It's been a year of mid-range GPU releases, with both Nvidia and AMD coming out swinging in the battle for the middle of the market. The mid-range cards from both these manufacturers are still fairly new, but we've found both the RTX 4060 Ti 8GB and RX 7700 XT at relatively substantial discounts, which makes it tempting for those of you looking for an inexpensive upgrade, or a new system build, to make the leap.
The question is, however, which to pick? Let's break down what we've got here, and see if we can make a decision.
First up, let's take a look at the MSI Ventus RTX 4060 Ti 8GB, currently available for just under $360 with a promotional code and $20 rebate. For a start, it's a very healthy discount on such a new GPU, and while there was some furore over the 8GB variant of this card we found it performed very well in our RTX 4060 Ti review. It runs cool, quiet and efficiently, and this particular variant features a small and slim twin-fan cooler that means it should slot into most cases with no issues at all.
The real selling point for this GPU is its ability to take advantage of DLSS 3 and Frame Generation to deliver better frame rates and excellent image quality in all the games that use it, and there are quite a few to choose from. It might be a lightweight GPU, but with these advantages it certainly punches well above its class.
Before we get too excited however, into the ring comes the ASRock Challenger RX 7700 XT, an appropriately named GPU for this slightly tortured metaphor and a real contender for anyone's mid-range money, especially at just under $400 with the promotional code applied. It's got excellent performance, 12GB of VRAM and another slim twin-fan cooler, and we found in our main RX 7700 XT review of a similar model that its 1440p figures were very solid indeed.
That being said, if you buy one of these little beauties you'll be limited to FSR, with no access to DLSS. While the performance improvements are similar the image quality is slightly worse, and FSR 3 support still seems to be slow to roll out.
So which should you go for? Well if VRAM size is important to you, then the RX 7700 XT is your best pick. However, if you're looking to take advantage of upscaling for some performance gains (and let's face it, you probably should) then the RTX 4060 Ti is a clear winner. It also runs more efficiently with a 160W TDP vs the RX 7700 XTs 245W, so if you grab one you may not need to shell out for a new PSU.
However, truth be told both these GPUs make a solid case for themselves in any budget to mid-range rig, and at these discounts they both make financial sense too. The RTX 4060 Ti might have the edge, but they're both solid cards for building on a budget, and worthy contenders in the battle for your bucks.
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