Graphics Card Confusion

The one part of selecting parts for a computer that consistently confuses me is choosing the graphics card. I'm in the middle of finding the right one myself, and this is what a purchaser should keep in mind.

First of all, figure out your needs. Most of us do not need a $500 part, or a dual card setup. If you just want to step up from your integrated graphics for better DVD viewing, or so that Google Earth runs better, that ok, and you need a low end card. If you want to play some occasional games, but not at the highest settings, than a midrange card will do. Only the dedicated hard core gamers that want the ultimate gaming experience, or those that do serious video editing need to spend a ton on this.

Next, take a look at your system. Take the case apart, and see what is on your motherboard in terms of slots. Are you upgrading a graphics card, or adding one for the first time. Check out the slots you have available. If you have a free PCI-E slot, than this is the most preferred and offers the best performance in terms of available bandwidth. Older motherboards will use the AGP slot, which was replaced by PCI-E, but fret not as there are still cards made for this standard. On some computers, especially cheaper boxes from companies like HP there is not dedicated graphics slot, but a PCI solution can be considered although it has less available bandwidth so this should only be considered if it is the only option.

While we have the case open, there are two other things to check out. First, not that we've identified the slot we're going to use, check out how much room is available. Some of these cards are quite tall, and have fans that make them wide so they may not fit in a smaller case. Also, take note of the power supply wattage as many systems come with an anemic power supply and will not be up to powering a robust card.

Now that we know our needs, and where the card will be going, we can start to shop. Unfortunately, this is quite confusing. Basically, there are two cards manufacturers: ATI and nVidia. ATI makes their own cards, but nVidia only makes the chips, and third party makers put them on the boards. This is why there are so many nVidia boards out there; EVGA is the big name these days.

The cards are numbered. In the nVidia side of things, they get divided into generations for the last several years- 5,6,7,8, the higher number being a more recent series. Within each family, again, the higher number is the better card. For example, a 7600 card is better than a 7300 one, and these are both better than the 7100. However, not all the cards that carry the same number are the same exact part. While they will have the same graphics processor, they often vary in both the amount of RAM, and sometimes in the clock speed this is all running at as the manufacturers can do whatever they want with the chip that nVidia is supplying them.

Among the ATI cards, they don't have such a neat numbering scheme. Generally the higher number cards are the better part.

I find it frustrating that while there are tons of reviews of the higher end stuff, at the low end there is very little data out there. Manufacturers can make whatever claims they want, but it can be a serious crapshoot to know how much better a 7200 will be than a 7100, or whether a 7300 is equivalent to a 6600 or not. Still, if the only alternative is integrated graphics, than we'll pick the best card for our system and needs, and it will always be a step up. Happy shopping!

--Jonas