Best GPUs for 4K 120Hz and 144Hz – our top Nvidia and AMD picks

If you’re looking for the best GPU for 4K 120 Hz and 144 Hz gaming, then we’d recommend getting the RTX 4090, which is currently one of the most powerful graphics cards available in the market today. 

In our RTX 4090 review, we found out that it offers exceptional performance and is the best choice for both gamers and creatives. Without any surprise, it was able to deliver great results in different titles at 4K 120 Hz and 144 Hz resolutions. This is all thanks to the 16,384 CUDA cores, a base clock of 2.32 GHz, and a boost clock of 2.52 GHz featured in the 4090. A higher number of CUDA cores results in better performance in gaming and content creation tasks, as they are responsible for processing all the data. 

As far as the VRAM is concerned, the RTX 4090 boasts 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, which comes with a 384-bit memory interface. A bigger memory interface allows the data to transfer at a much faster rate, which ultimately leads to better performance in gaming and professional tasks such as rendering, video editing, and more. On top of that, 24 GB should be more than enough to run most of the latest titles on the highest graphical settings at 4K resolution.

When it comes to DLSS 3.5, NVIDIA claims that the RTX 4090 performs 5.2 times better than the RTX 3090 Ti. When playing Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K resolution, the FPS can be increased from 20 to 102 by turning DLSS and Ray Tracing on. Other than that, the RTX 4090 comes packed with several other NVIDIA technologies, such as NVIDIA Reflex, Ansel, FreeStyle, ShadowPlay, and more. As for connectivity, the RTX 4090 comes with a single HDMI port and 3 Display ports, so you can easily create a multi-monitor setup with this GPU. 

Overall, the RTX 4090 is the best choice for those looking to play games at 4K 120 Hz and 144 Hz resolutions. The only drawback about the card is its high price point and power consumption, but this is what you’d already expect from a high-performance card. On top of that, keep in mind that the RTX 4090 is a big card, as it has a length of 304 mm and a width of 137 mm. In short, you may need to replace your current casing to accommodate this GPU. You can check out our top picks for the best cases for RTX 4090 in case you’re planning to get a new one.

If you’re a fan of AMD and are looking for an option from Team Red, then you would want to check out the RX 7900 XTX, which is currently the most powerful AMD GPU in the market. In our RX 7900 XTX review, we found that it is a solid choice for gaming at 4K resolution, as it was able to maintain a high frame rate in several games.  

To begin with, the RX 7900 XTX comes with 6,144 stream processors. On top of that, it has a boost frequency of up to 2,500 Mhz and a game frequency of 2,300 Mhz. A higher frequency translates to better performance, and these specs indicate that AMD wanted to make sure the 7900 XTX can handle whatever you throw at it.

When it comes to VRAM, just like our top pick, the RX 7900 XTX also features a massive 24 GB of memory. However, the only difference between the two is that 4090 uses GDDR6X memory, while the 7900 XTX uses the simple GGDR6. Other than that, even the memory interface is the same, being set at 384-bit. 

The RX 7900 XTX also does not disappoint when it comes to supported technologies, as it boasts AMD Radeon Anti-Lag, FreeSync, Smart Access Memory, Noise Suppression, Virtual Super Resolution, and much more. All of these ultimately lead to improving the overall performance of the card in gaming and content creation tasks such as video editing, animation, and rendering.

Overall, the RX 7900 XTX is the best AMD GPU for 4K 120 Hz and 144 Hz gaming. Its high VRAM paired with a great number of stream processors and high boost and game frequency make it worth every penny. And as the GPU is a high-performance card, it requires a lot of power to run at its best. So, make sure to pair it with one of the best PSUs for the RX 7900 XTX.

If you want to stick to NVIDIA but want to save some money by not opting for the RTX 4090, then you can also go for the RTX 4080 Super. This is yet another powerful card from NVIDIA that packs a punch when it comes to performance but does not put a huge dent in your bank account like the 4090.

In our RTX 4080 Super review, we found that the card was able to deliver great performance in 4K gaming for the price it comes at, and it even proved its worth in content creation tasks. This is all thanks to the 10,242 CUDA cores packed inside the GPU, which process the data quickly and improve its performance in gaming. On top of that, it also comes with a base clock of 2.21 GHz and a boost clock of 2.51 GHz, so you can expect it to handle whatever you throw at it. 

Coming down to the VRAM, it uses the same memory type, GDDR6X, as its bigger brother, the 4090. However, the memory size is 16 GB and it boasts a 256-bit memory interface instead of a 384-bit interface. But this shouldn’t hold you back from getting the RTX 4080 Super, as these specs are enough to help the GPU deliver high frame rates when running different tiles at high graphical settings. 

As per NVIDIA, the RTX 4080 Super is designed to support 4K at 240 Hz and 8K at 60 Hz. On top of that, it offers around 3.1 X better gaming performance compared to the RTX 3080 Ti. It is also more energy efficient, but this all depends on the task you’re doing. 

Overall, the RTX 4080 Super is the best NVIDIA GPU for 4K 120 Hz and 144 Hz. It supports different technologies such as NVIDIA DLSS, Reflex, Ansel, and ShadowPlay, and comes with one HDMI and three Display ports. To get the most out of the GPU, we recommend pairing it with the right components. For this, we recommend checking out our top picks for the best motherboards for RTX 4080 Super and the best CPU for RTX 4080 Super.