Devoted graphics cards, which we will be discussing in this guide, are essential if you want to do 3D gaming or watch high definition films (even though it may sometimes suffice with a powerful PROCESSOR and lot's of internal RAM)

Important Specifications to think about When Choosing a Graphics Card

GPU
GPU stands for "Graphic Processing Unit" and is the main controlling circuit on every design card. The GPU is the most determinant feature of every artwork card when it comes to the overall performance and speed. The two greatest manufacturers of GPUs are NVIDIA and ATI (which is owned by CPU manufacturer AMD). They do the actual reference designs for each new generation of graphics playing card. But most graphics cards are sold by other manufacturers who else produce their own flavour of the reference cards from N-VIDIA and ATI. Examples of those manufacturers are MSI, Asus, ECS Elitegroup, XFX and more.

Examples of recent generations regarding graphic GPUs from NVIDIA are; GeForce 8500/8600/8800/9800 GT/GTX/GX2 and GTX 260/280. ATIs latest generations of layouts cards are: RADEON HD 3850/4850/4870 in different versions.

RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY
It is also important to consider the amount and type of the on-ship RAM of the graphics card, which is a different thing compared to RAM of your computer. The RAM is important for a number of specialized reasons we will not go into further here. But in short you need to go for a graphics card with at least 256MB of GOOD OLD RAM. The type of RAM is less important, but we recommend that you purchase a graphics card with the second or later creation of GDDR (GDDR2 or later).

Different Slot Kinds
There are three different slots available on the PC marketplace. The "slot" is where you connect the graphics sd card on the mainboard of your computer. You must verify which type involving slot your mainboard has before purchasing a graphic chip, or you may waste money on something you cannot use. The actual available slots are PCI (very old), AGP (old) or PCI express (today's standard). All fairly current bought computers are outfitted with a PCI Express port, but be sure to check it. PCI express is the latest technology and allows the largest bandwidth which means better performance for you personally.

External Connectors
The connecters on the graphics cards will also be important. Standard analog VGA connectors have been replaced through DVI (digital) connectors. The DVI connector is a must, a few cards even come with two DVI connectors which will enable you to connect an extra display. Additional external connectors to look for tend to be:
oHDMI, which will enable you to connect your computer to a plasma or maybe LCD-TV. (This can also be done through a DVI connector having a DVI/HDMI converter)
oS-Video outputs are used to connect the PERSONAL COMPUTER to an older style VCR or TV and allow delivering the same display as present on your screen.
oDB-15/VGS/SVGA fittings are basically utilized for a standard output to an analog keep track of. Good if you have an old monitor.

Considering your budget
Of course , a person financial possibilities will limit your purchase options too. A few take a look of what you can expect depending on how much you want as well as can afford. Remember that graphics cards are products with brief cycles so suggestions below are only guide lines.

Low quality graphic cards
We are talking about spending $50 to $80, what can you expect?

In this lower budget level the most popular as well as valuable GPUs from ATI and NVIDIA are the ATI Radeon HD 3650 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 and 8600GT/GTS. These cards typically carry a MAIN MEMORY of 256MB-512MB depending on model and manufacturer. There are absolutely no problems to find cards with multiple DVI connectors plus some even carry a HDMI connector.

These types of cards suit silent HTPCs and media centres since you can get associated with silent passive coolers. We cannot recommend the basic level graphics cards for hardcore gaming rigs, even though they will certainly play some older games with no sweat.

Medium costed graphic cards
In this segment, with prices from $80 to $250, you will find graphics cards with good overall performance even for gaming. You should be aware, because as we said, this can be a fast moving market and you can sometimes find real bargains within the current generation of graphics cards when the next technology cards are introduced to the market. Prices drops fast whenever retailers and e-tailers have to make place in their share for the new generation of cards.

As always we suggest you to read expert reviews of graphics cards to discover which the leading expert editors have recommended. Also in line with the reviews, try to find out which is the last generation of GPU for the moment. Right now the last generation high end GPU from NVIDIA may be the GTX 280. We couldn't find a 280 GTX master card below $250, but we did find one for $260 so the prices are dropping.

We recommend you to opt for the next to last generation cards like the GeForce 9800GTX or 9800GX2 (dual onboard GPU) and the ATI HIGH DEFINITION 3850 and 4870. They will offer you a great performance/price proportion.

Advanced graphic cards
Obtaining maximal performance and quality may lead you to spend $400 and above on a top end graphics cards. This is for real gamers who need that additional FPS rate and resolution to perform optimally. You should search for dual GPU solutions, either onboard dual GPUs or simply using SLI or Crossfire technology (two physically divided graphics cards working together).