predecessors.
In our testing, frames per second from the 4070Ti in some games were 5% higher than the 3090, 10% higher than the 3080Ti, and an impressive 25% higher than the 3080. That’s mainly thanks to the DLSS 3 feature.
Cyberpunk 2077 performed relatively the same on the 4070Ti as the 3090Ti, with modest improvements from the 3080 series. Call of Duty Modern Warfare had higher relative performance increases.
But across the games we tested, the RTX 4080 averaged 20-30% more FPS than the 4070Ti. Take a look:
In addition to the great gaming performance, the 4070 Ti is also fairly compact. Product dimensions are 12.1 x 2.3 x 4.7 inches, and it only takes up 2.5 slots.
Known for being cool and quiet while operating, this Zotac RTX 4070Ti employs an effective IceStorm 2.0 with triple fan configuration with features such as active fan control or ‘freeze fan stop’ that shuts the fans down when the GPU is idle. Overheating or high noise levels won’t be an issue with this GPU.
Overall, while the weakest entry from the 40-series lineup, it still holds its own for 1440p 144hz gaming. It doesn’t offer the raw processing power of its cousins, but it will perform beautifully if you don’t need your in-game settings maxed out on ultra.
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6. EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra
CUDA Cores: 10240 | Base Clock: 1365 MHz | Boost Clock: 1800 MHz | Memory: 12 GB GDDR6X | Memory Clock Speed: 19000 MHz | Memory Interface: 384-bit | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Dimensions: 136.75 x 300 x 56.35 mm
REASONS TO BUY
- Great performance for 1440p 144hz gaming
- Can compete with 3090 in some scenarios (at a better price point)
- Very few games where you’ll have to dial the settings back
- Can handle 4k gaming and other demanding tasks
- High-quality, durable construction
- Lightning fast GDDR6X VRAM
- Excellent cooling solution
- Addressable RGB
- Attractive aesthetics
REASONS TO AVOID
- Power-hungry
- Large and heavy (make sure it will fit your case before buying)
- Outperformed by newer cards
Our Rating: 9.5/10
The EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra is the best option for 1440p 144hz gaming from the 30-series lineup. This beefy, power-hungry beast of a GPU is on par with, and in some cases better than, its class’s successor, the 3090, but at a slightly lower price point.
Coming out of the box with a base clock speed of 1365MHz and a boosted clock speed of 1800MHz, this GPU is fast. This 3080 Ti from EVGA even has a BIOS switch labeled “OC and Normal”. Flipping the switch to OC switches the GPU’s BIOS between the factory overclock and normal frequencies.
If you want to overclock this card, you can, as there’s plenty of headroom (if you have a good PSU and cooling). But unless you are an overclocking enthusiast looking for bragging rights, there is no need; the EVGA 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra is plenty fast already.
Paired with that impressive processing speed are 12GB of GDDR6X VRAM with an equally impressive speed of 19000MHz. The 3090 might have twice the memory, but 12GB is plenty even for the most demanding games–Unless you’re doing high-grade professional rendering, most of that will never be utilized.
Furthermore, this GPU has 10,240 CUDA cores doing most of the rendering, 320 3rd Gen Tensor cores taking care of the DLSS AI (Deep Learning Super Sampling), and 80 2nd Gen RT cores producing real-time ray tracing.
Thanks to these impressive specs, the EVGA RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra is a great choice for 1440p gaming at 144hz. As you can see in the graphs below, this card can easily play most games at 1440p without breaking a sweat:
But what you should worry about is if you can even use this behemoth. The EVGA GeForce 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra requires three 8-pin/6+2-pin PCIe connections directly to your PSU and can not be daisy-chained.
The minimum requirement for this card is a 750W PSU, and for good reason. This card can use over 450W, so you need to make sure you get a good PSU and ensure you have plenty of voltage headroom.
Speaking of headroom, the EVGA 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra is huge, so make sure you have enough space in your case as well. It’s 11.81” (300mm) long, 5.38” (136.75mm) wide, and 2.5” (63.5mm) thick.
With all that bulk, the card is heavy and comes with a special support bracket. Sadly it’s only compatible with a few select cases, so you might want to buy a custom anti-sag bracket if you haven’t already.
Another thing that makes this card so special is all the extra engineering that went into the cooling and custom design of the PCB. The circuit board itself has a honeycomb design cut right into it at strategic locations. They allow the air from the three fans to blow through the fins and out of the holes in the board.
This not only gives the card an impressive look but also increases airflow through the fins providing better cooling efficiency. Which is desperately needed.
Speaking of cooling, this card will run hot when under load, but even though the average operating temperature will be around 70-80°C while in use, it’s perfectly normal and well within limits. Why? Because this GPU uses so much power. So, other than the fans being loud at times, overheating will never be an issue for you.
Lastly, EVGA covers this graphics card with a three-year limited warranty and requires no registration. The warranty is transferable as it is attached to the product, not the user.
You even have the option of an additional two or seven-year extension, which requires proof of purchase and must be done within 30 days of the original purchase.
With the release of the 40-series card, the prices of the 30-series cards are now better than ever. And that’s why we can’t recommend the 3080 Ti (and especially this one from EVGA) enough. It’s an absolute stud for 1440p 144hz gaming for the majority of titles.
If you don’t need the latest 4090 (and you really don’t), and looking to purchase an older card at a lower price, look for the 3080 Ti!
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7. PowerColor Red Devil AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
Stream Processors: 4608 | Base Clock: 1900 MHz | Boost Clock: 2090 MHz Gaming Mode (2340 MHz OC Mode) | Memory: 16 GB GDDR6 | Memory Clock Speed: 16000 MHz | Memory Interface: 256-bit | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Dimensions: 320 x 135 x 62 mm
REASONS TO BUY
- Excellent value for the money
- Fantastic 1440p 144hz performance
- Viable for 4k gaming
- Capable of beating the 3080 Ti (only a few titles, though)
- Big improvement over the reference card
- Efficient cooling
- Great factory overclock
- 16GB of VRAM
- the I/O ports are backlit
REASONS TO AVOID
- Large and heavy
- Slower GDDR6 memory compared to GDDR6X
- Warranty only valid for North American residents
- Outperformed by newer models
Our Rating: 9.4/10
Next in the lineup, we have the PowerColor Red Devil AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, which debuted a couple of years ago and was the first implementation of AMD’s new RDNA2 graphics architecture for PC.
This card is a Red Team win and is considered to be AMD’s redemption–their Wild Card if you will–that brought them back into the high-end category. And for good reason, the RX 6800 XT is a direct competitor to Nvidia’s RTX 3080 cards and a fantastic option to pair with a 1440p 144hz monitor.
The biggest reason to opt for this GPU is that it’s typically more affordable and, in some cases, hundreds of dollars cheaper.
Although clock speeds are not a good reference point when being compared across brands or architectures, it’s still impressive that the Red Devil RX 6800 XT comes with a base clock of 1900MHz and a factory overclock boost of 2340MHz.
In addition, this card has 16GB of VRAM, which is a 33% increase over the 3080 Ti at 12GB, which is fantastic. However, this card uses GDDR6 VRAM as opposed to the GDDR6X the EVGA’s 3080 Ti uses, which is marginally faster and better optimized.
New to the AMD family set of traits is full-on DirectX 12 Ultimate compatibility with real-time raytracing support that was introduced with the RDNA2 architecture. The whole design is focused on vast amounts of computing power to accomplish real-time ray tracing by a more brute-force method compared to Nvidia.
A benefit of this approach is the mega boost to the Raster 3D rendering performance. Thanks to this, the RX 6800 XT outperforms the 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra when it comes to games that are rasterized. But for games that utilize heavy ray tracing, the 6800 XT falls a little short. Especially seeing as there is no DLSS support, which greatly increases your frame rate in supported games.
However, AMD has come up with their own upscaling process similar to DLSS called FidelityFX Super Resolution, or FSR for short. While this was a smart move on AMD’s part, it just doesn’t work as well as DLSS. DLSS is dedicated hardware running an AI temporal upscaler that analyzes and adjusts several frames at once, improving performance and frame rates.
Whereas FSR is a much simpler approach. It’s a spatial upscaler that works frame by frame and is basically an edge-detecting upscaler with a sharpening pass and doesn’t require special hardware like Nvidia’s Tensor cores.
Overall, these qualities translate into amazing 1440p gaming capability and are more than fast enough to support 144hz gaming. With this 6800 XT from PowerColor in your arsenal, you’ll be able to play nearly any game without dialing the settings back.
Take a look at the benchmarks:
In terms of thermals, the card comes with three high airflow fans that provide really good cooling, though they might be a bit louder at max speed. The two outer fans are 100mm, and the center fan is 90mm. This gives adequate cooling abilities when paired with its massive 320mm cooler with seven pipes distributing the heat. This thing is three slots thick to provide the best cooling air can provide and really does a good job.
Make sure you have enough room in your case, though. This card is a beefy boy at 12.6” (320mm) long, 5.3” (135mm) wide, and 2.4” (62mm) thick and weighing in at a staggering 1.6 kg. Needless to say, you might want to pick up an anti-sag supporting bracket.
The outer rim of the shroud is matte black aluminum, while the rest is plastic. On the right side of the card are two sets of three LED bars which, at first, kind of looked like fish gills, but once lit up in the case, they give off more of a bloody claw or ribcage look, which does look cool.
Sweeping away from the glowing rib cages on the fan shroud is what resemble claw marks that also glow and fade as they recede from the edge. This all culminates in a mean-looking graphics card that you’re going to want to show off.
Lastly, let’s talk about the power requirements and the I/O ports. The RX 6800 XT draws around 300 or so watts and requires two 8-pin/6+2-pin PCIe power connectors from your PSU. It’s recommended that you have at least a 700W power supply, so plan accordingly.
On the back of the GPU, you will find three DisplayPorts and one HDMI port. What’s nice is these are all backlit, making them super easy to see when plugging things in.
PowerColor offers a two-year limited warranty on the Red Devil. To qualify, you must live in and be a resident of the continental US or Canada. That kind of sucks for our friends abroad.
With all things considered, this GPU is superb, especially for the money. It’s got plenty of VRAM, a great selection of I/O ports, and has the internal workings to provide you with an extremely viable, wallet-friendlier alternative to Nvidia’s 3080 Ti or the newer RX 7000-series AMD cards.
The PowerColor Red Devil AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is most suited for more competitive gamers looking for the best price-to-performance ratio and who don’t mind getting an older card in order to save some money.
8. ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity OC
CUDA Cores: 8704 | Base Clock: 1440 MHz | Boost Clock: 1725 MHz | Memory: 10 GB GDDR6X | Memory Clock Speed: 19000 MHz | Memory Interface: 320-bit | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Dimensions: 318 x 121 x 58 mm
REASONS TO BUY
- Excellent 1440p 144hz card for most titles
- Viable for 4k gaming and editing
- Whisper-quiet even under full load
- Fantastic cooling solution by Zotac
- The best VRAM you can have (GDDR6X)
- Quality construction
- Aesthetics + RGB Lightning
- Up to a 5-year warranty (with registration)
REASONS TO AVOID
- Much less VRAM compared to the competition
- Lower benchmarks than others in its class
- Power-hungry
- Not very future-proof
- Outperformed by newer models
Our Rating: 9.3/10
Up next is the ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity OC. While it performs below the 3080 Ti FTW3 and RX 6800 XT (and all the newer models), it is still an excellent 1440p 144hz card. It is powerful, silent, and capable of 8K, but we’ll get into all that in good time. First, we’re going to go over the card and its specs and tell you why the “8K Ready” tag is somewhat gimmicky.
Doing most of the heavy lifting is the 8,704 CUDA cores, 272 3rd Gen Tensor cores, and 68 2nd Gen RT cores, which are responsible for producing the image on the screen. And when it comes to memory, the more you have, and the faster it is, the better. The ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity OC is equipped with 10GB GDDR6X 19000MHz VRAM.
Being GDDR6X, the memory is top-notch and around 40% faster than its successor. However, this card only has 10GB. While that is still a pretty decent amount and will be for some time, technology is growing insanely fast, and you might be worried about the longevity or the “future-proof” nature of the card.
Furthermore, the RTX 3080 Trinity OC has a pixel rate of 165.6 GPixels/s. That means this card is capable of producing 165,600,000,000 pixels per second. While that sounds like an enormous number (which it is), this rate is 53.97% less than the Red Devil RX 6800 XT and 19.31% lower than the 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra. But don’t let that dissuade you; this card still packs a punch, seeing as the last Gen iterations fell around the 100-116 GPixels/s range.
ZOTAC wanted to build a powerful yet robust card that can stand the tests of time. That’s why they made the shroud out of die-cast aluminum and used three 90mm fans. To add flair, ZOTAC supplied ARGB into the front and back plates. That has to add at least one FPS, right?
To help cut down on costs and to improve cooling, they used a shorter PCB. This allows for one entire heatsink and fan to be dedicated to heat dispersion seeing as the last fan and sink are not attached to the PCB directly.
They call this “IceStorm 2.0” which ZOTAC states “Enhances the overall cooling hardware utilizing more surface area, improved heat pipe layout, stronger aluminum array heatsink and additional heat dissipation beyond the GPU for maximum cooling efficiency.” A downside to this is now the PCIe power ports are more centered in the front, which makes cable management that much harder.
Like other GPUs in its class, this is a chunky card. The ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity OC is 12.5” (317.8mm) long, 4.8” (120.7mm) wide, and 2.3” (58mm) thick, meaning it will struggle to fit into any compact case, so make sure you have enough room.
Now to go over the power requirements and ports available. Thanks to the Tensor cores running DLSS and RT cores taking care of ray tracing, this card requires some juice.
Connecting this card to your PSU will require two 8-pin/6+2-pin PCIe connectors, and ZOTAC recommends a minimum 750W PSU, and for good reason. The RTX 3080 Trinity OC can pull upwards of 440W under full load, yet idles at a more reasonable 117W, so plan accordingly.
The I/O consists of three DisplayPorts 1.4 and one HDMI 2.1 port which is capable of 8k at 60fps when supplied with a high bandwidth HDMI 2.1 cable. This is great and all, but there is almost no 8k content available, so only time will tell if that will even be relevant with this generation of GPUs.
Plus, most other graphics cards have the same ports, yet they aren’t all slapping shiny logos on their boxes saying 8K ready.
ZOTAC offers a three-year standard warranty with all their products. For the GeForce RTX 30 series cards, they offer to extend that to five years when registered through their online registration page.
All in all, the ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity OC is an excellent card on its own. It will be able to display all your games at 1440p with 144 FPS–Take a look at the actual numbers from our testing:
As you can see, the RTX 3080 can still hold its own when it comes to 1440p gaming. But to be honest, it’s an older model and lags behind the competition now, so make sure to do some research on the games you play to find out if the card is capable of the full 144 FPS. If it is, then the Trinity OC model from ZOTAC will make you very happy.
9. EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra
CUDA Cores: 5888 | Base Clock: 1500 MHz | Boost Clock: 1770 MHz | Memory: 8 GB GDDR6 | Memory Clock Speed: 14000 MHz | Memory Interface: 256-bit | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Dimensions: 111 x 285 x 42 mm
REASONS TO BUY
- Affordable price
- Good price-to-performance ratio
- Still a good 1440p 144hz video card
- Excellent card for older competitive games
- Quality, durable construction
- Much thinner in comparison to the competition
- Great cooling
- Overclocking friendly
REASONS TO AVOID
- Incomparable with the 40-series lineup
- Noticeable drop in performance from the 3080 cards
- Not really future-proofed
- Only 8GB of VRAM
- No factory OC BIOS
Our Rating: 9.1/10
With the EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra, we’re approaching the budget territory as far as 1440p 144hz gaming is concerned. As you can see from the benchmarks we posted, this is where the performance really starts dropping compared to the more expensive cards.
To be clear, this card still offers great performance, but games like Cyberpunk 2077 and other graphically demanding games will be out of the picture.
Take a look at the numbers:
As far as specifications, the 3070 XC3 Ultra has a base clock speed of 1500MHz and a boosted clock speed of 1770MHz. Interestingly, this model does not have a BIOS switch, so there is no factory overclock profile. Therefore, be cautious; you don’t turn your GPU into a very expensive paperweight if you decide to overclock it yourself.
For memory, it comes equipped with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM running at 1750MHz and a bandwidth of 448 GB/s. While 8GB is ok for now, it won’t be for long. As games have progressed over the years and continue to do so, they require more and more power and memory.
While 8GB is adequate for most games at 1440p, if you are wanting to play the latest AAA titles or upgrade to a 4K monitor anytime soon, 8GB won’t certainly be enough.
In addition to all that, the EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra has 5,888 CUDA cores for the basic rendering, 184 3rd Gen Tensor cores taking care of the DLSS, and 46 2nd Gen RT(Ray Tracing) cores tracing all the rays.
As for translating data into an image on the screen, this card has a pixel rate of 169.9 GPixels/s or 169.9 billion pixels per second. It’s certainly not the best on this list, but it’s still nothing to be scoffed at. It’s actually slightly higher than the ZOTAC RTX 3080 Trinity OC we just went over.
So, what does all that mean for you? It means this GPU will run all your favorite games at 1440p at 144Hz with little to no issue. But if you refer to our FPS graph above, it depends on the game as well. You can be confident this card delivers in all games requiring lightning-fast frames, such as Overwatch, COD, Battlefield V, CS: GO, and more.
Next, let’s dive into the construction. The EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra has an all-black metal design. Its shroud is a matte black aluminum, as well as the back plate, which also acts as a heat spreader as there are thermal pads on the processor, VRMs, and more.
On the backplate, as well as the PCB, you can see little honeycomb-like holes have been made to increase airflow. This allows for less static pressure and overall better cooling efficiency.
The three fans are 90mm, and the center fan is offset by 10mm to increase overall cooling efficiency. Taking a closer look at the fans, you will see a bunch of little EVGA-style E’s all over them. According to EVGA, these actually have a function. They claim the E’s reduce vortex, which results in a quieter fan. But they look more like a marketing plug to us.
Here is a card in size most of you will probably be familiar with. Unlike the RTX 3080s and RX 6800s, the 3070 XC3 Ultra is a lot slimmer. It is 11.23” (285mm) long, 4.38” (111mm) wide, and 1.57” (42mm) thick. As you can see, this card is approximately an inch less girthy, which results in a lighter card that’s easier to fit into tight cases.
Additionally, there is ARGB lighting on the front logo, which can be synced to your other components easily with EVGA’s software or whichever you prefer. Most tend to work seamlessly in our experience.
To power the EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra requires two 8-pin/6+2 PCIe connections to your PSU. As for power consumption, this GPU has a TDP of 220W, and therefore EVGA recommends at least a 650W power supply. Additionally, the I/O port consists of three 1.4 DisplayPorts and one HDMI 2.1 port. Thus supporting up to four displays.
As with all EVGA cards, they cover this GPU with a three-year limited warranty and require no registration. The warranty is transferable as it is attached to the product, not the user. You even have the option of an additional two or seven-year extension, which requires proof of purchase and must be done within 30 days of the original purchase.
Overall, this 3070 by EVGA seems to be the sweet spot card for 1440p at 144Hz for budget-conscious gamers. It has just enough of everything to a game at 1440p beautifully, especially less demanding competitive games, as they are typically more about the performance rather than the quality.
10. ASUS ROG Strix NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti V2 OC
CUDA Cores: 4864 | Base Clock: 1410 MHz | Boost Clock: 1860 MHz Gaming Mode (1890 MHz OC Mode) | Memory: 8 GB GDDR6 | Memory Clock Speed: 14000 MHz | Memory Interface: 256-bit | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Dimensions: 318 x 140 x 63 mm
REASONS TO BUY
- Optimal 1440p 144hz performance for older games
- Excellent factory overclock
- Good thermal performance
- A robust metal frame
- Impressive overclock ability
- Customizable RGB Lightning
- Attractive aesthetics
- Great connectivity
REASONS TO AVOID
- Large and heavy
- High settings are out of the picture in the majority of current games in order to get 144 FPS
- The absolute minimum we recommend for 1440p 144hz gaming
- Outperformed by all current-gen cards
Our Rating: 8.9/10
At this point, we’re starting to scrape the proverbial bottom of the 1440p barrel. The ASUS ROG Strix NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti V2 OC is considered an entry-level Ampere card for 1440p gaming yet still powerful enough to pump out fast frame rates. It features a robust design, an oversized cooler, and an impressive factory overclock. So, should you buy it?
As we mentioned, the clock speeds are rather impressive. The ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti V2 OC starts at a quaint 1410MHz; however, it has a boosted clock speed of 1860MHz, which gains an additional 30MHz with the BIOS switch set from quiet to performance mode–maxing out at 1890MHz out of the box.
The ASUS 3060 Ti V2’s overclock ability is pretty good, thanks to the over-engineered cooler, and you should be able to boost the clock speed by around 5% or so. However, due to differences in each card’s silicon and quality, your mileage may vary.
What’s probably the biggest downfall of the 3060 is its memory. It has 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM with a clock speed of 14000MHz and a maximum memory bandwidth of 448GB/s. 8GB of VRAM is the lowest recommended for 1440p, but as you can see from the graphs above, it’s no chump–there are some titles where it even outperforms the 6700 XT at 1440p.
Unfortunately, the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti V2 OC has the lowest pixel rate on this list at only 148.8 GPixels/s. So while it may be circumstantial, frame rates will be generally lower on the Strix when compared to the 3070 XC3 ultra or the 6800 XT.
Finishing off the specs, this ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti V2 OC, like all other RTX cards, has DLSS support thanks to its 152 Tensor cores. Additionally, this is an LHR model GPU. LHR stands for Low Hash Rate, meaning they purposefully lowered this card’s crypto mining capabilities. Doing this helps gamers by discouraging miners from buying these cards.
Let’s take a look at the actual 1440p performance in games:
In terms of construction, the card comes with a metal framework with a plastic inlay fan shroud. This not only looks really clean and modern, but it also adds stability and helps prevent sagging.
On the metal backplate, there is a large cutout that allows the last fan to blow directly through the heatsink and out. This is thanks to a short PCB design which reduces static pressure and improves overall thermal performance.
As for aesthetics, on the side is a large slotted RGB bar which is fully customizable. Additionally, there is a ROG logo on the backplate that is also backlit by RGB.
To connect this card to your PSU, you’re going to need two 8-pin/6+2-pin PCIe connectors. This particular GPU has a TDP of 200W, and it is recommended that you use a 550W PSU or better. Otherwise, you risk losses in performance, crashes, or damaging components.
The I/O panel has three Display ports and two HDMI ports. This is the most populated panel on the list. On top of that, there are additional fan headers in the backplate cutout area for supplying power, should you need it.
Finally, ASUS covers their GPUs with a three-year warranty starting from the date of purchase. In the case of a claim, you must be able to provide proof of purchase to verify the date you bought the card. If proof can not be provided, then ASUS will still honor the warranty but will consider the manufacturing date as the beginning of the warranty period.
So that’s the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3060 Ti V2 OC in a nutshell. It has decent overall 1440p performance, a gigantic cooler, and a flashy design. But is it worth it? Sure, it’s reasonably priced and has great benchmarks for less demanding games.
However, spending the extra $70-90 on the RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra seems like the wiser choice, in our opinion.
Final Words
So there they are, the ten best graphics cards for 1440p 144hz gaming in 2024.
We hope you enjoyed reading our article and that we were able to give you all the information you needed to make the final decision.
Would you have chosen a card we didn’t include? Please feel free to leave us a comment with your thoughts and if you agree with our lineup.
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