Every computer and laptop these days will have some sort of graphics capability, whether it’s an inbuilt graphics chip or an expansion card, there will be something. Just place, the function of the graphics card is to convert binary data into something that will be rendered onto display mediums, for example: televisions, projectors, monitors, mobile phones as well as other screens.
Every day users who only use their systems for viewing images or watching video clips will have no problem with an inbuilt graphics solution. However, you will definitely need something with a bit more power behind it if you want to be doing more particular and resource demanding activities. This can be where expansion graphics cards come in. An expansion graphics card will provide a lot more power to your computer in a form that is dedicated to generating the visual graphics display more rapidly and appear a lot more appealing.
Selecting the best graphics card for your needs can be an almost impossible task, made immensely harder with all the different additional features spread throughout the range.
So which graphics card is best for you?
ATI and Nvidia are currently the two most prominent graphics cards manufacturers. The two are very similar and each offer a range of cards that literally overlap each other. However, they differ at the higher end of the graphics card industry.
Nvidia are famed for their super-powered gaming level GTX graphics cards and their Quadro series which is designed particularly for designers who use skilled packages, like: Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk AutoCAD and AutoDesk 3D Studio Max.
ATI alternatively are famed for providing extreme energy at a reasonable expense, which is great for the everyday person who doesn’t have a massive budget. Moreover, don’t get fooled into thinking that ATI does not create high-end cards, their goods are very effective, and it is just that Nvidia push a tiny little bit much more out of theirs.
So let’s assume you’re an ordinary person, who watches a few movies, plays a few games and has a dabble at image and video editing, rather than a company who is looking to get the maximum out of a piece of software. You now have the brand you need to be taking a look at, but what next? There are so many different cards and all these different features.
Firstly, ATI graphics cards are available in series, typically depicted by four numbers. You will find three categories inside every of these series nevertheless, low range, middle range and leading finish. The expected price for a low range graphics card is in between $30-$100 and could be expected to cope with viewing pictures, watching normal definition motion pictures and extremely low finish video games. The most common graphics cards are those found in the middle range and needs to be expected to deal with playing the majority of games on their low settings, watching standard and some high definition movies and minor image editing. Leading end graphics cards are for all those who want every little thing to look perfect or don’t need to be held back by their graphics card once they are completing tasks or chilling out; these cards would be expected to deal with all games in all their glory, effective processing of video and image editing rendering and calculations and ought to be able to allow you to watch all movies.
Selecting a graphics card isn’t always a simple pick and choose option though, you must also check that your other hardware can work alongside the new card. Other aspects include:
• GPU
• Graphics Card Slot
• Dedicated Graphics RAM
• BIOS or Firmware
However, if you would prefer to merely skip all of this hassle and purchase a graphics card that I personally really feel is excellent value for money and handles playing the latest games, performing some editing work and watching all films, then take a look at the Radeon HD 6850.
