The BEST Graphics Cards for 2021
What you need to KNOW!
Graphics Card for 2021 – Choose the BEST one Today!
What graphics cards for 2021 should you consider? Welcome to Let’s Fly VFR Gaming Card 2021 options for all you dedicated flight simmers out there. If you considering a new graphics card to boost your Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 experience then you will find them below. These will cover any budget and they come with all the best features.
The amount of Vram in many cards has grown but beyond 8GB in recent cards up to 24GB which still seems excessive. The amount of both VRAM and SSTEM ram seem to be selling points but are the extremes amounts really help the current flight simulator titles. With growing textures especially in MSFS 2020 more than 16GB may become a requirement but its not rearing its head as necessary as yet. Your choice of graphics card should be balanced with what CPU you have which is important to get the best performance from your graphics card in 2021.
Match your Graphics Card to Your CPU Performance for Best Results.
Its about desired performance against your desired spend ($) as always. If your mating a Intel I3 or Ryzen 2600 with a NVIDIA 3080 or 3090 is really a waste as the CPU cannot perform fast enough to deliver the data for the graphics card needs to deliver the experience the experience you desire. You may mate a Nvidia 3600 to 3700 with say a Ryzen 5600x and get great performance but adding a Radeon 6900xt may not be a great investment with this CPU. Add a top end CPU like the new Intel 11900k Gen or Ryzen 9 series to get the best performance. Lets look at performance of both Nvidia and AMD Radeon graphics cards for 2021 below.
Inter Generation Performance Graphics Cards 2021
DLSS Performance for Graphics Cards 2021
The Nvidia RTX 3000 series has bought the highest inter generational improvement in performance ever. The introduction of AI in the 2000 series has been further refined and now with the addition of features like DLSS and improvements in Ray tracing have made the gaming space even more amazing.
It’s important to note that games have to support the features before they can be utilized so at this point in time there is no flight simulator programs currently able to use DLSS or Ray tracing. The first possible flight simulator will likely be Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 as it moves from DC11 to DX12 where it needs to be to utilize these amazing features.
DLSS – This is AI powered Gaming Acceleration. The AI tensor core enable the program to be downscaled then upscaled magically giving up to twice the FPS available on the native settings. Those with more top end systems are then able to play games in amazing 8K quality.
Ray Tracing Performance for Graphics Cards 2021
Nvidia introduced REAL TIME RAY TRACING in the RTX 20 series graphics cards. This amazing piece of technology calculated the lighting effects in real time from the viewers perspective to mke scenes lit by ambient light and even the moon and stars possible as you move through a scene. The gaming community has been a little slow to embrace the technology although there are a number of games now supporting DLSS and Ray Tracing. Nvidia certainly were pushing the technology and caught the wraith of a few prominent YouTubers when they tried to control the editorial content and how real time ray tracing was being presented. This did not sit well with the community but those who use the technology love the effect which is best used with the DLSS if available as Ray Tracing does eat up your frame Rates. Is it worth it? Yes I believe it will make many games next level with the use of DLSS at the same time.
Performance Comparison’s MSFS 2020
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is a great place to show you the possibilities with the available and past graphics cards in 2021. These are in DX11 so at the end of July 2021 there are some pretty major optimizations coming with rumored doubling of FPS. This is not with a move to DX12 or the previously mentioned DLSS technology. With the move to DX12 likely later this year the option to add DLSS and even real time Ray Tracing will make this game so realistic especially in virtual reality you will honestly think it is real!
If DLSS is also added well maybe 8K gaming may be in your future as well. Its an exciting time for flight simulation absolutely. You just need to budget for your next graphics card and suitable CPU to make it all it can be!
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Performance at 1080P
The most popular resolution for the longest ime has been the 1080P resolution. This resolution in recent times is starting to be surpassed by 1440 but is likely to remain dominant for some time yet even though 8K may soon also become a thing in PC gaming.
Your wanting to have the fastest CPU available in Flight Simulator 2020 and other very CPU intensive flight simulators like DCS World and X Plane 11. Lets not forget some of the fun simulation games also enjoyed by gamers like War Thunder which is also another major following in the sim community. The better the CPU in this resolution will deliver the best FPS performance and not necessarily the GPU.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Performance at 1440 & 2160P (4K)
The two graphics give you a good idea of what sort of FPS performance at different resolutions like 1440P which is becoming more popular along with 4K or 2160P. Your resolution is a big factor on the performance of your system and what component will give you the best performance. If your playing at 1080P which has been the most popular resolution for many years then your CPU will be your overriding factor to your FPS delivered in game.
If your moving up to 1440 and 2160P then your GPU does most of the heavy lifting in game but must be supported by a good CPU regardless.
NVIDIA RTX 3060 – AUSUS Strix
The most popular choice for most gamers in the NVIDIA graphics cards for 2021 is the RTX 3060. This card has the performance for the majority of gamers especially if your budget conscious.
The RTX 3060 will give you great performance with the options of DLSS and DX12 support for your games bringing you a new world of realism with real time Ray Tracing technology.
The RTX 3060 brings features of PCIe 4.0 12 GDDR6 HDMI 2.1 display port 1.4a. The most similar graphics card to this model in the previous generation is the RTX 2070.
NVIDIA RTX 3070 – ASUS Strix
The RTX 3070 Is the next step up in the Nvidia product stack. This is a great higher performing graphics card for 2021 giving you RTX 2080 performance approximately at the RTX 3070 price point. This is a pretty generational improvement step with NVIDIA and AMD products as new generations are released.
The RTX 3070 brings features of PCIe 4.0 8 GDDR6 HDMI 2.1 display port 1.4a. The most similar graphics card to this model in the previous generation is the RTX 2080.
EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 – Gaming
The Nvidia RTX 3080 is at the premium end of the gaming spectrum with the top level of gaming performance offering DLSS as well as real time Ray Tracing made just amazing. If you want unparalleled performance and budget is not a concern then this is the card you want for the buttery smooth gaming performance we all dream of.
If your looking for a comparative card in the last generation you need to look at the 2090 or 2080Ti as an option.
ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3090 Trinity OC 24GB
The Nvidia RTX 3090 is the absolute premium graphics card for 2021 with the best performance possible at a premium price. There is no comparison to this gaming card in the previous generation. This is the king of the gaming cards in 2021. The amount of ram at 24 GB of DDR6 is overwhelming and I would have thought a waste in current titles.
AMD RADEON 6000 Series
AMD Radeon 6000 Graphics Cards have really pushed NVIDIAs dominance in the GPU arena in 2021. The new 6000 series cards a have all Nvidia can offer with just different names.
AMD has bought its own performance system using its own AI cores called AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR). This process like Nvidia’s DLSS uses the AI or artificial intelligence build into the Radeon 6000 cards to intelligently rescale the resolution and delivers amazing high frames per second (FPS) to make your among experience. AMD uses their own upscaling algorithm to create super clear picture with much improved FPS performance bring games to a new level of performance.
Fidelity FX2
Fidelity FX2 brings a whole range of features as publicized on the AMD.com website. Its adding features that are I think fairly comparable with the NVIDIA’s ray tracing features as well as its DLSS.
Features not directly mentioned by Nvidia that AMD highlights are Denoiser and screen reflection techniques that may be interesting but of limited importance to gamers.
The features and performance of both companies is very good so its your choice to which card or company you wish to support. What’s important is that we are seeing great competition on new technologies bringing gaming FPS and picture quality to a new level.
AMD Radeon 6000 Series Features
AMD’s range of features listed for their latest 6000 Series graphics cards and their performance in different games is listed here and comes directly from AMD.com website.
With all figures taken from the manufacturer we have to take them with some caution and check 3rd party reviews if you don’t already have a preference for either the RED or GREEN teams products.
Over the years I have had both and none has ever let me down. The choice is yours and below you will find a range.
AMD Radeon Graphics Card 2021 – Your Choice
AMD Radeon 6900XT
The AMD Radeon 6900XT is the current flagship for AMD. This graphics card will deliver your dreams with DirectX 12 performance and AMD FidelityFX. The 6900XT brings with it all the amazing features powered by AMD’s RDNA 2 technology delivering 80 compute units, 128MB of Infinity cache plus 16GB GDDR6 for the fastest memory available today with 4K gaming made a reality.
80 Compute Units – 80 Ray Accelerators – Stream Processors – 320 Texture Units and all this delivers 46.08 TFLOPS of performance. The 6900XT delivers 2015 MHz game frequency with a boost Frequency of 2250 MHz Pure joy awaits
AMD Radeon 6800XT / AMD Radeon 6800
The AMD Radeon 6800XT is the premium end of the AMD Radeon graphics cards only excelled by the 6900 XT. This graphics card will deliver a premium 4K gaming experience in all your demanding titles. The 6800XT brings with it all the amazing features powered by AMD’s RDNA 2 technology delivering 72 compute units, 128MB of Infinity cache plus 16GB GDDR6 for the fastest memory makes true 4K gaming made a reality for todays gamers.
Radeon 6800XT : 72 Compute Units – 72 Ray Accelerators – 4608 Stream Processors – 288 Texture Units and all this delivers 41.47 TFLOPS of performance. The 6800XT delivers 2015 MHz game frequency with a boost Frequency of 2250 MHz. This amazing GPU will deliver smooth crisp and flawless gaming experience to 4K gamers today!
Radeon 6800 : 60 Compute Units – 60 Ray Accelerators – 3840 Stream Processors – 240 Texture Units and all this delivers 32.33 TFLOPS of performance. The 6800 delivers 1815 MHz game frequency with a boost Frequency of 2105 MHz. This amazing GPU will also deliver amazingly smooth gaming experience to 4K gamers today!
AMD Radeon 6700XT
The AMD Radeon 6700XT is a popular level for gamers when considering gaming at 1440P and achieving high refresh rates on your new AMD Radeon graphics card. The 6700XT brings with it all the amazing features powered by AMD’s RDNA 2 technology delivering 72 compute units, 128MB of Infinity cache plus 16GB GDDR6 for the fastest memory makes true 4K gaming made a reality for todays gamers.
40 Compute Units – 72 Ray Accelerators – 2560 Stream Processors – 160 Texture Units and all this delivers 26.43 TFLOPS of performance. The 6700XT delivers 2321 MHz game frequency with a boost Frequency of 2581MHz. This amazing GPU will deliver smooth crisp and flawless gaming experience to gamers at 1440P!
Compare AMD Vs NVIDIA Performance AMD.com Performance Charts
Fast Efficient CPU’s for your Gaming System – What Spec do you need?
The latest generation Intel 11th Generation and AMD Ryzen 5000 series are where the best performance can be found for you gaming rig. The individual speed on cores is still a primary factor to performance in your flight sim experience. To date more is not necessarily better but this is changing as ne API’s are used like Vulcan API and DX12 bringing greater performance and amazing features like ray tracing.
Th CPU’s below are highly recommended to match with the latest GPU’s from Nvidia and AMD. Without good core data delivery of the GPU from the CPU is extremely important. If the CPU is not fast enough to deliver the data the GPU spends time just waiting and this is not ideal. Matching an I3 or Ryzen 2600 with a 3080 would be a true waste of funds. Matching CPU and Your GPU is wise to optimize your value for money and FPS performance in simulator or other games.
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