If you use your PC for intensive tasks that require speed, such as content creation or PC gaming, one of the important crucial components in your setup is the graphics video card. While the ideal solution would be to choose a graphics card with the highest specs, they can sometimes be overkill or underpay, depending on what you are doing. This is further complicated given the large number of choices you have and differences in prices ranging from $100 to $1500. However, you can follow this simple guide to ensure you choose a graphics card that is just right for what you intend to do with it.
Why you may need a graphics card
When you buy a pre-built desktop PC unless it’s a gaming PC, chances are that it will not have a graphics card. This is because these low-cost PCs usually rely on an integrated graphics processor (IGP) inbuilt in their CPU. This is ok if you are not using your PC or laptop for graphics-intensive tasks or are playing games that do not require a lot of graphical power, such as at a live casino online. However, if you are a high-end gamer or content creator, you will need a discrete video card to encode video content in your games, handle the display of 2D or 3D content, and draw smoothly on the desktop, among other tasks. You will also greatly benefit from a discrete graphics card if you are using multi-displays. The two major choices you have when choosing discrete video cards will either be GPUs manufactured by Nvidia or AMD. Graphics cards will fall into the category of gaming and light content creation or high-end cards for professional workstations such as artificial intelligence, scientific computation or heavy calculations. Some of the graphics cards popularly used for gaming include the Radeon RX by AMD and Nvidia’s GeForce line of graphics cards. For high-end tasks, the popular ones are AMD’s Radeon Pro or Radeon Instinct, and Nvidia’s line of Quadro and Titan cards.
What to consider when buying graphics cards
1) Resolution
When choosing a graphics card, the most important factor to consider from a gaming perspective is the resolution you are after and if your monitor can support it. While you may be able to find low-end graphics cards that can deliver resolutions as high as 4K, you may not be able to achieve smooth frame rates in some strenuous games at such high resolutions. This is because a graphics card calculates the geometry, lighting, renders, and positions onscreen. If you want to achieve great detail at high resolutions, you will need a graphics card with more muscle. Some of the common resolutions are 1080p (1920 by 1080), 1440p (2560 by 1440) and 4K (3840 by 2160). There are also some widescreen formats, with 3440 by 1440 pixels being the most common. This means that you will want to choose one that matches the resolution your monitor can handle when choosing a graphics card. When playing at 1080p, the CPU and GPU will be balancing each other when it comes to the power each will be using. When playing at 1440p, the demand will be much more on the GPU. However, playing resolutions at 4K means the GPU does almost all the heavy lifting.
2) Refresh rate
Another factor to consider when investing in a GPU is the refresh rate of your monitor. While most monitors in the past aimed for refresh rates of 60HZ, the introduction of gaming monitors now means you achieve rates of up to 144Hz, 240Hz, or 360Hz. A high refresh rate means smoother gameplay and motion. While playing at high resolutions has its benefits, such as being able to hit opponents with pixel-perfect precision, it is usually at the cost of refresh rates. However, if you are playing competitive games and do not really care about fine details, refresh rates become a key issue. This is because high refresh rates mean a game flows more fluidly, thus giving a competitive advantage.
3) HDR (High Dynamic Range)
With most gaming monitors now supporting HDR, it will also be an important factor to consider. The higher the HDR rating on your monitor, the higher the levels of brightness and detail you will experience in the games you play. While you may not notice a huge difference between monitors rated HDR 10-HDR 400, you should consider this factor if your monitor is rated HDR 600 and above.
Specs to consider when buying a GPU
As explained above, the choice of GPU you choose will depend on your gaming monitor and intended resolution, as well as your budget. You will also need to consider its clock speed. When faced with a choice of the same family of GPU cards, the one with a higher clock speed means it is faster. Another factor to consider is its VRAM or Onboard Video-Card Memory, which means the amount of memory it can handle when playing games.