graphics cards

[tommy dickfingers]

can someone please explain the difference between cards,i may be buying a new desktop but i want it to have a decent card,i have seen a pc with a 512mb card but after checking for a review it doesn't seem to be very good and the website that the pc is on offers an upgrade to a 256mb card but a different model,what should i be looking for,is there anyone who can help,ta.

[mike johnson]

Ive been sorta card-shopping myself & it is a very confusing marketplace. Some 256MB cards cost more than similar 512 cards, perhaps because they have faster memory.Unless you are into gaming & recent games at that, you dont really need 512 I think. (Keep in mind system memory will get the memory from graphics back if you are upgrading from integrated graphics.)

My other advice is to pay close attention to the exact model numbers; a 'GT' can be a very diff quality from a 'GS.'

There is a change in the works re DirectX 9 to 10.If gaming means a lot to you, either wait till cheaper 10-capable models come down, or get the nVidia 8800. It is very pricey tho.(NB, some games dont use DirX.)
For a budget model, one of my mags recs the ATI Radeon X1300, or for a mid-priced board, the ATI X1950.

[Guilbert]

I bought a new graphics card recently, and knowing very little about them did a LOT of research.

To be honest it is a nightmare trying to sort out all the different features, but one thing that I did find out is that you gain very little by buying a 512Mb card.

So go for a 256Mb card.

Remember you can pay beween about ?20 and ?300 (or more) for a graphics card, so you need to decide what you are going to do with it.

You say "decent card" but is that:

a) decent as in top of the range card to play the latest games, in which case you are talking about ?250 or more

b) or decent as in mid-range card to display good graphics, with HD support, in which case ?70 to ?100 is enough.

Unless you play games then ?250 for a graphics card is just silly.

So you need to decide what you WANT from a card.

[Guilbert]

Here is the suggested budget card from PC Pro, but that is priced at ?128.



I finished up buying an ASUS N7600GS NVidia (with no fan) for about ?70.

I cannot remember why I settled on that, seem to remember that the 7600 got good reviews overall.

Note that there are 2 main companies making graphics "engines": - ATI and nVidia.

Loads of people badge them, but in the end they either boil down to an ATI or nVidia

Here is the ATI site (and list of cards supported by Vista, fastest at the top)



Here is the NVidia site (and list of card supported by Vista, fastest at top)




You can spend AGES trying to find the right card, but they all tend to be priced by speed,
so in the end find one with the right price that suits you and go for it.

[diplodocus]

like the guys say, it depends on what you are going to use it for

i find this place a pretty good place for info

[crofter]

The best budget card in my opinion is the 7600 GT which can be bought for about ?60, it is good for 2 reasons it will play all the newest games (albeit maybe not at the top setting) plus it does not need a super pc to be able to power it as the power consumption/noise etc. is prettly low.

7600 GT here:


If you want something slightly better, this is a step up from that:
Sapphire X1950Pro


in both instances buy via google checkout to save ?10.

for card comparisons try here:


The DX10 cards that are out are either very expensive or not very good, so best to sit tight until that sorts itself out.