Graphic Cards

If you are building your own computer or upgrading the one you currently have, then you are going to need a graphics card. The key here is to make sure that the card is able to display the best resolution that the monitor can manage. The second thing to think about is onboard memory. Graphics filesare a lot bigger than text files because they have so much more data that needs to be processed, and so the faster cards will have their own resident memory chips so they don’t impact on the computer’s RAM. Sharing system RAM isn’t always a bad thing depending on what you expect your computer to do, so before you choose your graphics card have a look at what some of our online retailers, such as Newegg, Gemini Computers, Amazon, USAParts Direct and CompUSA have to offer, and check out the reviews so you will know what to expect when it comes to performance and fan noise. Once you have chosen your card, simply look for the best deal and there you have it – a bargain in the making! ... View more - View less

View the Graphic Cards Buyers Guide

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- PNY Quadro NVS 295 256 MB
  Rated 4 out of 5
- from $121
- Available from 7 retailers
- from $121
  
  Memory size: 256 MB • Interface: PCI Express • DirectX support: DirectX 10 • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600 • Graphics Processor: nVIDIA Quadro NVS 290
  View all 23 offers
- eVGA GEFORCE GTX 560 1024 MB
- from $187
- Available from 6 retailers
- from $187
  
  Memory size: 1024 MB • Interface: PCI Express • DirectX support: DirectX 11 • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600
  View all 22 offers
- Ati FireMV 2260 256 MB
  Rated 3 out of 5
- from $102
- Available from 6 retailers
- from $102
  
  Memory size: 256 MB • Interface: PCI Express • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600
  View all 18 offers
- PNY Quadro NVS 420 512 MB
- from $431
- Available from 7 retailers
- from $431
  
  Memory size: 512 MB • Interface: PCI Express • Maximum resolution: 2048 x 1536 • Graphics Processor: nVIDIA Quadro NVS 440
  View all 16 offers
- PNY Quadro NVS 300 512 MB
  Rated 3 out of 5
- from $106
- Available from 7 retailers
- from $106
  
  Memory size: 512 MB • Interface: PCI Express • Graphics Processor: nVIDIA Quadro NVS 300
  View all 16 offers
- eVGA GeForce GTX 570 1280 MB
  Rated 4.5 out of 5
- from $277
- Available from 4 retailers
- from $277
  
  Memory size: 1280 MB • Interface: PCI Express • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600 • Graphics Processor: nVIDIA GeForce GTX 570
  View all 15 offers
- PNY Quadro NVS 450 512 MB
- from $414
- Available from 7 retailers
- from $414
  
  Memory size: 512 MB • Interface: PCI Express • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600 • Graphics Processor: nVIDIA Quadro NVS 450
  View all 14 offers
- Ati FirePro 2450 512 MB
  Rated 3.5 out of 5
- from $234
- Available from 5 retailers
- from $234
  
  Memory size: 512 MB • Interface: PCI Express • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600 • Graphics Processor: ATI FirePro 2450
  View all 14 offers
- PNY Quadro 4000 2048 MB
- from $741
- Available from 6 retailers
- from $741
  
  Memory size: 2048 MB • Interface: PCI Express • DirectX support: DirectX 11 • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600 • Graphics Processor: nVIDIA Quadro 4000
  View all 13 offers
- Ati FireMV 2250 256 MB
  Rated 3.5 out of 5
- from $121
- Available from 6 retailers
- from $121
  
  Memory size: 256 MB • Interface: PCI Express • DirectX support: DirectX 10 • Maximum resolution: 2048 x 1536 • Graphics Processor: ATI FireMV 2250
  View all 12 offers
- Matrox Millennium P690 256 MB
  Rated 5 out of 5
- from $149
- Available from 5 retailers
- from $149
  
  Memory size: 256 MB • Interface: PCI • Maximum resolution: 1920 x 1200 • Graphics Processor: Matrox Parhelia
  View all 12 offers
- PNY Quadro 2000 1024 MB
  Rated 3.5 out of 5
- from $406
- Available from 7 retailers
- from $406
  
  Memory size: 1024 MB • Interface: PCI Express • DirectX support: DirectX 11 • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600 • Graphics Processor: nVIDIA Quadro 2000
  View all 12 offers
- XFX RADEON HD5450
  Rated 3.5 out of 5
- from $29
- Available from 5 retailers
- from $29
  View all 11 offers
- Ati FirePro V7800 2048 MB
  Rated 3.5 out of 5
- from $622
- Available from 6 retailers
- from $622
  
  Memory size: 2048 MB • Interface: PCI Express • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600 • Graphics Processor: ATI FirePro V7800
  View all 11 offers
- eVGA GEFORCE GT 520 2048 MB
  Rated 3.5 out of 5
- from $43
- Available from 5 retailers
- from $43
  
  Memory size: 2048 MB • Interface: PCI Express • DirectX support: DirectX 11 • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600 • Graphics Processor: nVIDIA GeForce GT 520
  View all 11 offers
- PNY GeForce GT 430 1024 MB
  Rated 4 out of 5
- from $61
- Available from 6 retailers
- from $61
  
  Memory size: 1024 MB • Interface: PCI Express • Graphics Processor: nVIDIA GeForce GT 430
  View all 10 offers
- eVGA GT210 Passive 512 MB
- from $31
- Available from 4 retailers
- from $31
  
  Memory size: 512 MB • Interface: PCI Express • Graphics Processor: nVIDIA GeForce G 210
  View all 10 offers
- NVIDIA GEFORCE 310 512 MB
- from $88
- Available from 6 retailers
- from $88
  
  Memory size: 512 MB • Interface: PCI Express • DirectX support: DirectX 10.1 • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600
  View all 10 offers
- Asus ENGTX560 DCII TOP/2DI/1GD5 1024 MB
  Rated 4 out of 5
- from $182
- Available from 5 retailers
- from $182
  
  Memory size: 1024 MB • Interface: PCI Express • Graphics Processor: nVIDIA GeForce GTX 560
  - $229.88
  - $229.88
  - $251.95
  View all 10 offers
- XFX HD 7950 3072 MB
- from $399
- Available from 5 retailers
- from $399
  
  Memory size: 3072 MB • Interface: PCI Express • DirectX support: DirectX 11 • Graphics Processor: ATI Radeon HD 7950
  View all 10 offers
- XFX RADEON HD 6570
  Rated 4 out of 5
- from $58
- Available from 6 retailers
- from $58
  - $75.15
  - $72.98
  - $82.96
  View all 9 offers
- XFX Radeon HD 6670 2048 MB
- from $70
- Available from 5 retailers
- from $70
  
  Memory size: 2048 MB • Interface: PCI Express • DirectX support: DirectX 11 • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600 • Graphics Processor: ATI Radeon HD 6670
  - $77.98
  - $107.28
  - $80.18
  View all 9 offers
- eVGA GEFORCE 8400 GS 512 MB
  Rated 4 out of 5
- from $29
- Available from 3 retailers
- from $29
  
  Memory size: 512 MB • Interface: PCI Express • DirectX support: DirectX 10 • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600 • Graphics Processor: nVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS
  View all 9 offers
- HP FIREPRO V5900 2048 MB
- from $381
- Available from 5 retailers
- from $381
  
  Memory size: 2048 MB • Interface: PCI Express • DirectX support: DirectX 11 • Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1600 • Graphics Processor: ATI FirePro V5900
  View all 9 offers

Graphic Cards Buying Guide

Kelkoo.com

Introduction

We welcome you to your graphic card buying guide which will help you get a clear idea about the options available before you make a purchase. You could land yourself an amazing deal once you are done comparing the virtues and prices of a variety of branded graphic cards listed on our website. This buying guide will help you not only gain an insight into the various aspects of a graphic card, but to also make the right choice whatever your requirement.

What Does a Graphic Card Do?

Have you ever wondered how pictures are rendered on the display screen or monitor of the computer? It is the graphic card (also known as graphic adapter, video card or video adapter,) that is responsible for it. A graphic card is a video memory card that can be installed in the motherboard of a computer as an expansion slot. Although every PC comes with integrated graphics options, not all are good at handling the 3D rendering of pictures.

Depending on what you intend to do with a video card, you can choose from the wide range of graphic cards available. Whereas CAD designers, graphic designers, and artists would prioritize resolution and memory capabilities over everything else, a regular gamer would settle for one that gives maximum speed, which would enhance their video gaming experience. Video editors would most likely strike a balance between speed and memory. Casual users may prioritize cost over everything else as the only concern would be to meet their basic needs.

Exploring the Kinds of Graphic Cards

Graphic cards come with memory of 128 MB, 256 MB, or 512 MB. A card with 128 MB would serve the very basic gaming needs, and one with 512 MB rubs shoulders with the most powerful on the market – with one such model being the Lenovo NVS 300. However, compatibility with your existing PC system is very important because even the most powerful 512 MB card would not offer you much if your system is slow.

Yet another factor to consider is your PC’s connection. Using an AGP or Accelerated Graphics Port is quite popular as most video cards can connect with it. However, its slow bandwidth can hinder the speed of a fairly good card. Most computers nowadays come with Peripheral Component Interconnect or PCI Express port, which is an advanced version of the PCI port, available on most of the older PCs. Consider products such as the Gigabyte GV-R677SL-1GD if this type of connectivity would appeal to you.

Additionally, graphic cards come with one or more ports for connecting to either a monitor or a standard projector. A graphic card with a Digital Video (DVi) output is the ideal choice if you are using a flat-panel monitor, and components such as the HP FirePro V4800 can offer you optimal connectivity in these circumstances. On the other hand, graphic cards with an S-video port enable sending signals from your PC to a compatible TV. A few other cards allow you to do a lot more than just enjoy better gaming — they enable video editing on your PC as well as record and burn DVDs of your favorite TV shows.

Accelerated Graphics and Anti-Aliasing

Early graphic cards did not have much memory because their main purpose was to display pictures or images. However, today’s scenario is completely different – the cards have had to keep pace with the technology adopted in creating newer games, especially following the boom in 3D gaming. Fog effect, bump mapping, textures, and lighting effects are some of the built-in instructions used by the latest graphic cards for processing graphics.

Anti-aliasing is yet another new technology that is different from those related to efficiency and speed of graphics. This is because its focus is to smooth the jagged edges of an image with the use of color blending. Although monitors are capable of producing vertical and horizontal lines, diagonal lines appear with jagged edges when displayed on the monitors. This is caused by the grid pattern of pixels. To make these edges appear smoother, the graphic card uses anti-aliasing. This is accomplished by making specific calculations to determine the pixels drawn extra and the shade that needs to be used to get the desired effect.

Factors Determining the Graphic Card Speed Measurement

The rate at which data is transferred to and from the GPU or graphical processing unit is known as the memory bandwidth. The latest graphic cards come with high speed and memory solutions. The retrieval of textures and data from graphics memory increases when a graphic card with a higher memory bandwidth is used. This is one of the prime factors that determine the choice of graphic cards.

Measuring the speed of a graphic card is more complicated than measuring that of a hard disk, RAM, or CPU. Various factors come into play when determining the speed of the graphics card. The hardware of a graphic card can also impact its speed.

Pixel pipelines in a graphic card actually have a significant impact on the picture rendering speed. The larger the number of pixel pipelines, the faster the images are rendered — sometimes even twice the speed!

Core clock speed is measured in megahertz (MHz), and is actually the number of clock cycles of graphic card processing per second. It is one of the most important factors that determine the speed of the card, and some of the more powerful graphic cards on the market include the ATI FirePro V5800, which offers 850 MhZ of power for crystal-clear images on any computer screen.

Memory clock speed is very similar to that of the core clock. However, here it refers to the memory not the core of the graphic card. This is also important as it refers to the application of textures to the pixels.

Textures on each pipeline are required when multiple textures have to be applied on to a single pixel quickly. A graphic card with a larger number of textures per pipeline will enable faster rendering of multiple textures. However, this will not have any effect on pixels with single texture.

Graphic cards are sold by many, but the manufacturers tend to be less well-known. Some of them are HP, eVGA and Matrox.

We hope that this graphic card buying guide has offered you a deeper understanding of the various types and brands available on the market. Before making your online purchase of a graphic card, make sure you check out and compare prices on our website.

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