What is Vulkan?
Vulkan is a modern, cross-vendor GPU API from Khronos. It gives software a direct, efficient way to use a graphics card for graphics and GPU work, and compute shaders are mandatory in Vulkan.
In plain language: it is a common low-level interface used by games and GPU-compute applications—including the compute-shader work Tony's team needs—across NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel hardware.
Compatibility + compute note
ALL LISTED CARDS: VULKAN Every card below supports Vulkan with current drivers:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20+ / GTX 16+ · AMD Radeon RX 7000/9000 · Intel Arc A/B series.
Vulkan 1.0+ includes compute shaders on every conformant implementation, so for Marco's compute-shader work any of these cards work. Prefer more VRAM for larger workloads.
| Vendor | Model | VRAM | Tier | Approx street price (USD) | Notes (Vulkan / compute relevance) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA | GeForce RTX 5090 | 32GB | Halo | MSRP $1,999; often $4,300–$6,400+ | Vulkan 1.4 capable. Huge VRAM and compute headroom; scarce supply drives the premium. |
| NVIDIA | GeForce RTX 5080 | 16GB | High-end | MSRP ~$999; ~$1,480–$1,580 | Vulkan 1.4 capable. Fast modern graphics and compute; 16GB helps larger shader workloads. |
| NVIDIA | GeForce RTX 5070 Ti | 16GB | High-end | MSRP $749; ~$980–$1,150 | Vulkan 1.4 capable. Strong 16GB choice for graphics plus compute shaders. |
| NVIDIA | GeForce RTX 5070 | 12GB | High-end | ~$870 | Vulkan 1.4 capable. Capable general-purpose compute card; less VRAM than the Ti. |
| NVIDIA | GeForce RTX 5060 Ti | 16GB | Midrange | MSRP $429; ~$590–$800 | Vulkan 1.4 capable. Extra VRAM is useful when compute data will not fit in 8GB. |
| NVIDIA | GeForce RTX 5060 Ti | 8GB | Midrange | Near MSRP / check retailers | Vulkan 1.4 capable. Solid compute-shader entry point; 8GB limits larger workloads. |
| NVIDIA | GeForce RTX 5060 | 8GB | Midrange | Near MSRP / check retailers | Vulkan 1.4 capable. Good modern API support; verify the live listing and stock. |
| AMD | Radeon RX 9070 XT | 16GB | High-end | MSRP ~$599–$619; ~$700–$800 | Vulkan-capable RDNA4. Excellent 16GB graphics/compute balance. |
| AMD | Radeon RX 9070 | 16GB | High-end | MSRP ~$549–$569; ~$620–$650 | Vulkan-capable RDNA4. Strong 16GB option for compute shaders. |
| AMD | Radeon RX 9070 GRE | 12GB | High-end | MSRP ~$549; sometimes near MSRP | Vulkan-capable RDNA4. Check regional stock and live retailer pricing. |
| AMD | Radeon RX 9060 XT | 16GB | Midrange | MSRP ~$349–$369; ~$390–$460 | Vulkan-capable RDNA4. The 16GB model is preferable for larger compute jobs. |
| AMD | Radeon RX 9060 XT | 8GB | Midrange | MSRP ~$299–$309; ~$360–$400 | Vulkan-capable RDNA4. Works for compute shaders; 8GB is the practical constraint. |
| AMD | Radeon RX 7900 XTX | 24GB | Halo | Often ~$750+ | Vulkan-capable RDNA3. 24GB remains attractive for large compute data sets. |
| AMD | Radeon RX 7800 XT | 16GB | High-end | ~$460–$670 | Vulkan-capable RDNA3. Good 16GB value when discounted. |
| AMD | Radeon RX 7700 XT | 12GB | High-end | ~$410+ | Vulkan-capable RDNA3. Capable compute-shader card; compare against newer stock. |
| AMD | Radeon RX 7600 XT | 16GB | Midrange | ~$400–$570 | Vulkan-capable RDNA3. 16GB can matter more than raw tier for larger workloads. |
| AMD | Radeon RX 7600 | 8GB | Budget | ~$260–$270 | Vulkan-capable RDNA3. Affordable entry to modern graphics and compute shaders. |
| Intel | Arc B580 | 12GB | Budget | MSRP $249; ~$264–$309 | Vulkan via ANV. Strong budget Vulkan/compute pick with useful 12GB VRAM. |
| Intel | Arc B570 | 10GB | Budget | ~$220–$260 | Vulkan via ANV. Budget compute-shader option; confirm current driver and seller. |
| Intel | Arc A770 | 16GB | Midrange | ~$350–$580 | Vulkan via ANV. Older but appealing VRAM-per-dollar; price varies widely. |
| Intel | Arc A750 | 8GB | Budget | ~$170–$240 | Vulkan via ANV. Low-cost conformant Vulkan and compute-shader support. |
| Intel | Arc A580 | 8GB | Budget | ~$170–$200 | Vulkan via ANV. Budget option; check remaining stock and driver support. |
| Intel | Arc A380 | 6GB | Budget | ~$140–$150 | Vulkan via ANV. Entry-level graphics/compute; best for smaller workloads. |
| NVIDIA | GeForce RTX 4090 | 24GB | Halo | Legacy — verify seller | Still Vulkan-capable. RTX 40-series is end-of-production; third-party pricing may be inflated. |
| NVIDIA | GeForce RTX 4080 Super | 16GB | High-end | Legacy — verify seller | Still Vulkan-capable. End-of-production/third-party stock; do not assume a stable street price. |
| NVIDIA | GeForce RTX 4070 Super | 12GB | High-end | Legacy — verify seller | Still Vulkan-capable. End-of-production/third-party stock; compare carefully with RTX 5070. |
| NVIDIA | GeForce RTX 4060 Ti | 16GB | Midrange | Legacy — verify seller | Still Vulkan-capable. The 16GB frame buffer is useful; stock and pricing are inconsistent. |
| NVIDIA | GeForce RTX 4060 | 8GB | Budget | Legacy — verify seller | Still Vulkan-capable. End-of-production/third-party stock; suitable for smaller compute jobs. |
Price notes & sources
Prices are approximate US street prices as of late September 2026 and move with stock. Ranges are shown where the supplied sources disagree; retailer prices can change quickly.
Source set for this page: Tom's Hardware GPU price tracker; TechFuel GPU street index; Aliteq; and live Newegg/B&H listings. These are source names, not invented per-card citations—check the current retailer listing before buying.