Gaming at 1440p and 144hz requires quite a powerful GPU, we’re not going to sugarcoat it. As such, even budget GPUs that can achieve it are relatively pricey.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t options anyway! Some lower and mid-range GPUs can achieve it, as long as you don’t mind having to turn down settings sometimes.
Disclosure: ItemLevel’s posts may contain affiliate links from which ItemLevel may earn a commission.
In this article, we’ll talk about the 5 best budget GPUs that can achieve 1440p resolutions and 144hz refresh rates!
Top 5 Best Budget GPUs for Gaming at 1440p 144hz
The first basic spec you want to check when getting a modern GPU is its VRAM. You will need at least 8GB to comfortably play at 1440p, so we won’t recommend anything lower.
Additionally, VRAM can also affect texture resolution. To keep things short, more VRAM equals higher-resolution displays and textures.
Another thing to consider is that modern NVIDIA’s GPUs can support DLSS. It’s a unique upscaling technology that can give you better performance without sacrificing image quality too much.
AMD doesn’t have anything quite like it (yet!), and not all games support it either. That said, there’s a similar technology called FSR that is supported by every GPU. It’s not quite as good, but it helps!
Lastly, we will be using the PassMark scores from PassMark benchmarks. These scores serve to let us know which GPUs are more powerful. A higher score means better performance on average.
Phew, that’s a lot to keep in mind, right? This quick chart covers the basics of the GPUs we will be covering in this article.
| Best GPU for 1440p Gaming | VRAM | Power Consumption | PassMark Score | Buy Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 4060 | 8GB GDDR6 | 115W | 19285 | |
| RX 6650 XT | 8GB GDDR6 | 176W | 17533 | |
| RTX 3070 | 8GB GDDR6 | 220W | 22484 | |
| RX 6700 XT | 12GB GDDR6 | 230W | 19882 | |
| RX 6800 | 16GB GDDR6 | 250W | 22404 |
| Best GPU for 1440p Gaming | VRAM | Power Consumption | PassMark Score | Buy Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 4060 | 8GB GDDR6 | 115W | 19285 | |
| RX 6650 XT | 8GB GDDR6 | 176W | 17533 | |
| RTX 3070 | 8GB GDDR6 | 220W | 22484 | |
| RX 6700 XT | 12GB GDDR6 | 230W | 19882 | |
| RX 6800 | 16GB GDDR6 | 250W | 22404 |
Entry-Level NVIDIA: RTX 4060
Starting up we have NVIDIA’s RTX 4060, which is an entry-level GPU.
It has 8GBs of GDDR6 VRAM, which is just about enough for gaming at 1440p. Nothing too fancy, though, so you might need to lower texture quality to get good performance at 1440p!
As a modern NVIDIA GPU, however, it supports DLSS to help you squeeze some extra performance. This is ideal if you want to reach 144 FPS when playing at 144Hz!
What surprises us most about this card, however, is its very low power consumption. It reaches about 115W of power consumption at max load, which is much lower than its contemporaries.
This means you likely won’t need to splurge for a new power supply unit (PSU) to upgrade to this card. It also helps keep it cooler, which is always welcome!
However, as you might imagine from its specs, it’s a low-end GPU. Playing at 1440p and 144Hz will require sacrificing graphical quality. Nonetheless, it’s a solid budget choice if you don’t mind that!
Pros
- Very affordable modern NVIDIA GPU
- Supports NVIDIA DLSS for a performance boost
- Extremely low power consumption
Cons
- More expensive than its AMD counterpart
Entry-Level AMD: RX 6650 XT
If you prefer the red team, here’s our entry-level AMD pick! The RX 6650 XT is a decent budget choice for 1440p 144hz gaming.
As is fitting of AMD’s offerings compared to NVIDIA’s, the price of the RX 6650 XT is more accessible. On the other hand, its performance is also lower.
You also don’t get DLSS support for performance boosts, but most modern games also implement FSR to compensate. It’s something!
This GPU has a power consumption of 176W, which isn’t too high. Nonetheless, make sure your PSU has enough power for it!
The RX 6650 XT has 8GBs of GDDR6 RAM, which is enough for 1440p. However, you may need to turn down graphics if you wish to get to 144 FPS in most modern games!
It’s a solid budget choice if you prefer AMD over NVIDIA, nonetheless.
Pros
- Very affordable 1440p@144hz GPU
- Very fair pricing
- Relatively low power consumption
Cons
- Maintaining performance may require lowering graphics
Mid-range NVIDIA: RTX 3070
If the performance of the entry-level GPUs isn’t good enough, it’s time to splurge a bit more on mid-range cards. Our NVIDIA pick for this range is the RTX 3070!
The RTX 3070 is a popular standard for modern gaming, and it’s more than capable of playing games 1080p in high framerates. But can it also push out 1440p at 144hz?
The answer is that yes, it can! As long as you’re willing to sacrifice graphical fidelity and use NVIDIA’s DLSS for upscaling, of course. Don’t expect to maintain 144 FPS on modern AAA games without some visual sacrifices!
Nonetheless, it definitely performs better than our entry-level picks, so the higher price is worth it if you can afford it. Do note that most budget variants of this GPU are refurbished and not brand new, though!
For its technical specs, it has 8GBs for GDDR6 VRAM and a max power consumption of around 220W. These are pretty standard for this price and performance range, but make sure your PSU can handle it.
Pros
- Supports NVIDIA DLSS
- Capable of 1440p@144hz with moderate graphics settings
- One of the best modern GPUs available
Cons
- Only the renewed versions are budget-friendly
Mid-range AMD: RX 6700 XT
Our mid-range budget pick for the red team is the RX 6700 XT. It offers comparable performance to NVIDIA’s 3070 but has a lower price tag. Huzzah!
You also won’t need to deal with getting a refurbished or renewed card in this case. Brand new RX 6700 XT’s are pretty fairly priced, thankfully. No NVIDIA tax!
However, remember that AMD’s cards don’t support DLSS, so they might not perform as well as NVIDIA’s on average.
Nonetheless, the RX 6700 XT is definitely a powerful and budget-friendly GPU. It has 12GBs of GDDR6 VRAM, which should allow you to bump up texture resolutions compared to our previous choices.
The RX 6700 XT has no issue pulling off 144 FPS on older AAA games at even the maximum settings. Newer games might require you to push settings down to medium or low, however.
Of course, that varies on a game-per-game basis, especially with game optimization being such a hot topic these days.
Lastly, it has a fairly standard maximum power draw of 230W. As always, make sure your PSU can provide enough juice to it!
Pros
- Has 12GBs of VRAM, higher than average
- Cheaper than its NVIDIA counterpart
- Capable of 1440p@144hz gaming with decent graphics
Cons
- Not as powerful as its NVIDIA counterpart
High-End Choice: RX 6800
If cheaper options don’t cut it for you, our last pick in this list might win you over instead! The RX 6800 is our most powerful but also expensive GPU choice.
Mind you, its price is still within the realm of what’s considered a budget-friendly GPU these days. As always, AMD provides a good balance between price and performance!
The RX 6800 boasts 16GBs of GDDR6 VRAM, which allows it to easily output 1440p resolutions with high-quality textures. It can even do 4K decently, but don’t expect 144Hz at that resolution!
You should have no problem playing at 1440p with 144hz on most modern games, even at medium-high graphics settings.
Popular competitive games like Apex Legends and Fortnite will push well beyond 144 FPS with this card, even at the highest settings.
However, this GPU performs better with modern games using DirectX 10 and DirectX 11. For some reason, it performs a tad worse than its competition on games using DirectX 9 and DirectX 10. Quite strange, isn’t it?
Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that it has a power draw of 250W. Not too high, but it’s the most power-hungry GPU on this list. Make sure to keep it well-fed!
We highly recommend this GPU for 1440p@144hz if you don’t mind stretching your budget a bit.
Pros
- Very high amount of VRAM at 16GBs
- Fantastic price and performance balance
- Capable of 1440p@144hz on high settings
- Perfect for modern competitive games
Cons
- Most expensive GPU on this list
- Less-than-expected performance on DX9 and DX10 games
To Sum Up
Picking a GPU for 1440p@144hz is fairly easy, now that we have gone over our picks. Frankly, your choice will depend on two factors: price and which brand you prefer.
The entry-level picks should do you well, but you will have to lower graphics settings to maintain 1440p and 144hz. You might need to turn settings down to low in some games, even!
The mid-range picks should, as expected, provide a noticeable performance upgrade from the previous tier. You can expect to play games 1440p and 144hz without sacrificing graphical fidelity too much.
Lastly, our most expensive (but still budget-friendly!) pick is the RX 6800. This GPU should comfortably run games at 1440p@144hz without too much trouble, even on high settings!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can a 3060 run 1440p 144Hz?
Yes, but only if you have the right CPU and sufficient RAM.
2. How much VRAM is needed for 1440p?
If you want to play games at 1440p at maximum settings it is recomended to get 12GB or VRAM. But even lower VRAM can get the job done if you lower your game settings.
3. What’s the best monitor size for 1440p?
The best monitor size depends on resolution and preference. The ideal monitor size for 1440p gaming is 27-inches.
4. Is 1440p harder for GPU?
Yes. Playing at 1440p will significantly reduce your frame rates. Therefore the GPU works much harder to run 2K display than the standard 1080p.
ALSO READ: Best Charging Dock For PSVR2
