What graphics card to choose for gaming in 4K in 2025?

4K Video Card 4K Graphics Card

Gaming in 4K is the Holy Grail for many gamers: ultra-fine textures, details, maximum immersion. But it requires serious hardware. The ideal 4K video card must offer raw power, good ray tracing management, good upscaling, and a reasonable performance / price ratio. In this article, I explain why I believe the RTX 5080 is the best choice today, why the RTX 5090 is "too much" in many cases, and why the RTX 4090 from the previous generation remains a credible choice.

Author
yuux
Co-founder of DropReference, I'm here to give you the best tips to build the gaming PC of your dreams!

What to expect from a 4K graphics card

Before rushing to a model, here are the important criteria:

Criterion Why it's crucial in 4K
Number of CUDA cores / raw power You are pushing a lot of pixels, so heavy computation is needed.
Video Memory (VRAM) & Bandwidth UHD textures require space and high bandwidth.
Ray tracing & upscaling technologies Allows for maintaining stable FPS while enjoying realistic rendering.
Power consumption / thermal dissipation In 4K, the card heats up a lot: good cooling is mandatory.
Performance / Cost Ratio You want a good fps / euro ratio, not just a benchmark beast.
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🏆 RTX 5080 - the best 4K choice in 2025

gpu-rtx-5080

Why it's a good deal:

The RTX 5080 is based on the architecture Blackwell , with some GDDR7 , a TDP contained at 360 W and incredible 4K performance.

It allows you to play Cyberpunk 2077, Starfield, or Alan Wake 2 in Ultra + Ray Tracing + DLSS 4 at more than 100 fps.

✅ Advantages

  • Best performance/price ratio to play in 4K
  • Architecture Blackwell + DLSS 4 ultra efficient
  • Less noisy and less energy-consuming than the 5090
  • Sufficiently "future-proof" for several years

❌ Disadvantages

  • Only 16 GB of VRAM (some will want more)
  • Requires a 850 W mini power supply
  • In 4K at 240 Hz, some games still require DLSS
Game (4K Ultra) Average FPS DLSS enabled Ray tracing
Cyberpunk 2077 102 fps Yes (DLSS 4) Yes
Alan Wake 2 98 fps Yes (DLSS 4) Yes
Starfield 110 fps No No
Forza Horizon 5 150 fps Yes (DLSS 4) No
Hogwarts Legacy 120 fps Yes (DLSS 4) Yes
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All stocks of the RTX 5080 in real time

With DropReference you can see all available stocks in your country at a glance!

Filters

Sapphire RX 9070XT GAMING 16GB GDDR6 PULSE Black

Sapphire RX 9070XT GAMING 16GB GDDR6 PULSE Black

624€

(11 Vendors)
Length: 300
4K Top brand
ASUS PRIME GeForce RTX 5070 Ti OC 16GB GDDR7 Black

ASUS PRIME GeForce RTX 5070 Ti OC 16GB GDDR7 Black

776€

(14 Vendors)
Length: 304
1440p 4K Ray tracing Top brand
Gigabyte RTX 5080 WINDFORCE OC 16GB GDDR7 Black

Gigabyte RTX 5080 WINDFORCE OC 16GB GDDR7 Black

1019€

(12 Vendors)
Length: 304
4K Ray tracing Good brand
Gigabyte RTX 5070 Ti WINDFORCE OC 16GB GDDR7 Black

Gigabyte RTX 5070 Ti WINDFORCE OC 16GB GDDR7 Black

825€

(13 Vendors)
Length: 304
1440p 4K Ray tracing Good brand
ASRock RX9070XT Steel Legend 16GB GDDR6 3 fans

ASRock RX9070XT Steel Legend 16GB GDDR6 3 fans

599€

(11 Vendors)
Brand: ASRock
4K Good brand
Sapphire RX 9060XT GAMING OC 16GB Black

Sapphire RX 9060XT GAMING OC 16GB Black

391€

(8 Vendors)
Length: 240
Top brand
MSI RTX 5070 Ti Ventus 3X OC 16GB GDDR7

MSI RTX 5070 Ti Ventus 3X OC 16GB GDDR7

830€

(12 Vendors)
Length: 303
1440p 4K Ray tracing Top brand
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB GDDR7 OC Edition Black

ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB GDDR7 OC Edition Black

448€

(12 Vendors)
Length: 229
1440p Ray tracing Top brand
Gigabyte RTX 5070 WINDFORCE SFF 12GB GDDR7 Black

Gigabyte RTX 5070 WINDFORCE SFF 12GB GDDR7 Black

559€

(12 Vendors)
Length: 363
1440p Ray tracing Good brand
ASUS PRIME-RTX5080-O16G 16GB GDDR6X OC Black

ASUS PRIME-RTX5080-O16G 16GB GDDR6X OC Black

1079€

(7 Vendors)
Length: 306
4K Ray tracing Top brand
ASUS PRIME-RX9070XT-O16G 16GB GDDR6 OC Black

ASUS PRIME-RX9070XT-O16G 16GB GDDR6 OC Black

644€

(11 Vendors)
Chipset: 9070 XT
4K Top brand
Gigabyte RTX 5070 WINDFORCE OC SFF 12GB GDDR7 Black

Gigabyte RTX 5070 WINDFORCE OC SFF 12GB GDDR7 Black

538€

(13 Vendors)
Brand: Gigabyte
1440p Ray tracing Good brand
Sapphire Nitro+ RX 9070XT Gaming OC 16GB GDDR6 Gray

Sapphire Nitro+ RX 9070XT Gaming OC 16GB GDDR6 Gray

684€

(11 Vendors)
Length: 350
4K Top brand
ASUS GeForce RTX 5070 12GB GDDR7 Black

ASUS GeForce RTX 5070 12GB GDDR7 Black

566€

(15 Vendors)
Brand: Asus
1440p Ray tracing Top brand
Sapphire Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB GDDR6 White

Sapphire Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB GDDR6 White

669€

(11 Vendors)
Length: 300
4K Top brand
XFX RX 9060 XT SWIFT OC 16GB GDDR6

XFX RX 9060 XT SWIFT OC 16GB GDDR6

369€

(9 Vendors)
Length: 270
Good brand
Sapphire RX 9060 XT Pure 16GB GDDR6 White

Sapphire RX 9060 XT Pure 16GB GDDR6 White

378€

(8 Vendors)
Length: 240
Top brand
MSI RTX 5080 VENTUS 3X OC 16GB GDDR7

MSI RTX 5080 VENTUS 3X OC 16GB GDDR7

1029€

(9 Vendors)
Length: 303
4K Ray tracing Top brand
Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 XT Gaming OC 16GB GDDR6 Black

Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 XT Gaming OC 16GB GDDR6 Black

642€

(11 Vendors)
Length: 288
4K Good brand
MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti VENTUS 2X OC PLUS 8GB GDDR7

MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti VENTUS 2X OC PLUS 8GB GDDR7

348€

(12 Vendors)
Length: 227
1440p Ray tracing Top brand
Sapphire PULSE RX 9070 Gaming 16GB Black

Sapphire PULSE RX 9070 Gaming 16GB Black

539€

(12 Vendors)
Length: 300
4K Top brand
ZOTAC RTX 5080 SOLID CORE

ZOTAC RTX 5080 SOLID CORE

1029€

(5 Vendors)
Length: 303
4K Ray tracing Good brand 5-year warranty
Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9060 XT GAMING OC 8GB GDDR6 Black

Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9060 XT GAMING OC 8GB GDDR6 Black

287€

(10 Vendors)
5 (1)
Length: 240
Top brand
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5070 Ti WINDFORCE 16GB GDDR7 Black

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5070 Ti WINDFORCE 16GB GDDR7 Black

779€

(11 Vendors)
Length: 280
1440p 4K Ray tracing Good brand
ZOTAC RTX 5070 Ti SOLID SFF 16GB GDDR7

ZOTAC RTX 5070 Ti SOLID SFF 16GB GDDR7

778€

(11 Vendors)
Length: 304
1440p 4K Ray tracing Good brand 5-year warranty

💸 RTX 5090 - too powerful for most gamers

rtx5090-nvidia-gpu

The RTX 5090 , it's the ultimate card. 32GB of GDDR7 VRAM, monstrous performance, and a price... just as monstrous.

If you want the top of the top and you don't care about the budget, go for it. Otherwise, honestly, it's "too much".

Benefits Drawbacks
Monstrous 4K/8K performances Outrageous price (+70% vs 5080)
32 GB of GDDR7 VRAM High power consumption (up to 600 W)
Ray tracing and AI at the top Significant noise and heat
DLSS 4 ultra smooth Little interest if your screen is not 4K/240 Hz.
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💪 RTX 4090 - the former queen still formidable

If you come across a good RTX 4090 used, go for it. It remains formidable in 4K, even against the 5080.

You lose a few percentage points of performance, but you often save several hundred euros.

Game (4K Ultra) RTX 4090 (FPS) RTX 5080 (FPS)
Cyberpunk 2077 90 fps 102 fps
Alan Wake 2 85 fps 98 fps
Starfield 95 fps 110 fps
Forza Horizon 5 140 fps 150 fps
Hogwarts Legacy 115 fps 120 fps
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🔧 Tips to accompany your 4K card

  • PSU: minimum 850 W of quality, even 1000 W for the 5090
  • Processor: a Ryzen 7 9800X3D or an i7-14700K to avoid bottlenecking
  • Cooling: airflow or watercooling, the 4K heats
  • Screen: aiming for 4K 144 Hz minimum, with HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort 2.1
  • Case: good airflow (check the cases on DropReference 😉)

Conclusion

If you want to play in 4K If you want a smooth experience without blowing your budget, go for the RTX 5080. The RTX 5090 is dreamy, but unless you have a 4K 240 Hz screen and a monstrous power supply, it's a waste. And for the savvy ones, a well-negotiated RTX 4090 remains an excellent 4K video card.