In 1801, an inventor named Joseph Marie Jacquard created a loom that used punched wooden cards to automatically weave fabric. This genius invention would go on to influence the creation of early computers that used a similar system.
We’ll have to travel to 1941 if we want to find early computers that we’d recognize today. This groundbreaking year for computers is marked by the creation of the first digital, electronic computer system — an invention that boosted the 20th century’s push into the digital age.
Today, computers are everywhere. From the devices we use to browse the web to the cars we drive, computers are part of everyday life.
Interestingly, as computers advanced during the late 20th century, changing technology meant more and more new components joined the computer’s system. One of these new additions was the graphics processing unit, or GPU. The newcomer was introduced to the general market in 1999, making a huge impact on computers as a whole.
In modern computers, GPUs and graphics cards are interconnected systems that can easily cost several hundred dollars.
These are the top eight most expensive graphics cards in the world.
- GeForce GTX 1660 Ti XLR8 OC
- Radeon R9 290X
- The Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Twin Edge
- GeForce GTX 780 Ti
- The Radeon R9 295X2
- GeForce GTX Titan
- The GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
- The Titan Z
Brand: PNY
Cool Feature: Support for 1440p gaming
Year: 2019
photo source: techradar.com
PNY may not be as well-known as brands like Nvidia and AMD, but the company is behind the eighth-most-expensive graphics card — the GeForce GTX 16660 Ti XLR8 OC.
This card offers support for 1440p gaming thanks to heavy-lifting features like 6GB of memory, 1,536 cores, a base clock speed of 1,500 MHz, and a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The card also offers a generally silky gaming experience and building blocks in impressive Turing architecture. All that means the card’s price tag of $279 is pretty reasonable, at least according to reviewers. As one tech site put it, “If you’ve been holding out for a reasonably priced…graphics card… that delivers…1440p gaming, [this card is] for you.”
Did you know?
According to reviews, this card offers a helpfully compact footprint and performance that’s worth the price. This is due in part to the card’s basis in Turing architecture.
Brand: AMD
Cool Feature: More than 6,000 transistors
Year: 2013
photo source: techpowerup.com
In 2013, AMD released the Radeon R9 290X — an impressive graphics card with more than 6,000 transistors and support for 4BG of memory alongside a whopping 2,816 shading units and 176 texture mapping units. AMD’s product also features an operating frequency of 1,000 MHz and a 512-bit memory interface. The card could arguably be called mid-range, at least in the year of its release — and it had a price tag to match. According to reports, the Radeon R9 290X cost gamers $549 in 2013.
Did you know?
This card was based on the Hawaii graphics processor in the XT variant, ensuring modern games of the time were fully supported.
Brand: Zotac
Cool Feature: 8GB video memory
Year: 2020
photo source: notebookcheck.net
When it comes to the world’s most expensive graphics cards, you might not instantly think of Zotac — but the brand has offered some expensive cards of the years, including the Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Twin Edge.
This $620 card came with 8GB of video memory and 4K gaming capabilities when it was released in 2020, making it a high-end option.
Interestingly, some reviewers pointed out that this card didn’t offer a particularly eye-catching design, but they still said the minimalist aesthetic was appealing.
Did you know?
Zotac reportedly offers a 3-year warranty for RTX 30 cards, but that warranty can reach five years if you buy cards directly from the Zotac site.
Brand: Nvidia
Cool Feature: More GPU cores
Year: 2013
photo source: pcmag.com
Coming in at number five is the GeForce GTX 780 Ti from Nvidia. The card had a steep price tag of nearly $700 when it came out in 2013 — and reviewers thought it might actually be worth the cash. “If you’ve got the money…the Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti graphics card offers a great…experience,” said one tech website.
So what does this card have to offer? In 2013, it was pretty powerful. Although it only offers 3GB of RAM, Nvidia’s product was the very first GK110-based computer graphics card to be available with all 2,880 processors fully enabled. Overall, the card’s performance was reportedly set to be 10 to 12 percent higher than previous tech.
Did you know?
This card formally launched on November 7, 2013.
Brand: AMD
Cool Feature: Two built-in graphics processors
Year: 2014
photo source: videocardz.com
Believe it or not, the Radeon R9 295X2 originally cost a whopping $1,500. Understandably, many gamers just didn’t seem interested in that price tag.
Making matters worse for AMD, high-performing options from Nvidia were cheaper, so AMD’s product was a hard sell.
As a result, AMD decided to cut the price by one-third, dropping down to $1,000. Then, after that didn’t work, they went even further — down to $800. That price tag made the Radeon R9 295X2 the fourth-most-expensive graphics card on the market.
Did you know?
The R9 295X2 features 8GB of GDDR5 memory and two graphics processors. That may not be crazy today, but it was pretty impressive at the time of the card’s release.
Brand: Nvidia
Cool Feature: 6GB of ram
Year: 2013
photo source: pcmag.com
The GeForce GTX Titan might have an off-putting price tag, but some reviewers think it’s worth it — at least back in 2013 when it was released. “In terms of single-GPU performance, the Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan dominates every other video card on the market,” said one reviewer, and it’s not hard to see why. The card scored an impressive 4,948 in 3DMark 11’s Extreme Preset. That’s compared to the GTX 680’s 3,381. So yeah, a big improvement.
Amazingly, those tests were backed up by real-world use. 111 fps gameplay was supported by the GeForce GTX Titan, while the GTX 680 only hit 84.
Overall, the GeForce GTX Titan was an impressive card for its time with a hefty price tag.
Did you know?
Reportedly, Nvidia’s goal with the GeForce GTX Titan was to produce the smoothest possible gameplay rather than the highest frame rate.
Brand: Nvidia
Cool Feature: Supports high fps 4K gaming
Year: 2020
photo source: techradar.com
The GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is a crazy-powerful graphics card with an extremely high price tag. The powerful unit costs about $2,400 — that’s more than two times as much as the GeForce GTX Titan!
With such a big price tag, you’d expect some impressive specs. Thankfully, Nvidia seems to deliver. Reports say the card supports high fps 4K gaming thanks to beefy features like 4,352 CUDA cores, 11GB of GDDR6 VRAM, and a solid boost clock of 1,635MHz. The card also features additional cores that previous generations never had: RT and Tensor cores. That means the GeForce RTX 2080 can render super complex lighting scenarios in real-time and handles natural shadows better than the 1080 Ti.
Did you know?
This card removed the high-bandwidth connector Nvidia previously used in favor of the NV Link, a new system promising transfer bandwidth 50-times higher than previous technologies.
Brand: Nvidia
Cool Feature: Two full GK110 GPUs with 240 texture mapping units
Year: 2014
photo source: extremetech.com
The Titan Z by Nvidia is the most expensive graphics card.
When Nvidia announced the Titan Z graphics card, people kinda freaked out. Reports suggest the company was aiming to double the performance power of the already-powerful Titan Black — so that definitely caught the market’s attention. But what really got a strong reaction was the price tag: $3,000!
That’s a lot. As one tech site puts it, “many reviewers thought the $3000 price tag was insanely high,” especially considering customers could purchase two Titan Blacks in SLI for $1,000 less.
So the Titan Z is insanely pricey, but is it worth that price? Maybe. Although the card’s value is mostly a matter of personal taste (and budget), some experts questioned why any gamer would buy the card. “It’s hard to see why any gamer…would ever want a Titan Z,” says one reviewer. Basically, the argument went something like this: Why purchase a $3,000 card when you can get better gameplay from two Titan Blacks in SLI for way less cash?
Overall, the Titan Z is a crazy-expensive card that might be way over-priced.
Did you know?
As of 2014, the Titan Z was Nvidia’s most expensive graphics card ever.
