Today’s PC games are so convincing that you can get sucked in, totally immersed in a new and exciting virtual world. At least, that’s what gaming can be like if you have a decent graphics card If not, it’s more like watching a flickbook.
An old or underpowered graphics card means you won't be able to run games at the high resolutions they’re designed for, with all the optional graphical effects and enhancements that their makers have worked so hard to build in. Game worlds that seemed astonishing in the publicity pictures will look blocky and basic on your monitor. Even worse for your enjoyment of the gameplay, your PC may freeze at just the wrong moment, or the action on your monitor may be so slow that you can’t respond in time to the actions of your opponents. Really old graphics cards often have no appropriate resolutions for widescreen monitors, making the display stretched across, so that everything has a "fat" look.
It doesn't have to be like this. Here we show you how to choose the right graphics card for your PC and wallet.
The main type of graphics card currently on sale are PCI Express (aka PCI-E) cards. Cards made for the AGP slot are still around, and it's still possible to find a few motherboards equipped with AGP connectivity, but PCI Express has quickly established its status since being introduced in 2004, and it's the current definitive choice for gaming and video.
If you're unsure what slot your motherboard has, check your motherboard or system manual or look on the website of the board's manufacturer. If your motherboard has a PCI Express graphics slot, there are fewer things to check. Make sure that the power supply in your PC will support your card – today's powerful graphics cards often need 17 amps or more on the 12 volt line of the power supply. Your PSU's rating will be printed on its side.
The majority of modern PCI-E cards are 'x16'. This is a specification that refers to the physical slot size. The sizes are x1, x2, x4, x8, x16 and x32. A PCI-E card is made to fit into its own size and bigger sizes, but never smaller. For example, a PCI-E x16 card can be deployed into an x16 or x32 slot, but not x1, x2, x4 or x8.
Another specification touted by PCI-E cards are their version numbers. It's common to find v1.1, which means the card is capable of sending data at rate of 250MBs. There are v2.0 cards that have arrived on the market, which is double the data rate of v2.0. Don't fear incompatibility though, as PCI Express v2.0 is backward and forward compatible. Graphics cards and motherbaords made for v2.0 can work with v1.1/v1.0 and vice-versa. There are only a few cases where a PCI-E 2.0 card hasn't worked correctly on a PCI-E 1.0a slot.
Some motherboards can accommodate two PCI-E graphics cards at once, which greatly increases your PC's 3D performance. There are two dual graphics cards standards: SLI for Nvidia-based cards and CrossFire for ATi-based cards. If your motherboard doesn’t support the kind of card you want, it may be worth considering a motherboard upgrade.
Once you’ve worked out what cards are compatible with your motherboard, choosing a graphics card boils down to assessing performance and features. The best way to judge performance is to read the monthly reviews in Computer Shopper magazine, which measure performance using 3D benchmarks as well as some of the most demanding games.
You will probably come across the GeForce term, which is found in all modern graphics cards (and motherboards) that use Nvidia technology for gaming. The range of cards has had a numbering system throughout this decade, with GeForce 8xxx and 9xxx technologies have been made available over the past few years. As a rule of thumb, the higher the number, the better the graphics. Nvidia recently issued a new generation of GeForce chipsets. You'd be forgiven for assuming that they'd be numbered as 10xxx, but Nvidia have tweaked their numbering system, as the new generation of technology is GeForce 2xx.
ATI's counterpart to the GeForce series, is the Radeon brand. Also using a sequential numbering system to denote the advance of their technology, it's common to find Radeon HD 24xx, 26xx, 29xx, 34xx, 36xx, 38xx and 48xx series cards, all of which fully support DirectX 10.1. Any Radeon HD card lower than 24xx will only offer DirectX 9 support or less.
If you’re an ambitious upgrader, you may want to choose a card that can be overclocked for extra performance. Some cards have simple ‘turbo’ overclocking switches in their driver software, while others can be manually overclocked by altering specific settings. You’ll need to make sure your PC is properly cooled if you plan to overclock your card. If you’re buying a powerful graphics card, bear in mind that it will have a large fan that may be quite noisy. When planning to overclock a graphics card, many of the same issues apply as when overclocking your PC's main processor.
You also need to decide whether you want your new graphics card to have VIVO or TV-out functions. VIVO stands for video in, video out. As the name suggests, cards with VIVO can output graphics signals to conventional TV sets and other analogue video devices, and can also be used as capture devices to get analogue footage from camcorders, TV set-top boxes or VCRs onto your PC. Cards with TV-out can only output video – allowing you to play games on your big-screen TV, for example – not import it.