Simple and easy graphics card buying guide

Are you a computer gamer who has found yourself in the video card buying market because your current graphics card is not working properly or does not meet the necessary requirements to play certain games? There are many things to consider when looking to update this device. This can be a daunting endeavor for even most computer gurus, so we’ve put together this simple graphics card buying guide to help you with the important areas to consider.

The first thing to find out is if your motherboard BIOS will allow you to update your video card and if you have any open slots. You also need to find out if your motherboard has the video device on board; if so, you should be able to disable it.

* Chipset – You will generally buy an ATI or nVidia chip, these are the two manufacturers of 3D rendering. You will notice that there are many video cards on the market with different brands, however they will definitely use one of the two listed.

* Built-in memory: depending on your budget, the more built-in memory the better. Most games now require a minimum of 512MB onboard; We suggest, if possible, get a graphics card with at least 1GB of onboard memory.

* PCI or AGP – Depending on how old your computer or motherboard is, you will have to find out which of these two you have. Today PCI is used as it replaced the much slower AGP. Note that at the time of this article you cannot put the AGP in a PCI slot nor can you put the PCI in an AGP slot and there are no converters.

* DirectX: must be standard when buying a video card; Older computers may not have the ability to use Microsoft DirectX.

* Frame rates – Of everything listed in this graphics card buying guide, this is the most important. The frame rate will be the number of frames per second that your card and your computer can display. This is how your game will work; For example, if you are playing an RPG in real time and you are in a fight, there may be a lag if your frame rate is too slow.

* Power Usage – Newer video cards require a large amount of power usage and may actually require you to upgrade the current power supply in your system. This is especially true with duo cards. Consult your computer manual before purchasing the video card.

* Connectivity – Actually, this will only be important if you plan to connect a video camera or TV, etc. They can have S-Video, TV-out, VGA and DVI.

In closing, the most important factor to take from this video card buying guide is to verify exactly what your PC can handle, you would hate to install a card to find out that your motherboard; power supply etc. do not meet the requirements of the graphics card.