To those not in the know, buying a new graphics card can floor you with its complexity. Because there are gazillions of options to choose from and factors to consider, we have tried to condense the more important ones and make a short article intended to help make the shopping process easier for you.
The first major thing to consider when purchasing a card is the type of chip that you want. You will usually have two main choices - ATI and NVidia, as they are the two most reputable manufacturers of graphics card chips, with their chips a standard feature in most current graphics cards. The chip of the card is of utmost importance; different graphic cards with the same type of chip often feature similar performance levels.
Next, you're going to want to consider the amount of memory that your future video card will have. The more RAM that is in a graphics card, the more it can process, giving it more speed and smoother transitioning.
When buying a card, a third thing you'll want to pay much attention to would be the card's multimedia support. Most customers these days consider TV-out to be the primary feature that interests them when looking for a graphics card. TV-out compatible graphics cards allow you to hook your computer up to your television, allowing for the viewing of movies and other general purpose features shown on your TV screen. Another feature that is gaining popularity in the graphics card world is dual-head support. Dual-head support allows for you to use two separate monitors side-by-side with your windows toolbar stretching across the two screens.
When it comes to spending money, you can get a sub-par graphics card for less than $70. But if you want a graphics card that would be useful for about a few years from the time of purchase, prepare about $200 or so for the purchase. In fact, you'll have to pay about $600 or more for the best graphics cards in the business. The chips may be of state-of-the-art quality, but they wouldn't be that much better as chips come on slightly more affordable cards. The effects you'll get on these uber-expensive graphics cards would be roughly the same as those on a mid-priced card, though you can't deny the performance will be much better.
We hope this quick guide was of some help as you continue shopping for the best graphics cards that are still feasible when considering your budget. Only buy the features that you find necessary; you can spend a lot of extra money unnecessarily by being coaxed in by bells and whistles.
The first major thing to consider when purchasing a card is the type of chip that you want. You will usually have two main choices - ATI and NVidia, as they are the two most reputable manufacturers of graphics card chips, with their chips a standard feature in most current graphics cards. The chip of the card is of utmost importance; different graphic cards with the same type of chip often feature similar performance levels.
Next, you're going to want to consider the amount of memory that your future video card will have. The more RAM that is in a graphics card, the more it can process, giving it more speed and smoother transitioning.
When buying a card, a third thing you'll want to pay much attention to would be the card's multimedia support. Most customers these days consider TV-out to be the primary feature that interests them when looking for a graphics card. TV-out compatible graphics cards allow you to hook your computer up to your television, allowing for the viewing of movies and other general purpose features shown on your TV screen. Another feature that is gaining popularity in the graphics card world is dual-head support. Dual-head support allows for you to use two separate monitors side-by-side with your windows toolbar stretching across the two screens.
When it comes to spending money, you can get a sub-par graphics card for less than $70. But if you want a graphics card that would be useful for about a few years from the time of purchase, prepare about $200 or so for the purchase. In fact, you'll have to pay about $600 or more for the best graphics cards in the business. The chips may be of state-of-the-art quality, but they wouldn't be that much better as chips come on slightly more affordable cards. The effects you'll get on these uber-expensive graphics cards would be roughly the same as those on a mid-priced card, though you can't deny the performance will be much better.
We hope this quick guide was of some help as you continue shopping for the best graphics cards that are still feasible when considering your budget. Only buy the features that you find necessary; you can spend a lot of extra money unnecessarily by being coaxed in by bells and whistles.
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