A cheap GPU for light gaming is one of the best-value upgrades you can make in 2026 — and under £100 the used market is where all the value lives. Nothing sold new at this price is worth putting in a gaming PC, but the second-hand market is full of cards that will happily run CS2, Fortnite, Valorant, Rocket League and older AAA titles at 1080p. This guide ranks the top 10 GPUs under £100 still worth buying, based on real UK used prices in July 2026.
Best overall: GTX 1660 Super (#1). Most VRAM for the money: GTX 1070 (#2). Tightest budget: RX 580 8GB (#3). No power connector needed: GTX 1050 Ti (#10).
How we ranked these cards
Every card below was judged on four things: performance per pound at 1080p, VRAM (6GB minimum to rank in the top half — 8GB preferred), UK used-market availability, and reliability track record. A great card that nobody is selling, or one that’s likely to arrive half-dead from a mining rig, doesn’t make a good recommendation.
Nvidia GTX 1660 Super
The best all-round card you can get under £100 in 2026. It delivers well over 144 fps in CS2, Valorant and Rocket League at 1080p, and comfortably clears 60 fps in most AAA games from the last few years on medium-to-high settings. GDDR6 memory gives it a real edge over the plain GTX 1660, power draw is modest, and any half-decent 450W PSU will run it.
Supply in the UK is healthy, so you can afford to be picky — hold out for one with clean fans and seller photos of it running.
Nvidia GTX 1070
The VRAM champion of this list. Raw performance sits right alongside the GTX 1660 Super, but the 8GB buffer means it handles texture-heavy games far more gracefully — modern titles increasingly punish 6GB cards, and the 1070 sidesteps that entirely. For anyone who plays a mix of esports and open-world games, this is arguably the smarter buy.
AMD RX 580 8GB
The value king. Nothing else gives you 8GB of VRAM and genuine 1080p 60fps gaming for the price of a takeaway for four. Esports titles fly, and older AAA games run happily at high settings. Because millions were made during the mining boom, UK supply is abundant and prices keep drifting down.
Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti
Marginally faster than the 1660 Super — around 3–5% in most games — with the same 6GB of GDDR6 and slightly lower power draw. If you spot one at the same price as a Super, take it. The only reason it ranks lower is that it usually costs £10 more for a difference you won’t notice.
Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB
Still one of the most sensible budget buys in the UK. It runs Fortnite, Valorant, CS2, Apex and League at well over 100 fps at 1080p, sips power, and works with almost any PSU thanks to the single 6-pin connector. It’s the classic card for a student build or a first gaming PC.
AMD RX 5500 XT 8GB
The forgotten middle child of AMD’s lineup, and quietly a great buy. RDNA architecture, 8GB of GDDR6, and performance a touch ahead of the GTX 1060 with much better efficiency than the RX 580. It flies under the radar, which keeps prices reasonable.
Nvidia GTX 1650 Super
Surprisingly quick for its size — close to GTX 1060 performance with lower power draw and a newer architecture. For pure esports (CS2, Valorant, Rocket League, Fortnite on performance mode), the 4GB buffer isn’t a problem and this is a tidy, efficient pick.
AMD RX 590
An RX 580 with a factory overclock — roughly 10% faster for a small premium. Same 8GB of VRAM, same abundant driver support, same solid 1080p performance. If the price gap to an RX 580 is £10 or less, it’s worth it.
AMD RX 6400
The specialist pick. It draws all its power from the PCIe slot, needs no cables, and comes in low-profile versions — which makes it the best way to turn an old office PC (Dell OptiPlex, HP EliteDesk, Lenovo ThinkCentre) into a genuine esports machine without touching the power supply. It’s also the newest card on this list by some distance.
Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti
The last-resort option that still earns its place. No power connector, tiny footprint, and it turns any desktop with a PCIe slot into something that can play League, Valorant, Rocket League and older titles at 1080p. At £35–£45 it’s the cheapest genuinely usable gaming GPU in the UK.
All 10 cards at a glance
| Rank | Card | Used price | VRAM | Power | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | GTX 1660 Super | £75–£95 | 6GB GDDR6 | 125W | Best all-rounder |
| #2 | GTX 1070 | £75–£95 | 8GB GDDR5 | 150W | VRAM headroom |
| #3 | RX 580 8GB | £45–£60 | 8GB GDDR5 | 185W | Best value |
| #4 | GTX 1660 Ti | £85–£100 | 6GB GDDR6 | 120W | If priced like a Super |
| #5 | GTX 1060 6GB | £55–£75 | 6GB GDDR5 | 120W | Classic budget esports |
| #6 | RX 5500 XT 8GB | £65–£85 | 8GB GDDR6 | 130W | Efficient 8GB sleeper |
| #7 | GTX 1650 Super | £55–£70 | 4GB GDDR6 | 100W | Pure esports |
| #8 | RX 590 | £55–£70 | 8GB GDDR5 | 225W | RX 580 + 10% |
| #9 | RX 6400 | £70–£85 | 4GB GDDR6 | 53W | Office PC upgrades |
| #10 | GTX 1050 Ti | £35–£45 | 4GB GDDR5 | 75W | Absolute floor |
How to buy a used GPU without getting burned
- Buy from sellers with returns. eBay listings with photos of the card running beat Facebook Marketplace bargains with stock images every time.
- Ask about mining history. Especially for the RX 580/590 and GTX 1070. Mining cards aren’t automatically bad, but they’ve usually run hot for years — factor that into the price.
- Test within the return window. Run a 20–30 minute stress test (FurMark or a demanding game), watch temperatures, and listen for grinding fans or coil whine.
- Check your PSU first. Most cards here need one 6-pin or 8-pin PCIe cable. The RX 6400 and GTX 1050 Ti need none — that’s precisely why they exist on this list.
- Repaste and clean if needed. A £5 tube of thermal paste and ten minutes with compressed air can drop temperatures by 10°C+ on an older card.
Cards to avoid under £100
GTX 1080 Ti at £100+: still listed high on nostalgia — an ageing power-hungry card at that money buys you into far better options. Any 4GB RX 570/580: the 8GB versions cost barely more and age far better. GT 1030 and GT 710: display adapters, not gaming cards, whatever the listing says. Anything “untested”: in used GPU language, “untested” almost always means “tested, and it didn’t work”.
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Get in touchPrices accurate as of 7 July 2026 and based on typical completed used listings on eBay UK, Facebook Marketplace and CEX. Used prices fluctuate — always confirm current pricing and seller feedback before purchasing. TechSavant is not affiliated with any marketplace listed.