GPU Alphabet Soup
A reference guide to understanding GPU model suffixes and generation identifiers.
NVIDIA GeForce
NVIDIA names follow a simple structure: [Prefix] [Generation] [Tier]
For example: RTX 5070 Ti → RTX prefix, 50-series generation, 70-tier, Ti refresh.
Prefix
| Prefix | Meaning |
|---|---|
| RTX | Supports ray tracing and DLSS (AI upscaling) |
| GTX | Older cards — no hardware ray tracing support |
Generation
The first two digits. Higher = newer. People refer to these as "the 30-series", "the 50-series", and so on.
Tier
The last two digits indicate performance class within a generation.
| Tier | Class | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 50 / 60 | Entry / Mid-range | Power-efficient, good 1080p cards |
| 70 | Performance | Big jump in core count — the sweet spot for 1440p |
| 80 / 90 | Enthusiast | High VRAM, high power draw, high price |
Suffixes
| Suffix | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ti | Refreshed version of the base card — usually more VRAM or more cores |
| SUPER | Mid-cycle refresh — typically a clock speed bump or bandwidth increase |
AMD Radeon
AMD's current cards follow: RX [Generation] [Tier]
For example: RX 7800 XT → RX prefix, 7000-series generation, 800-tier, XT suffix.
Generation
| Generation | Series |
|---|---|
| 6000 | RDNA 2 — previous gen |
| 7000 | RDNA 3 — current gen |
Tier
| Tier | Class |
|---|---|
| 600 / 700 | Entry / Mid-range |
| 800 | Performance |
| 900 | Enthusiast |
Suffixes
| Suffix | Meaning |
|---|---|
| XT | Faster clocks, sometimes more compute units than the base card |
| XTX | AMD's top-tier variant — maximum performance within a line |
AMD quietly refreshed several cards mid-generation by adding 50 to the model number like this: the RX 6650 XT, 6750 XT, and 6950 XT. There's no suffix like NVIDIA's SUPER to tell you these are refreshes. You just have to know, it's annoying. If you are buying an AMD GPU, just remember to use a bit more care as their naming is not always useful.
Intel Arc
Intel Arc uses a straightforward three-tier structure: Arc [Series] [Model]
For example: Arc B580 → B-series, 580 model.
Series
| Series | Class |
|---|---|
| A | First generation Arc cards |
| B | Second generation — better efficiency and driver maturity |
Model Number
| Range | Class |
|---|---|
| 300 – 400 | Entry-level |
| 500 – 600 | Mid-range |
| 700 – 800 | Performance |
Intel Arc cards don't use suffixes in the same way NVIDIA and AMD do — the model number alone defines where it sits. You may notice the series being A and B; It's quite likely their next generation of cards will be C580, C770 etc. Their next generation architecture is apparently called Celestial so it's a solid bet.