Nvidia may be widely considered the king of the GPU industry, but some customers may prefer to seek alternatives. Nvidia's flagship RTX 5090 is amazing, but surely there must be a cheaper option out there? Well, China has tried to fill that niche — and, unfortunately, it faceplanted right out of the gate.
Recently, China's Lisuan Tech released the LX 7G100. Part of the marketing for the homegrown graphics card claimed it could compete with an RTX 4060, a last-gen but reliable component. However, according to 潮玩客, a reviewer on BiliBili, these claims are grossly exaggerated. After performing numerous tests, which consisted of running various games at different settings on a powerful custom gaming rig, they concluded that the LX 7G100 barely measured up to Nvidia's RTX 3060. Even aging GPUs like the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT blew past it: The RX 6600 rendered more than twice as many frames per second than the LX 7G100 while playing "Cyberpunk 2077."
Now, this isn't to say the LX 7G100 combusted when trying to play graphically intensive games or anything. Marketing for the GPU promised support for games such as "Baldur's Gate 3" and "Black Myth: Wukong," and the component delivered on that front. However, it came at the cost of inferior performance, stuttering, poor frame pacing, and a complete lack of ray tracing — a feature built into even the weakest RTX GPU. While Lisuan Tech can improve its cards with time, technology, and patches, the company didn't do itself any favors by overhyping the LX 7G100's capabilities.
Overpriced and overpromised?
Buying computer components often means walking a tightrope: How much are you willing to spend on performance, and what are you willing to sacrifice to stay within budget? A GPU with low performance can fill a niche if it's sold for a pittance — but someone forgot to let the people at Lisuan Tech know that.
While the LX 7G100 has several issues when it comes to performance, the GPU's biggest problem is its price. Currently, Lisuan Tech sells its card for $485, which doesn't sound like too much in the current GPU market; RTX 5090s currently cost anywhere between $3,499.99 and $3,999.99 through retailers such as Micro Center. However, you can purchase GPUs that vastly overshadow the LX 7G100 for around the same price. For instance, the ASUS Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 TUF retails for $469.99 at Micro Center, and you can also purchase an ASUS AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT for $449.99.
As things stand, the LX 7G100 might be the new titleholder of "graphics card with the worst bang for your buck." Or at least it would be, if Lisuan Tech wasn't so convinced the LX 7G100 would be a hit that the company manufactured 1,000 "Founders Edition" units that retail for approximately $500. If the rumors that Nvidia is bringing back the RTX 3060 are true, Lisuan Tech will have its work cut out for it to prove the company can deliver on its promises.