Choosing a GPU for DaVinci Resolve can be overwhelming. I’ve listed all the best NVIDIA and AMD GPU options in order of price and performance.
The GPU is the single most important component in any DaVinci Resolve workstation or laptop. Choosing a GPU is a careful balance between performance needs (and expectations), and budget. I’ve put together the a list of all the best NVIDIA and AMD GPU’s arranged in order of performance. This hierarchy is pretty much universal, not only for DaVinci Resolve, but any application that relies heavily on GPU processing. A list of top gaming GPU’s would probably come out in more or less the same order.
I’ve included both NVIDIA and AMD GPU’s in the list, in their respective positions relative to each other, along with the most important factors to use with DaVinci Resolve.
I’ve added Amazon product links where there is availability. These are affiliate links. I’ve skipped buy links to GPU’s that are currently priced higher than a better, newer option.
DaVinci Resolve NVIDIA and AMD GPU Ranking
Included are the latest 30-series Ampere architecture GPU’s as well as the 20-series and 16-series Turing architecture NVIDIA GPU’s along with a few relevant 10-series GPU’s for reference.
This list is based on a ton of research, trawling through user forums and various published benchmarks. It is not based on my own actual testing. I would love to be able to build a test rig and compile data for all these GPU’s but sadly that’s out of reach for me. So you should take it as a rough guideline, with some room for error. Real-world testing might swap a few positions, but I doubt it would be drastically different.
| GPU | Architecture | H.264/H.265 Encoding/Decoding | Clock | Memory | Cores | Memory Bandwidth | Power Consumption |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 | Ampere | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1700MHz | 24GB GDDR6X | CUDA Cores: 10496 | 350W | |
| AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT | RDNA2 | Y | 2015MHz | 16GB GDDR6 | Compute Units: 80 Stream Processors: 5120 | 512GB/s | 300W |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 | Ampere | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1710MHz | 10GB GDDR6X | CUDA Cores: 8704 | 320W | |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT | RDNA2 | Y | 1815MHz | 16GB GDDR6 | Compute Units: 72 Stream Processors: 4608 | 512GB/s | 250W |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 | RDNA2 | Y | 1815MHz | 16GB GGDR6 | Compute Units: 60 Stream Processors: 3840 | 512GB/s | 250W |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 | Ampere | Y (NVENCE / NCDEC) | 1730MHz | 8GB GDDR6 | CUDA Cores: 5888 | 220W | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | Turing | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1770MHz | 24GB GDDR6 | CUDA Cores: 4608 | 672GB/s | 280W |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti | Turing | Y (NVENC NCDEC) | 1635MHz | 11GB GDDR6 | CUDA Cores: 4352 | 616GB/s | 250W |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super | Turing | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1815MHz | 8GB GDDR6 | CUDA Cores: 3072 | 496GB/s | 250W |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 | Turing | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1710MHz | 8GB GDDR6 | CUDA Cores: 294 | 448GB/s | 215W |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | Turing | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1770MHz | 8GB GDDR6 | CUDA Cores: 2560 | 448GB/s | 215W |
| AMD Radeon VII | GCN 5th Gen | Y (UVD, VCE) | 1905MHz | 16GB HBM2 | Stream Processors: 3840 | 1000GB/s | 300W |
| Nvidia Titan X | Pascal | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1480MHz | 12GB GDDR5X | CUDA Cores: 3584 | 480GB/s | 250W |
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080Ti | Pascal | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1582MHz | 11GB GDDR5X | CUDA Cores: 3584 | 484GB/s | 250W |
| AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT | RDNA | Y (VCN) | 1905MHz | 8GB GDDR6 | Stream Processors: 2560 | 448GB/s | 225W |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 | Turing | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1620MHz | 8GB GDDR6 | CUDA Cores: 2304 | 448GB/s | 215W |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | Turing | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1650MHz | 8GB GDDR6 | CUDA Cores: 2176 | 448GB/s | 175W |
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 | Pascal | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1733MHz | 8GB GDDR5X | CUDA Cores: 2560 | 320GB/s | 180W |
| AMD Radeon RX 5700 | RDNA | Y (VCN) | 1725MHz | 8GB GDDR6 | Stream Processors: 2304 | 448GB/s | 180W |
| AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 | GCN 5th Gen | Y (UVD, VCE) | 1546MHz | 8GB HBM2 | Stream Processors: 4096 | 484GB/s | 175W |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 | Turing | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1680MHz | 6GB GDDR6 | CUDA Cores: 1920 | 336GB/s | 175W |
| AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 | GCN 5th Gen | Y (UVD, VCE) | 1471MHz | 8GB HBM2 | Stream Processors: 3584 | 410GB/s | 210W |
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti | Pascal | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1683MHz | 8GB GDDR5 | CUDA Cores: 2432 | 256GB/s | 180W |
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | Turing | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1770MHz | 6GB GDDR5 | CUDA Cores: 1536 | 288GB/s | 120W |
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super | Turing | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1785MHz | 6GB GDDR5 | CUDA Cores: 1408 | 336GB/s | 125W |
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 | Turing | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1785MHz | 6GB GDDR5 | CUDA Cores: 1408 | 192GB/s | 125W |
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 | Pascal | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1683MHz | 8GB GDDR5 | CUDA Cores: 1920 | 256GB/s | 150W |
| AMD Radeon RX 590 | GCN 4th Gen | Y (UVD, VCE) | 1545MHz | 8GB GDDR5 | Stream Processors: 2304 | 256GB/s | 225W |
| AMD Radeon RX 580 | GCN 4th Gen | Y (UVD, VCE) | 1340MHz | 8GB GDDR5 | Stream Processors: 2304 | 256GB/s | 185W |
| AMD Radeon RX 570 | GCN 4th Gen | Y (UVD, VCE) | 1244MHz | 4GB GDDR5 | Stream Processors: 1328 | 224GB/s | 150W |
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 | Turing | Y (NVENC / NCDEC) | 1665MHz | 4GB GDDR6 | CUDA Cores: 896 | 128GB/s | 75W |
Hardware AVC / H.264 / H.265 Encoding / Decoding in DaVinci Resolve
All GPU’s in the list are capable of hardware accelerated H.264 / H.265 encoding / decoding. However, it’s worth noting that hardware accelerated H.264 / H.265 encoding / decoding is only available in DaVinci Resolve Studio on Windows and Linux. It’s available even in the free version of Resolve for Mac. I state this in all my DaVinci Resolve specification and performance related posts because investing $299 in a DaVinci Resolve Studio license is the best $295 you can spend if you’re working with AVC / H.264 / H.265 source media, which many of us are.
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Further Reading
The Best Budget Laptops for DaVinci Resolve in 2021 with Thunderbolt
Buying a laptop to run DaVinci Resolve on a $1500 to $2000 budget is easier than you’d think, I’ve selected a few excellent options.
The Best Low Budget Resolve Monitoring and Video Color Management
Most independent creators overlook monitoring and video color management. Here is a complete low budget DaVinci Resolve monitoring solution for under $2200.
The Best DaVinci Resolve eGPU Options
Give your Thunderbolt 3 equipped laptop a boost when running DaVinci Resolve with the Blackmagic eGPU, Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box and eGFX Breakaway Puck.
AVC / H.264 / HEVC and DaVinci Resolve | Why You Need to Transcode
If you are experiencing poor video playback of AVC / H.264 / HEVC codecs in DaVinci Resolve, here’s what you need to know.
Shooting Cinematic Video with the Original iPhone SE
Is it possible to shoot cinematic video with an original iPhone SE? Here’s how my journey shooting and color grading iPhone video began.
DaVinci Resolve Minimum System Requirements | A Reality Check
DaVinci Resolve is the NLE and color grading software of choice for many creators. Find out more about DaVinci Resolve’s minimum system requirements.