Best Graphics Cards With AV1 Encoding in 2026: 7 Picks

The best graphics card for AV1 encoding in 2026 depends on how much you stream or record, but the short answer is the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti for most serious creators, the Intel Arc B580 for the best value, and the Radeon RX 9070 XT if you prefer AMD. Every current GeForce RTX 40 and RTX 50 card, every Radeon RX 7000 and RX 9000 card, and every Intel Arc card includes a hardware AV1 encoder, so the real decision is about encoder quality, how many encoder engines the card has, and how well your software supports it.

AV1 is a royalty-free video codec that delivers the same visual quality as H.264 at a noticeably lower bitrate, with third-party comparisons commonly citing savings of around 30 percent. That matters in two places. For live streaming it lets you stay under a platform’s bitrate cap with a cleaner image, and for recording it shrinks files without a visible loss. Because the encoding happens on a dedicated block of the GPU rather than the shader cores, it costs very little gaming performance.

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Quick Comparison of the AV1 Encoding Picks

Encoder counts follow NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel’s published media specifications and reputable encoder roundups; add-in board partners do not change them.

Best Value: Intel Arc B580

The Arc B580 is the easiest recommendation for people who want AV1 encoding without a high price. Intel’s Battlemage card has 12GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, two media engines that each include an encoder and a decoder, and hardware support for AV1, HEVC, and H.264. That extra memory is unusual at this tier and helps with modern games and large editing timelines.

Who it is for: a first-time streamer building a 1080p or 1440p PC who wants hardware AV1 and plenty of video memory for the money. It is also a good second card dedicated to encoding in a dual-GPU streaming setup.

Pros: 12GB of memory at its tier; two media engines; AV1 encode and decode; works with OBS Studio through the QuickSync AV1 encoder; Intel XeSS upscaling.

Cons: relies more on a fast CPU for the best frame rates than competitors; older-game driver behaviour can still be uneven; it needs Resizable BAR enabled for full performance.

Best Budget Add-In Encoder: Intel Arc A380

The Arc A380 is not a gaming recommendation, but it is the cheapest widely available way to add AV1 hardware encoding to a system whose main GPU lacks it. It has 8 Xe-cores, 6GB of GDDR6, a 75-watt rating, and no power connector on the reference design, so it drops into a spare slot of a modern board.

Who it is for: streamers on an older GeForce RTX 30 or Radeon RX 6000 card who want AV1 output, and home-server owners transcoding media.

Pros: low cost; AV1 encode and decode; draws power from the slot; small enough for most cases.

Cons: you must route OBS or your capture software to that GPU, which adds setup effort; a second card shares the motherboard’s PCIe lanes; it needs Resizable BAR and UEFI mode; slower than the newest encoders in quality terms.

Best Entry NVENC Card: GeForce RTX 5060

The RTX 5060 gives you NVIDIA’s ninth-generation NVENC encoder, with AV1 support and the Ultra Quality AV1 mode that NVIDIA describes as roughly 5 percent better HEVC and AV1 quality than the previous generation. It has 8GB of GDDR7 and a single encoder, which is enough for one 1080p or 1440p stream or recording at a time.

Who it is for: a streamer or content creator on a modest budget who values NVIDIA’s software support in OBS Studio, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Discord.

Pros: strong software ecosystem; DLSS 4 upscaling and frame generation; good efficiency; AV1 encode plus decode.

Cons: 8GB of memory is limiting at 1440p with high textures; a single encoder makes simultaneous record-and-stream at high resolution more demanding; prices of 8GB cards are hard to justify for longer-term use.

Best AMD Mid-Range: Radeon RX 9060 XT

The RX 9060 XT uses AMD’s RDNA 4 architecture, which brings AV1 encoding with B-frame support and a significant improvement in H.264 encode quality over older Radeons. It is sold in 8GB and 16GB versions. If you plan to record at 1440p, the 16GB model is the better choice.

Who it is for: gamers who want a mid-range AMD card and occasionally stream or record clips with AV1 in the AMD AMF encoder.

Pros: AV1 with B-frames; solid raster performance; 16GB option; FSR 4 upscaling on supported games.

Cons: encoder quality has improved but is still debated against NVENC at the same bitrate; fewer applications default to AMD’s encoder; the 8GB version limits longevity.

Best for Creators: GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

The RTX 5070 Ti has 16GB of GDDR7 and two NVENC encoders, the same encoder count as the RTX 5080. Two engines allow dual-stream workflows, such as streaming a high-quality AV1 feed while recording a separate file, or splitting export workload in an editor that supports multiple encoder sessions. It is the card most buying guides name as the sweet spot between price and capability.

Who it is for: creators who game, stream, and edit on one machine, particularly at 1440p or 4K.

Pros: two encoders; 16GB of fast memory; excellent AV1 quality; CUDA acceleration for editing and AI tools; DLSS 4.

Cons: premium tier; around 300 watts of board power requires a strong power supply and good airflow; many models are physically large.

Best High-End AMD: Radeon RX 9070 XT

The RX 9070 XT offers 16GB of GDDR6, AV1 encoding with B-frames, and strong rasterisation performance. For people who prefer AMD or who mostly play games and only stream occasionally, it avoids the NVIDIA premium while still giving modern codec support.

Who it is for: a high-refresh 1440p or 4K gamer who wants AMD and uses AV1 mainly for recordings and occasional streams.

Pros: 16GB of memory; modern AV1 encoder with B-frames; competitive gaming performance; good drivers for gaming.

Cons: one encoder; the creator software ecosystem is smaller than CUDA; roughly 304 watts of board power; encoder quality still trails NVENC at low bitrates in some comparisons.

Best for Production Workloads: GeForce RTX 5090

The RTX 5090 is the only consumer card listed with three NVENC engines. With 32GB of GDDR7 and a 575-watt board power, it is an extreme option for multi-stream production, 8K timelines, and large AI workloads that accompany video work.

Who it is for: studios, professional editors, and enthusiasts who regularly process multiple high-bitrate files at once.

Pros: three encoders; 32GB of memory; the fastest AV1 export speeds among consumer cards; strong for AI-assisted editing.

Cons: flagship tier and very high power use; needs a large case and a high-wattage ATX 3.1 power supply with a 12V-2×6 cable; overkill for single-stream use.

How to Choose a Graphics Card for AV1 Encoding

Check software support first

Your tools decide whether AV1 is available. OBS Studio exposes NVENC AV1, AMD AMF AV1, and Intel QuickSync AV1 as separate encoder options. Streaming platforms differ: YouTube accepts AV1 uploads and live streams, while Twitch’s AV1 availability has been limited and rolled out through its Enhanced Broadcasting program. Check the current ingest rules of the service you use before building a workflow around it.

Count the encoders you need

One encoder handles one live stream plus light recording. If you want to stream at 1440p, record a high-bitrate local copy, and run a second capture such as a clip buffer, an RTX 5070 Ti or higher with two encoders gives headroom. Casual use is fine on a single encoder.

Match memory to resolution

Games in the background compete with the encoder for video memory. At 1080p, 8GB is workable; at 1440p, aim for 12GB or more; for 4K and heavy editing, 16GB is the practical floor.

Pick a quality target

NVIDIA’s Blackwell encoder leads most subjective comparisons at low bitrates, AMD’s new generation has closed much of the gap, and Intel’s Arc encoders produce good quality at a very low price. At high bitrates for local recording the differences become small and the file size savings dominate.

Worked Example: Bitrate and File Size Savings

Take a 1440p 60 fps gameplay recording at 20 Mbps in H.264. One hour is 20 Mbps multiplied by 3,600 seconds, divided by 8, which equals 9,000 MB or about 9 GB. If AV1 reaches comparable quality at roughly 30 percent less bitrate, 14 Mbps, the hour drops to 6,300 MB or about 6.3 GB. Over 30 hours of recordings, that is around 81 GB saved.

The same logic applies to streaming. A 6,000 kbps H.264 stream becomes visually equivalent to a roughly 4,200 kbps AV1 stream, which helps viewers with weaker connections and lets you raise quality when your platform cap is fixed. Treat the 30 percent figure as a typical estimate; actual savings vary with content, preset, and the encoder in use.

Ownership Realities and Common Mistakes

• Assuming older cards encode AV1. GeForce RTX 30, Radeon RX 6000, and earlier cards can decode but not encode AV1. Only RTX 40 and newer, RX 7000 and newer, and all Intel Arc cards have AV1 encode.
• Forgetting the viewers. AV1 playback on old phones and TVs may fall back to software decoding. Check your audience’s devices before switching entirely.
• Using the wrong encoder in OBS. Make sure the AV1 option matches your GPU vendor and that the GPU selection is correct in multi-GPU systems.
• Running outdated drivers. Early driver issues on newer encoders were common, and updates have notably improved quality. Update before troubleshooting encoder artefacts.
• Overheating from high load. Encoding adds heat and power draw, particularly on compact cards. Check your case airflow and fan curves during long streams.
• Ignoring container and editor support. Some editors still handle AV1 slowly on the timeline. Record in the format your editor handles best, then convert.

Setting Up AV1 in OBS Studio Step by Step

1. Update the GPU driver and OBS. AV1 encoder options appear only in current OBS Studio builds and need a driver that exposes the codec. Updating first removes the most common cause of a missing encoder in the dropdown.
2. Open Settings, then Output, and switch to Advanced mode. Simple mode hides the encoder choice on some versions, and Advanced mode lets you set rate control and keyframes.
3. Select the AV1 encoder that matches your card. NVIDIA owners pick NVENC AV1, Radeon owners pick the AMD hardware AV1 option, and Intel Arc owners pick the QuickSync AV1 option. In a two-GPU system, set the GPU index so the encoder runs on the intended card.
4. Use constant bitrate for live streams. Match the bitrate to the platform’s limit and your upload speed, leaving at least 25 percent of your upload bandwidth free. For local recording, use constant quality (CQP or CRF-style) so quality stays steady in complex scenes.
5. Set the keyframe interval to two seconds. Most streaming services expect this, and it keeps seeking and recovery from packet loss fast.
6. Choose a slower preset only if headroom allows. Quality presets raise encoder load. If you see dropped frames or an overloaded encoder warning, step down one preset before reducing the resolution.
7. Run a short test recording. Capture a fast scene such as a racing game or a shooter and review it at full screen before you go live. Look for blocking in dark scenes and smearing during rapid camera movement.

Typical Bitrate Targets by Codec

These figures are planning estimates derived from the conversion above. Real results depend on scene complexity, encoder preset, and the vendor’s encoder generation, so adjust after a test recording rather than treating them as fixed rules.

Decode Matters as Much as Encode

Encoding is half of the story. Editing AV1 footage, playing it back on a monitor, and previewing it in a timeline all require hardware decode, which every card in this list provides. If you upload to a platform, the service re-encodes your file anyway, so a high-quality AV1 master gives it better source material to work from. For archive purposes, AV1 files at moderate bitrates are an efficient way to keep long recording libraries without filling a drive.

One practical point is the container. Many creators record to MKV or fragmented MP4 so that a crash does not corrupt the whole file, then remux to MP4 for editing. Check that your editor understands AV1 inside the container you choose, and keep a short H.264 proxy workflow in mind for older editing software that struggles with it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which graphics cards support AV1 hardware encoding?

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 and RTX 50 series, AMD Radeon RX 7000 and RX 9000 series, and every Intel Arc card (A-series and B-series) can encode AV1 in hardware. Older cards such as the RTX 30 series can decode AV1 but not encode it.

Is NVIDIA or AMD better for AV1 streaming?

NVIDIA’s NVENC generally produces the cleanest image at low bitrates and has the broadest software support, while AMD’s RDNA 4 encoder has improved significantly with B-frame support. Intel Arc offers the lowest cost. At high bitrates, the differences are small.

Does AV1 encoding reduce gaming performance?

The encoder is a dedicated hardware block, so the performance cost is typically small, often a few percent. It can rise slightly in games that already use the GPU fully, because video memory and power are shared.

Do I need a second graphics card for AV1?

Only if your main card lacks AV1 encode. A budget Arc A380 can serve as a dedicated encoder, though setup is more complex. If you are buying a new card anyway, choose one with built-in AV1.

Does YouTube or Twitch support AV1 streaming?

YouTube supports AV1 for uploads and live streaming. Twitch’s support has been limited and tied to its Enhanced Broadcasting program, so confirm current requirements in the platform’s documentation before relying on it.

How many encoders do I need?

One is enough for a single stream with local recording at moderate quality. Two or more encoders help when you stream and record at high resolution simultaneously, or process several exports at once.