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The i5-3570K is a 4-core Ivy Bridge chip on PCIe 3.0 — still fine for 1080p gaming, but it will bottleneck the latest high-end cards, so the smart move is a strong budget-to-midrange GPU. Note that many modern cards (and some used ones) are also limited by older systems’ power supplies. Here are the best graphics cards to pair with an i5-3570K in 2026, best-first.
| # | Product | Price | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMD Radeon RX 6600 | $180-$240 | Amazon · eBay |
| 2 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super | $130-$190 | Amazon · eBay |
| 3 | AMD Radeon RX 580 (8GB) | $80-$140 | Amazon · eBay |
| 4 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Super | $110-$160 | Amazon · eBay |
| 5 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti | $70-$120 | Amazon · eBay |
The picks, in detail
AMD Radeon RX 6600
The sweet-spot pick — a modern, efficient 8GB card that delivers excellent 1080p performance and is about as much GPU as the 3570K can feed.
- 8GB GDDR6
- Excellent 1080p, entry 1440p
- Low power draw
- Best 1080p performance here
- 8GB ages well
- Runs on modest PSUs
- CPU will bottleneck it in CPU-heavy games
- Slight premium over older cards
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super
A proven 1080p workhorse — strong performance, great driver support, and a perfect match for an older quad-core build.
- 6GB GDDR6
- Solid 1080p high settings
- Mature NVIDIA drivers
- Reliable, well-balanced for the 3570K
- Widely available used and new
- Good efficiency
- 6GB is starting to feel tight
- No ray tracing
AMD Radeon RX 580 (8GB)
The budget value champ — an 8GB card that still chews through 1080p and is everywhere on the used market.
- 8GB GDDR5
- Good 1080p high settings
- Great price/performance
- Cheap, especially used
- 8GB VRAM
- Plenty for the 3570K
- Higher power draw (needs a decent PSU)
- Older architecture
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Super
An efficient mid-budget option — strong 1080p performance with low power needs, ideal if your PSU is modest.
- 4GB GDDR6
- Turing architecture
- Low power, often no extra power connector class
- Energy efficient
- Good for older PSUs
- Cool and quiet
- Only 4GB VRAM
- Slower than 1660 Super
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
The no-upgrade-needed pick — sips power (no extra PCIe power connector) so it drops into almost any old prebuilt with a weak PSU.
- 4GB GDDR5
- Draws power from the slot only
- Very low power
- Works with weak/OEM power supplies
- No bottleneck on the 3570K
- Tiny and quiet
- Entry-level performance
- Medium settings on newer games
Buying tips
- The 3570K is a 4-core, PCIe 3.0 chip — pairing it with anything stronger than an RX 6600 / RTX 3050 wastes money, as the CPU becomes the bottleneck at 1080p.
- Check your power supply first. The RX 580 wants a solid 450-500W+ PSU; the GTX 1050 Ti and 1650 Super run on much less.
- Buying used? The RX 580 and GTX 1660 Super offer the best bang-for-buck — just confirm the card is healthy and not an ex-mining unit.
As an Amazon Associate and eBay Partner, toptenpick.com earns from qualifying purchases. Prices and availability are subject to change.