We are often asked, “Which video card is best for me?” One of the most important things to consider when purchasing a video card is what will be its use. Knowing what games and/or applications you will be running will help determine what video card will best suit your needs. More and more applications use the processing power of GPU’s (Graphic Processing Unit) and the specific requirements of each application will help you decide what video card will be right for you.
Before we discuss video adapters, let’s discuss monitors. We are often asked if a larger monitor will fit more windows and icons, and offer more area in which to work. Having a large monitor is not enough to get the resolution and quality that you want and an add-on video card may be required. Your machines should have a digital connection and not analog. A digital connection will give you higher quality images and faster refresh rates than analog and will be better suited for gaming and graphics. Some examples of digital connections are DVI, HDMI and Display Port. VGA is the most common analog connection but is not found on modern computers and video cards.
Another thing to consider when purchasing a video card is the resolution of your monitor. Knowing the max resolution of your monitor will set a price range on what type of GPU you might need. If you are using a smaller monitor with a resolution lower than 1440×900 you should be ok with a low to mid-range video card. This will allow you to run most applications, older games and some modern games as long as you don’t need the specs in the game to be on very high settings.
For people who use their computer for web browsing and general applications, there should be no problem using the on-board or “shared video” that is built into the motherboard/processor. Many new computers have processors with built in video. As newer processors come out, they are able to support more applications that require more video processing. This video processing power is more than enough for most graphic computer use. You may also consider a lower end video card if you require extra processing power. Prices range from $50-$150. If you are using an HD or higher end photo/video program or video game, you may want to look into a higher end, dedicated video adapter.
Most gamers and graphic heavy users will want a high end video card to better support multiple monitors, higher resolutions, faster graphic processing, higher memory usage and higher frame rates. Some cards can cost around $300 and can go upwards of $2000. You will also want to consider the rest of the hardware in your machine. If the machine is older, it may not support the full speed of a high end video card and could negate the benefits. It also may not be able to support the power requirements of a new card and could cause problems, like slowness or random crashes.
If “super graphics power” is what you are looking to have, it is possible to have more than one video card joined to another video card in your system in an SLI or Crossfire configuration, (SLI is for NVidia chipsets and Crossfire is for AMD chipsets). SLI and Crossfire join 2, 3 or 4 video cards together to have them act as one with the combined power of however many cards are connected.
If you have any questions regarding this article, or any computer related issue, feel free to contact us.
Best video card for you
We are often asked, “Which video card is best for me?” One of the most important things to consider when purchasing a video card is what will be its use. Knowing what games and/or applications you will be running will help determine what video card will best suit your needs. More and more applications use the processing power of GPU’s (Graphic Processing Unit) and the specific requirements of each application will help you decide what video card will be right for you.
Before we discuss video adapters, let’s discuss monitors. We are often asked if a larger monitor will fit more windows and icons, and offer more area in which to work. Having a large monitor is not enough to get the resolution and quality that you want and an add-on video card may be required. Your machines should have a digital connection and not analog. A digital connection will give you higher quality images and faster refresh rates than analog and will be better suited for gaming and graphics. Some examples of digital connections are DVI, HDMI and Display Port. VGA is the most common analog connection but is not found on modern computers and video cards.
Another thing to consider when purchasing a video card is the resolution of your monitor. Knowing the max resolution of your monitor will set a price range on what type of GPU you might need. If you are using a smaller monitor with a resolution lower than 1440×900 you should be ok with a low to mid-range video card. This will allow you to run most applications, older games and some modern games as long as you don’t need the specs in the game to be on very high settings.
For people who use their computer for web browsing and general applications, there should be no problem using the on-board or “shared video” that is built into the motherboard/processor. Many new computers have processors with built in video. As newer processors come out, they are able to support more applications that require more video processing. This video processing power is more than enough for most graphic computer use. You may also consider a lower end video card if you require extra processing power. Prices range from $50-$150. If you are using an HD or higher end photo/video program or video game, you may want to look into a higher end, dedicated video adapter.
Most gamers and graphic heavy users will want a high end video card to better support multiple monitors, higher resolutions, faster graphic processing, higher memory usage and higher frame rates. Some cards can cost around $300 and can go upwards of $2000. You will also want to consider the rest of the hardware in your machine. If the machine is older, it may not support the full speed of a high end video card and could negate the benefits. It also may not be able to support the power requirements of a new card and could cause problems, like slowness or random crashes.
If “super graphics power” is what you are looking to have, it is possible to have more than one video card joined to another video card in your system in an SLI or Crossfire configuration, (SLI is for NVidia chipsets and Crossfire is for AMD chipsets). SLI and Crossfire join 2, 3 or 4 video cards together to have them act as one with the combined power of however many cards are connected.
If you have any questions regarding this article, or any computer related issue, feel free to contact us.
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