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How do you know how good a graphics card is?

CBrooksC

CBrooksC

CBrooksC

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4 Feb 2011
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How do you see how good a graphics card is?
I was looking up graphics card yesterday for the PC i plan on building as the one I was going to buy ran out of stock, and realised that I didn't actually know what I was looking for in regards to what makes them good.

Also while I'm on the topic how do you know how much power supply you need for a pc?

Btw I'm kinda noob at all of this. But i'm learning :)
 
Any review website should give a good detailed list, but essentially the only way one card is better than another is it will give more FPS in games (if you primarily use your PC for games).

So the one you choose should depend on what you use your PC for, what size your monitor is (resolution) and your budget.

Im pretty sure any good brand i.e. Corsair 500-600W PSU is sufficient for most people i.e. one gfx card and as long as you dont have 10 HDD's :P
 
What is your budget mate? The anandtech charts are awesome but you need to factor in heat, overclocking and noise and obviously some cards are great value right now.

As for psu- get a branded one, no not skimp, 550 watts of a decent brand should cover any single card setup.
 
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For Graphics, figure out what it is you want to play, and on what settings, then either (a) research reviews for that card, which will have benchmarks to evaluate performance, and/or (b) ask on a forum like this if your chosen option is a wise one.

For a PSU, figure out what your components will be (esp. your CPU and Graphics), find out how many Watts they need, and you will have a rough idea of how much power you need in a supply.

I am sure the good people here will be happy to advise and recommend as needed.
 
Budget: Look for what I can afford to get.
Benchmarks: Anandtech, compare the best 2 nVidia cards I can afford with the best 2 ATI, make a judgement call on performance/sound/temps
Reviews: Check what the reviews say about the cards I've found

Decision made...

kd
 
the naming scheme helps too
in terms of amd radeon = xyz0 ie 5870 4850, 5670 etc

x= range of cards, higher ranges will have new features, ie new directx version, support for 3d blu ray etc, doesnt neccaserily relate to raw speed and power, current range is 6. i'd say the 5 and 6 series are still ok today but the 5 series doesnt officially support blu ray 3d if you want to get into that.

y = major performance number, as this goes higher, marks a big boost in performance 4 and 5 are pretty low end, 6 - mid range starting to get a bit better for gaming, 7 is still mid range but the 5770 and above does really well in terms of gaming performance, 8 and 9 is high end.

z = minor performance number ie a 5870 will be a bit quicker than a 5850.

in terms of nvidia it is kind of similar - xy0

x = range again, were currently on 5, though 4 was short lived because the power and noise were a bit too high, 3 was just a bunch of low end rebrands and 2 was the last major series. but yeah 2 and 3 are getting on a bit so i wouldnt recomend anything below 4

y= major performance number, anything below 4 is low end ie a gt 540. mid range is 5 ie a gt 450, and 60 is mid-high end, then anything 70 upwards is generally considered high end ie gtx 570, gtx 580 etc.
 
Really it depends on what you want the card to do, or what you want to do with the card.

ATi/AMD for:
Multi-monitor support
On card sound support
Low power usage/heat
Blu-ray support

NVidia for:
Physix in some games
3D gaming support

After deciding what major manufacturer features of ATi/AMD or Nvidia are important to you, just buy the card that suits your budget. Or spend as much as you can. Only if you are a gamer does it require much money to get what you need.

For medium duty gaming and general use it is hard to beat HD 6850 or 6870. (go with the reference 6870 if you can afford it.
 
el Kuarlos said:
What is your budget mate? The anandtech charts are awesome but you need to factor in heat, overclocking and noise and obviously some cards are great value right now.

As for psu- get a branded one, no not skimp, 550 watts of a decent brand should cover any single card setup.
Click to expand...

For graphics card is about around £150.
 
King Damager said:
Budget: Look for what I can afford to get.
Benchmarks: Anandtech, compare the best 2 nVidia cards I can afford with the best 2 ATI, make a judgement call on performance/sound/temps
Reviews: Check what the reviews say about the cards I've found

Decision made...

kd
Click to expand...

Nice. I'll try that.
 
the nameing scheme does work ATI and nVidia :) loljk, there are number of recommended benchmarking website. There never 100% correct, so i would just look at the conclusions and see what card suits you. Ideally, if your on a budget look for "best bang for buck" solution. If your not worried about money just buy the most expensive one out there. Maybe 2 of them.
 
It rarely makes sense to buy the most expensive/top end card. Usually the card 1 behind top end costs considerably less while only ~10% slower. Tho with the current prices/performance I have a hard time reccomending anything that isn't either a GTX470, 6950 or GTX460 and the 470 is gone EOL and hard to find the good deals any more (or otherwise cards below that).
 
 
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