Why Nvidia Discontinued The 'GTX' Graphics Card Line

The GTX line of video cards from Nvidia featured some of the most popular graphics cards of all time. The GTX 1080 and GTX 1080 Ti are considered two of the greatest video cards of all time. Even though they were released back in 2016, you can still find these cards powering PCs today. With such a strong user base and history, it's surprising to many that the GTX line was ever discontinued.

For 20 years, the GTX line of graphics cards reigned supreme among gamers looking to render high-end visuals, an eternity in the world of ever-advancing technology. But even with generational advancements in architecture from Fermi to Turing, all good things must come to an end. In 2024, Nvidia finally discontinued the line in favor of its RTX series of video cards. While the GTX series of video cards had been a cornerstone of Nvidia's gaming lineup for decades, new technology meant that new branding was needed to highlight advanced features like ray tracing. RTX cards were designed with dedicated RT cores to support this technology, a feature the GTX line lacked.

Even with RTX cards taking over, the GTX line is still widely used by many satisfied owners. Looking at Steam, 9 out of the top 10 most popular graphics cards currently being used are from Nvidia's RTX line. The lone outlier in fourth place is the GTX 1650, which was released back in 2019.

This demonstrates the power and affordability of the card at the time of its release, even with its lack of ray tracing hardware. This means that it can't even load certain titles that require ray tracing, but it can still run popular games like Fortnite and most esports titles on lower settings.

You can still find new GTX cards fairly easily, but given the age and price stability issues, buying a new GTX card is one of the worst bang-for-your-buck options today. However, gamers looking to play older PC games still look to the GTX line for its affordability on the used market. Factor in that some of the best 2022 gaming laptops, such as the Acer Nitro 5 (2021), featured a GTX 1650 graphics card in them, and you have a series that simply refuses to quit.