The graphics card is the centerpiece of a PC build. It is usually the most expensive component and can be used for gaming and all sorts of productivity work. These days, your choices are mostly between Nvidia, AMD, and Intel GPUs, each of which has its own set of pros and cons based on what you're looking for. Apple also technically makes GPUs as part of its M-series chips, but you don't get a choice if you buy Apple products.

This is in stark contrast to the days when there were tons of GPU makers. We're not talking board partners like XFX or MSI that make AMD and Nvidia graphics cards. In the 1990s, there were legitimate contenders such as 3DFX, Matrox, S3, and many others. These companies eventually folded one way or another, leaving us with the big three (plus Apple) that we know today. There are many differences between all of the graphics chip makers, but one thing they all have in common is that they've all made terrible graphics cards before.

So, let's take a look at some of the bigger failures in the GPU market over the years. For this list, we'll avoid low-hanging fruit like integrated graphics along with ongoing issues like the Nvidia RTX 4090 and 5090 connectors burning out, since we don't know the full conclusion of that just yet. Here are the worst graphics cards we could find.