Understanding Video Cards

Before you can get a good video card for your PC you must understand some things about them. In this article I intend to discuss some of the things you need to look for when you plan on purchasing a video card.

Two basic chipset manufacturers

There are many different models but only two basic chipset manufacturers. ATI and Nvidia are the two chipset manufacturers. Generic cards, made by other manufacturers, fall under one or the other. For example VisionTek sells ATI chipset cards. (ATI of course is now owned by AMD just so you know for future reference ). Both ATI and Nvidia have developed some cards that work great and some not so great. Its best to read some reviews on specific models you wish to purchase.

Still some good cards for under $100

There are some good cards for under $100. You don't have to always buy the latest and the greatest to get a descent card. Even if your an avid gamer you don't havBefore you can get a good video card for your PC you must understand some things about them. In this article I intend to discuss some of the things you need to look for when you plan on purchasing a video card.e to spend a small fortune to get a comparable card. The best thing to do is shop around and read the specifications. The most important factor is the cards dependability.

Supported resolutions

Make sure the card your shopping for supports the resolutions you want to run. If your using a flat screen and want to run your card at high resolutions make sure the card supports that. Newer cards will support most if not all resolutions your monitor can put out.

On board memory

Video card memory is the on board memory of the video card. You will want a card with 256mb or better to meet the ever growing demands of games and Internet content. The video card slot determines the type of card you will buy from PCI, AGP, or PCI express. Both PCI and AGP are formats that are outdated but still used. PCI Express is now what many newer motherboards are supporting. Many PCI Express cards are SLI ready which allows you to link two video cards together.

Speed of the video card

The speed of the video card is determined by bits or bytes that the video is transferred. Earlier video cards used 32bit and 64bit. The newer cards are 128bit and above. When your shopping for a card this is another thing you want to consider. One thing to take note is putting a newer card in an older machine won't always give you the performance your looking for cause so much is dependent on the CPU's speed.

If you shop around and become informed you can make a good choice for a video card upgrade.