a gamer's guide to choosing a graphics card - david talmage

AGamersGuideToChoosingAGraphicsCard

Copyright©2016byDavidTalmage

Introduction

GraphicsCards(thebasics)

Benchmarks(Howwelltheyallperform)

BigBudgetGaming

Mid-BudgetGaming

LowBudgetGaming

SecondHandGraphicsCards

GraphicsCardManufacturers

WhereToBuyaGraphicsCard

ExplainingTheGraphicsCard’sHardware

VRAM

MemoryClock

CoreClock

Cores(AKACudaCores)

Transistors

MemoryInterface

PCI-Express

BackPlate

Fans

SLIReady

CrossFireReady

G-SyncReady

FreeSyncReady

ExplainingGraphicsCard’sSoftware

DirectX

DSR(DynamicSuperResolution)

VSR(VisualSuperResolution)

VXGI

PhysX

Compatibility

PCI-Express

PhysicalSizeOfTheGraphicsCard

PowerRequirements

PowerPorts

GraphicsCardDisplayPorts

Bottlenecks

Howtogetthemostfromyourgraphicscard

Summary

AGamer’sGuide

ToChoosingA

GraphicsCard

ByDavidTalmage

Copyright©2016byDavidTalmage

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,distributed,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,includingphotocopying,recording,orotherelectronicormechanicalmethods,withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionoftheauthor,exceptinthecaseofbriefquotationsembodiedincriticalreviewsandcertainothernoncommercialusespermittedbycopyrightlaw.Forpermissionrequests,[email protected].

Anytrademarks,servicemarks,productnames,ornamedfeaturesinthispublicationareassumedtobethepropertyoftheirrespectiveownersandareusedonlyforreference.Thereisnoimpliedendorsementiftheauthorusesoneoftheseterms.

Useofanyinformationprovidedbytheauthorinthispublicationissolelyatyourownrisk.Byacceptingthese‘termsandconditions’youagreethattheauthorisnotheldresponsibleforanydamagesofanykindthroughuseofanyinformationprovidedbytheauthor.

Althoughtheauthorhasmadeeveryreasonableattempttoachievecompleteaccuracyofthecontentinthispublication,heassumesnoresponsibilityforerrorsoromissions.

IntroductionThesedays,therearemillionsofgamersfromallovertheworld.Someplayvideogamesnowandthen,andsomeplaythemforhourseveryday.Whenyoufindagamethatyoulike,youcanenjoybeinginyourownworldforquitesometime.That’swhyit’sagoodideatogettherightgraphicscardforyourcomputer,asthiswillgiveyouthebestgraphicsandthesmoothestgame-playyourbudgetwillallow.Alittlebitofknowledgecangoalongwayandcanmakethedifferencefrommediocregame-play…toenjoyablysmooth,graphicallyintenseandmoreimmersivegaming.

AboutThisBookSoyouwanttobuyanewgraphicscard,butyou’renotsurewhattoget.Whichonewillbestsuityouandyourbudgetthemost?Thisbookwillhelpyoudecideonchoosingagraphicscardwhenyouwanttoupgrade.Alsosee:

•Graphicscardbasics

•Benchmarks

•Bigbudgetgaming

•Midbudgetgaming

•Lowbudgetgaming

•Howtogetthemostfromyourgraphicscard

•Wheretobuy

•Compatibility

andmore.

Anypricesandinformationinthisbookwerecorrectattimeofwriting.

GraphicsCards(thebasics)Let’sstartfromthebeginningtomakesurewe’reallonthesamepage.Sowhatisagraphicscard?It’sbasicallyacircuitboard,usuallywithcoolingfansattachedtoit.Agraphicscardcanbeinstalledinsideacomputercase,thenattachedtoamonitorusingacable.Themonitorwillthendisplayanyinformationsentfromthegraphicscard.

AMDorNvidiaTherearetwomaincompaniesthatproducegraphicscards.ThoseareAMDandNvidia.Soyoumaybewonderingwhichoneshouldyouchooseifyou’rethinkingofgettingyourselfanewgraphicscard?Isonebetterthantheother?Well,bothcompaniesmakesomegreatcards,butoneisnotbetterthantheother.Youwillgetafairlysimilarperformancefromeither,ateverypricepoint.Forexample,ifyouspend£50(approx.$70USD)onanAMDgraphicscard,thatwillgiveyouaverysimilarperformancetoaNvidiagraphicscardthatisalsopricedat£50.Ifyouspend£500(approx.$700USD)onanAMDgraphicscard,youwillseeitperformingsimilarlytoaNvidiagraphicscardatthatsamepricepoint.Thiswillvaryalittlefromonecardtothenext,butgenerallyspeaking,yougetwhatyoupayforfromeitherAMDorNvidia.

Soifyou’rethinkingofgettingyourselfanewgraphicscard,don’tbetooconcernedaboutwhichcompanytogofor.Justgoforthegraphicscardthatsuitsyouthemost.

ListOfNvidiaGraphicsCardsLet’sseewhichgraphicscardsareavailabletodayfromNvidia.ThelatestgenerationofNvidiagraphicscardsarereferredtoasthe‘900’series.Belowarethosegraphicscards(forhome/gamingcomputers),startingwiththeirmostpowerfulgraphicscard:

NvidiaGeForceGTXTitanX………….Highend

NvidiaGeForceGTX980Ti…………..Highend

NvidiaGeForceGTX980………………Highend

NvidiaGeForceGTX970………………Uppermidrange

NvidiaGeForceGTX960………………Midrange

NvidiaGeForceGTX950………………Lowermidrange

Beforethe900series,Nvidiareleasedtheir‘700’seriesgraphicscards.Belowarethosegraphicscardswithinthe700series(forhome/gamingcomputers),startingwiththemostpowerfulgraphicscardwithinthisseries:

NvidiaGeForceGTXTitanZ…………..Highend

NvidiaGeForceGTXTitanBlack…….Highend

NvidiaGeForceGTXTitan……………..Highend

NvidiaGeForceGTX780Ti……………Highend

NvidiaGeForceGTX780……………….Highend

NvidiaGeForceGTX770……………….Uppermidrange

NvidiaGeForceGTX760……………….Midrange

NvidiaGeForceGTX750Ti……………Lowermidrange

NvidiaGeForceGTX750……………….Lowermidrange

NvidiaGeForceGT740………………….Lowend



ThesewerethelatestNvidiagraphicscardsonofferatthetimeofwriting.Toseethemostup-to-datelistofNvidiagraphicscardsavailabletoday,clickonthefollowinglink:http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus

MostoftheNvidiagraphicscardswithinthe900serieswerereleasedin2015.MostoftheNvidiagraphicscardswithinthe700serieswerereleasedin2013and2014.Bytheway,we’llgetintotheperformanceofthesecardslateron.

NvidiaGraphicsCard’sModelNamesExplainedThelasttwonumbersofthegraphicscard’smodelnamewillindicateitsperformancelevel.Thehigherthenumber,thebetterthegraphicscard.Forexample,acardthathasthenumber‘80’withinitsmodelname(e.g.theNvidiaGeForceGTX980)isahighendgraphicscard.Onewith‘70’initsname(forexampletheGTX970)isanuppermidrangecard,‘60’indicatesamidrangecard,‘50’isalowermidrangecard,andanythinglower(forexample,theNvidiaGeForceGT740)isalowendgraphicscard.

Anygraphicscardthathas‘Ti’initsnamewillbeasuperiorversion.Forexample,theNvidiaGeForceGTX980TiissuperiortotheGTX980.

The‘Titan’graphicscardsareveryhighendcardsandareoftenquiteexpensivetoo.

ListofAMDGraphicsCardsThelatestgenerationofgraphicscardsfromAMDarecalledtheRx300series.Thosecardsarelistedbelowstartingwiththeirmostpowerfulgraphicscard.

AMDRadeonR9FuryX……………..EnthusiastRange

AMDRadeonR9Fury……………….EnthusiastRange

AMDRadeonR9390X………………EnthusiastRange

AMDRadeonR9390………………..EnthusiastRange



AMDRadeonR7370………………..MainstreamRange


ThepreviousgenerationofgraphicscardsfromAMD(beforetheRx300seriesofgraphicscards)wastheRx200series.Thoseareshownbelow,mostpowerfulgraphicscardfirstwithinthisseries.

AMDRadeonR9295X2…………….EnthusiastRange









AMDRadeonR7260X………………MainstreamRange


AMDRadeonR7250X………………MainstreamRange



AMDRadeonR5230Non-GamersRange

AllgraphicscardslistedabovewerethelatestofferingsfromAMDatthetimeofwriting.Foranup-to-datelistofgraphicscardsfromAMD,clickonthislink:http://www.amd.com/en-us/products/graphics/desktop

MostoftheAMDRadeongraphicscardswithinthe300serieswerereleasedin2015.MostoftheAMDRadeongraphicscardswithinthe200serieswerereleasedin2013and2014.

AMDGraphicsCard’sModelNamesExplainedThelasttwonumbersinanAMDgraphicscard’smodelnamewillgiveyouanideaofhowwellitcanperform.Forexample,theAMDRadeonR9390isasuperiorgraphicscardcomparedwiththeAMDRadeonR9380.Asyoucanseefromthegraphicscardlistsjustshown,alloftheAMDRadeonR9cardsaretheEnthusiastrange,andalltheAMDRadeonR7cardsaretheirmainstreamrange.

We’llbetakingalookattheperformanceofbothAMDandNvidiagraphicscardsinamoment.

YourMonitor’sResolution

Beforewemoveon,weneedtounderstandmonitorresolution.Yourscreenismadeupoftinydotscalledpixels.Themorepixelsthereare,theclearerandmoredetailedimageswilllookonyourscreen.Anexampleofthiswouldbea‘FullHD’monitorthathas1920pixelsacrossitswidthand1080pixelsupitsheight.SoafullHDmonitor’sresolutionisdescribedas1920x1080.

Therearemanydifferentmonitorresolutionswithmanydifferentnamestodescribethem.Someofthemostpopularmonitorresolutionsare:

1024x768(XGA)

1366x768(WXGA)

1920x1080(FullHD)

2560x1440(WQHD)

3440x1440(UWQHD)

3840x2160(UHD,alsoknownas4k).

SoifyouweretoplayagameusingaUHD(4k)monitorwitharesolutionof3480x2160,thedetailsinthegamewilllookmuchsharpercomparedtoplayingagameusingamonitorwitharesolutionof,say,1024x768.Thehigheryourmonitorresolutionis,thebetteryourgameswilllook.

FPS(FramesPerSecond)WhatisFPS(FramesPerSecond)?Let’stakeacamcorderasanexample.Manycamcorderswilltakearound30picturespersecond,whichwillgiveasmoothvideoplay-backwhenviewed.Inotherwords,thecamcorderistaking30framespersecond(FPS).Somecamcorderswilltake60picturespersecond(60FPS)whichwillgiveaverysmoothplayback.

It’sasimilarstorywhenitcomestogaming.Thegraphicscardwillsendasmanyframespersecondasitcantothemonitor.Thebetterthegraphicscardis,themoreFPSitcansendtothemonitor.ThemoreFPSitcansend,thesmootheryourgameswillappearonscreen.

Ifyouhaveahighmonitorresolution,suchas3480x2160(UHD/4k),thegraphicscardwillhavetosend8,294,400pixelsperframetothemonitor.Butifyouhavealowermonitorresolution,suchas1024x768,thegraphicscardwillonlyhavetosend786,432pixelsperframetothemonitor.That’swhylowendgraphicscardsoftenstruggletoshowsmoothgameplayinhighmonitorresolutions,buttheymightbreezethroughsomegamesatlowerresolutions.

We’llseehowmanyFPSvariousgraphicscardscanmanageatvariousresolutionsinamoment.Butfirst,howmanyFPSdoyouneedtohave,forsmoothgameplay?Well,at30FPS,anygamewilllookfairlysmooth.Gamesthatareplayedonaconsolearesometimesshownat30FPS.Youcanplaygamesat25FPS,butthiswon’tbeidealasgameplaywilllookstutteryattimes.So30FPSshouldbetheminimumwhenitcomestogaming.

At40FPS,gameswilllooksmooth.Whilstquiteafewgamersareveryhappyplayinggamesataround30–35FPS,manyarehappierwhenFPSreachesthe40s,asgameplaylooksmoresmooth.At50–60FPS,anygamewillappearverysmooth.Withthisinmind,let’smoveontothenextsection…benchmarks.

Benchmarks(Howwelltheyallperform)Astherearemanydifferentgraphicscardsatmanydifferentpricepoints,I’vesplitthissectionupintothreeparts…bigbudgetgaming,mid-budgetgamingandlow-budgetgaming.

Somecomputerswillaccepttwoormoregraphicscards,butasmanypeopleonlyuseone,I’llmostlybetakingyouthroughtheperformanceofsinglegraphicscards.

BigBudgetGamingThetop-endgraphicscardsoftodayare:

NvidiaGeForceGTXTitanX……£850(approx.$1230USD)

NvidiaGeForceGTX980Ti…….£550(approx.$800USD)

NvidiaGeForceGTX980………..£410(approx.$600USD)

AMDRadeonR9FuryX…………..£500(approx.$720USD)

AMDRadeonR9Fury…………….£435(approx.$630USD)

AMDRadeonR9390X……………£330(approx.$480USD)

Let’sseehowwellthesegraphicscardsperformat2560x1440monitorresolution.Bytheway,ifyourcomputercanplay‘RiseOfTheTombRaider’smoothly,it’slikelythatitcanplayanygamesmoothly,asthisgameisverydemandingonthegraphicscard(attimeofwriting).

Allthreegamesshownbelowaregraphicallyintense,sothiswillbeagoodtestforthesetop-endcards.Gamegraphicsaresetto‘veryhigh’forthesetests.

Crysis3at2560x1440MonitorResolutionNvidiaGeForceGTXTitanX…….85FPS

NvidiaGeForceGTX980Ti……..82FPS

NvidiaGeForceGTX980…………57FPS

AMDRadeonR9FuryX…………..70FPS

AMDRadeonR9Fury……………..66FPS

AMDRadeonR9390X…………….54FPS

RiseOfTheTombRaiderat2560x1440MonitorResolutionNvidiaGeForceGTXTitanX……..64FPS

NvidiaGeForceGTX980Ti………60FPS

NvidiaGeForceGTX980………….43FPS

AMDRadeonR9FuryX…………….52FPS

AMDRadeonR9Fury………………50FPS

AMDRadeonR9390X……………..45FPS

Battlefield4at2560x1440MonitorResolutionNvidiaGeForceGTXTitanX……..77FPS

NvidiaGeForceGTX980Ti……….76FPS

NvidiaGeForceGTX980…………..60FPS

AMDRadeonR9FuryX……………..66FPS

AMDRadeonR9Fury……………….61FPS

AMDRadeonR9390X………………55FPS

Asyoucansee,thesegraphicscardsperformwellat2560x1440resolution.Anyoneofthemwillgivesmoothlookinggraphicswithgraphicallyintensegamessuchastheonesjustmentioned.

Nowwhataboutifweturnuptheheatonthesegraphicscards?Let’sseehowwellthesetop-endgraphicscardsperformat3480x2160(UHDaka4k)resolution.

Crysis3at3480x2160MonitorResolutionNvidiaGeForceGTXTitanX………42FPS






RiseOfTheTombRaiderat3480x2160MonitorResolutionNvidiaGeForceGTXTitanX……..34FPS






Battlefield4at3480x2160MonitorResolutionNvidiaGeForceGTXTitanX………57FPS






Theresultsat3480x2160resolutionforthesegraphicscardsareabitofamixedbag.TheAMDRadeonR9390Xonlyhitsanaverageof20FPSwhenrunningRiseOfTheTombRaideratthishighresolution.That’snotgoodenoughforsmoothgameplayandwouldlookquitenasty.Wewanttoseeaminimumof30FPSonanygameforagoodexperiencewhengaming.

ButifyouwanttoplayBattlefield4at3480x2160,thenanyoneofthegraphicscardsmentionedabovewillseethatyourgamewillrunsmoothly,asBattlefield4isalittlelessdemanding(graphicallyspeaking)thanRiseOfTheTombRaider.

Bytheway,whenyouenteragame,youcansetthegamesgraphicalsettingsto‘VeryHigh’,‘High’,‘Medium’,or‘Low’.Alloftheresultsshownabovearewithgamesettingssetto‘veryhigh’.Settinganygamesgraphicsto‘medium’will(inmostcases)giveyouanextra10FPS.Or,ifyousetthegamesgraphicsto‘low’,you’llveryoftenseeanextra20FPSintotal.

Forexample,whenplayingRiseOfTheTombRaiderat3480x2160resolutionusingaNvidiaGeForceGTX980Ti,you’llachieveabout33FPS.That’swithgamegraphicssetto‘VeryHigh’.Ifweturndownthegraphic’ssettingsto‘Medium’,we’llseeabout43FPSonaverage.Ifweturndownthegamesettingsto‘Low’,we’llgetabout53FPSonaverage.

Soturningdownthegame’sgraphicalsettingswithinthegamecangiveyoumoreFPSforasmootherrunninggame,butthegraphicswon’tlookquiteasgood.Youcanturndownyourmonitor’sresolutionaswellformoreFPS,butagain,thegamewon’tlookquiteasgoodifyoudothis.Atleastyouhaveoptionsthough.

YoumaybewonderinghowwellthesebigbudgetgraphicscardsperformwhenusinganHD(1920x1080)resolutionmonitor.Well,theymaybealittleoverkillforsome.Forexample,theNvidiaGeForceGTX980willshowabout85FPSwhenplayingCrysis3atHDresolution.TheNvidiaGeForceGTX980Tiwillshowabout85FPSwhenplayingRiseOfTheTombRaiderinHD.

Sobuyingatop-endgraphicscardwhenplayinggamesinHDisagoodwaytosomewhatfutureproofyourcomputer’sgraphicscapabilities,butisnotessentialforgamingrightnowasgameswilllookverysmoothatonly40FPSandcertainlyplayableat30FPS.

Sowe’vediscussedgamingwithbigbudgetgraphicscardsforplayinggamesthathavehighdemandsonthegraphicscard.ButwhataboutusingthesecardsforgamesthatarelessgraphicallydemandingsuchasWorldOfWarcraft?Well,allofthegraphicscardsmentionedwillplaythisgameatabove60FPSat4kmonitorresolution(obviously,lowermonitorresolutionswillachievemoreFPSthanthis).

AllofthegraphicscardsmentionedpreviouslywillalsoplaylowergraphicalgamessuchasTeamFortress2ataround100FPSormoreata4kmonitorresolution.Soyes,these

bigbudgetgraphicscardsaregreatforplayinggamesthatarelessgraphicallydemandinguptoamonitorresolutionof3480x2160.

Solet’ssummarisewhatwe’vetalkedaboutsofarwiththesebigbudgetgraphicscards.Usinganyoneofthemwillallowyoutoseesmoothgameplaywhenplayinganygame(eventheoneswithintensegraphics)usingamonitorwitharesolutionof2560x1440orless.That’sjustaboutanygameatall,notjusttheonesmentionedinthisbook.Obviouslyastimegoeson,gameswillcomeoutthatareevenmoregraphicallydemanding.Butfornowatleast(attimeofwriting),thesecardscanplayanygamesmoothlyat2560x1440resolutionorless.

Whenitcomesto4k(3480x2160)gaming,they’regood,mostofthetime.Sometimes,youmayhavetoturndownthein-gamegraphicalsettingsalittle,orusetwoofthesecardsforsmoothgameplay.But,thesebigbudgetgraphicscardscanplaymostgamessmoothlyat4k.

Notethat4kgamingisquitenewtotheworld.Justashortwhileago,nographicscardwascapableofplayinganydemandinggameatsuchahighmonitorresolution.Atleastnowwe’restartingtoseesomegraphicscardsbeingcapableofplayingsomegraphicallyintensegamesat4katanice,smooth,40FPSorhigher.

Andfinally,HDmonitorresolutiongaming.Usingoneofthesecardswillseethatyoualwayshaveextremelysmoothgameplayinanygame.Youshouldnever(orrarely)seeyourgamesdipbelow60FPS.Soyes,theyaregreatforgaminginHDresolution,butamid-budgetgraphicscardwouldprobablybemoresuitableforyou,ifyou’reusingaHDmonitor.

Notethatmostmonitorsareratedat60Hz.Inotherwords,theycandisplay60FPSfromthegraphicscard.Ifyourgraphicscardisproducing,say,95FPS,butyou’reusinga60Hzmonitor,you’llonlybeseeing60FPSfromthegraphicscard.That’swhy,thesebigbudgetgraphicscardsarealittleoverkillformostgamersplayingonanHDmonitor.Monitorsratedat120Hzwillbeabletoshowupto120FPSfromthegraphicscard.Monitorsratedat144Hzwillbeabletoshowupto144FPSfromthegraphicscard.

Mid-BudgetGamingFormid-budgetgamingwehavethefollowinggraphicscards:

NvidiaGeForceGTX970……………£260(approx.$375USD)



AMDRadeonR9390…………………£260(approx.$375USD)

AMDRadeonR9380X……………….£190(approx.$275USD)

AMDRadeonR9380…………………£155(approx.$225USD)

Let’sseehowwelltheyperformatHD(1920x1080)monitorresolutionwithallgraphicalgamesettingssetto‘VeryHigh’.

Crysis3at1920x1080MonitorResolutionNvidiaGeForceGTX970………….84FPS



AMDRadeonR9390……………….84FPS


AMDRadeonR9380……………….52FPS

RiseOfTheTombRaiderat1920x1080MonitorResolutionNvidiaGeForceGTX970…………..55FPS



AMDRadeonR9390………………..56FPS


AMDRadeonR9380………………..32FPS

Battlefield4at1920x1080MonitorResolutionNvidiaGeForceGTX970……………80FPS

NvidiaGeForceGTX960……………50FPS

NvidiaGeForceGTX950……………36FPS

AMDRadeonR9390…………………74FPS

AMDRadeonR9380X……………….47FPS

AMDRadeonR9380…………………45FPS

Allthegraphicscardsinourmid-budgetsectionhereperformwell,evenwhenplayingdemandinggamessuchasRiseOfTheTombRaider.Rememberthatthesearetheresultswiththegamesettingssetto‘veryhigh’orveryclosetothatsetting.Turnthemdowntomediumandyou’llhaveaboutanextra10FPSontop(sometimesevenmore)foranygame.Notthatyouwouldneedtowithmostofthesecardsatthisresolution,buttheoptionisthere,shouldyouwishtouseit.

Ifthesemid-budgetgraphicscardscanplaytheabovegamessmoothly,they’llbeabletoplaygamesthatarelessgraphicallyintensewithoutaproblemat1920x1080resolution.Ifyourmonitor’sresolutionis2560x1440,you’llbeabletousethesegraphicscardsforsomeofthegamesthatarenotsographicallydemandingandstillhavesmoothgameplay.Infact,thesegraphicscardscanevenplaysomegamessmoothlyin4kresolution.

Let’shaveafewexamples.TheNvidiaGeForceGTX970canrunthegames‘LeagueOfLegends’and‘WorldOfWarcraft’at3480x2160resolutionatover60FPS(gamesettings

setto‘veryhigh’).TheAMDRadeonR9390candothistoo.

TheNvidiaGeForceGTX960willrunthegame‘BioShockInfinite’(afairlygraphicalgame)at2560x1440resolution,cominginataround60FPS(gamesettingssetto‘veryhigh’).

TheNvidiaGeForceGTX950willrunlowgraphicalgamessuchasCS:GO(CounterStrikeGlobalOffensive)at3480x2160resolutionachievingaround60FPSatfairlyhighgamesettings.AndsocantheAMDR9380andtheAMDRadeonR9380X.

Onceagain,itcomesdowntothis…whattypeofgameswillyoubeplayingandatwhatmonitorresolution?Doyouwanttoplayallgamesatveryhighgraphicalsettings,orwillyousettleformediumorlow?Onceyouhaveyouranswerstothesequestions,choosingacardforyourselfbecomesmuchsimpler.

LowBudgetGamingThere’smanygraphicscardstochoosefrominthelowbudgetsectionofgraphicscardsifyouincludesecondhandcardsaswell.Butfirst,let’slookatlowbudgetgraphicscardsthatareavailabletobuytoday,brandnew.Listshownbelow.

NvidiaGeForceGTX750Ti….£100(approx.$145USD)

NvidiaGeForceGTX750………£90(approx.$130USD)

NvidiaGeForceGT740………..£70(approx.$100USD)

AMDRadeonR7370…………..£120(approx.$175USD)

AMDRadeonR7360……………£90(approx.$130USD)

AMDRadeonR7250……………£60(approx.$85USD)

Nowlet’sseehowwellthesecardsperform…

Crysis3at1920x1080MonitorResolutionNvidiaGeForceGTX750Ti42FPS(gamesettings:High)

NvidiaGeForceGTX75038FPS(gamesettings:High)

NvidiaGeForceGT74033FPS(gamesettings:High)

AMDRadeonR737045FPS(gamesettings:High)



Sowhatdowemakeoftheseresults?Well,ifyouwanttoplaygamesthatreallymakeyourgraphicscardworkhard,suchasCrysis3,RiseoftheTombRaider,TheWitcher3,FarCry4andsoon…itcanstillbedoneonthegraphicscardsjustmentioned,thoughsometimesyoumayhavetoturndownthegamesettingsalittleforsmoothgame-play.

Turndownthegamesettingstomediumandtheselowbudgetgraphicscardswillplayanygamerightnow(attimeofwriting)verysmoothlyinHDresolution.

Ofcourse,ifyouwanttoplaygamesthatarelessgraphical,thesegraphicscardswillbeabletoachieveevenmoreFPSandwillrunthoselessdemandinggamesevenmoresmoothly.Forexample,playingWorldofWarcraftinHDwithgamesettingsat‘Ultra/VeryHigh’,you’dexperienceabout50FPSusingtheNvidiaGeForceGTX750(non-Tiversion).Andifyou’replayingatalowermonitorresolutionthan1920x1080,theselowbudgetgraphicscardswillplayjustaboutanygamesmoothlyusingveryhighgamesettings.

SecondHandGraphicsCardsTherearemanygraphicscardsouttherethatarenotsoldbrandnewanymore,butarestillverygoodforgaming.I’vejustdoneaquicksearchonE-bayasI’minthemiddleofwritingthis,andinunder1minute,I’vefoundaNvidiaGeForceGTX770graphicscardforjustover£100(approx.$145).Notjustone,butquiteafew,witha‘BuyItNow’labelnexttoit.TheGTX770graphicscardcanplaygamessuchasCrysis3withgamesettingssetto‘veryhigh’ataround55FPS.Iknow,bargain!

ForthosethatwanttoplaygraphicallyintensegamesinHDresolution,andwanttohavethegamesettingssetfairlyhigh,withgoodFPSforsmoothgame-play,thesegraphicscardswillsuityou(mostlikelyonlyfoundsecondhand).

NvidiaGeForceGTX780

NvidiaGeForceGTX770

NvidiaGeForceGTX760

NvidiaGeForceGTX690

NvidiaGeForceGTX680

AMDRadeonR9290

AMDRadeonR9280X

AMDRadeonR9285

AMDRadeonR9280

ForthosethatwanttoplaygamesthatarealittlelessgraphicallydemandinginHDresolutionorless,here’safewrecommendationsforcheapergraphicscards(again,mostlikelyonlyfoundsecondhand).

NvidiaGeForceGT740

NvidiaGeForceGT730

NvidiaGeForceGTX670

NvidiaGeForceGTX660Ti

NvidiaGeForceGTX660

AMDRadeonR9270X

AMDRadeonR9270

AMDRadeonR7265

AMDRadeonR7260X

AMDRadeonR7260

GraphicsCardManufacturersFirstyouchooseagraphicscard.Forexample,youmaygowithaNvidiaGeForceGTX960,oranAMDR9380orwhateversuitsyouandyourbudgetthemost.Next,youcanchoosewhichcompanyyoubuyitfrom.

Let’shaveanexampleofthis.Let’ssupposeyou’vedecidedongettingyourselfaNvidiaGeForceGTX950graphicscard.YoucanthendecideonbuyingitfromAsus,EVGA,Gainward,MSI,Palit,Zotacandvariousothercompaniestoo.

Sowhat’sthedifferenceinbuyingitfromonecompany,andnotanother?Well,theywillallperformaboutthesame,butsomewillgiveyouafewmoreFPSwhengamingassomeareoverclockedatthefactory.Also,somehavequieterfansthanothers.Soit’sworthseeingwhat’sonofferonceyou’vedecidedwhichgraphicscardyouwant.

WhereToBuyaGraphicsCardTherearemanyplacesthatgraphicscardscanbepurchased,butitdoesdependsomewhatonwhereyoulive.Formostpeopleanywherearoundtheworld,Amazonisagreatplacetosearchforagraphicscard.

ForthosethatliveinAmerica,newegg.comandAmazon.comaretwoexcellentwebsitesforcomputerparts.ForthosethatliveintheUK,checkoutAmazon.co.uk,pcworld.co.uk,scan.co.uk,overclockers.co.ukordabs.com.

Thereareotherplacesthatgraphicscardscanbepurchased,butthosearemyhandfulofrecommendations.Forsecondhandgraphicscards,Amazonore-bayaretwogoodstartingpoints.

ExplainingTheGraphicsCard’sHardware

Asyousearchthevariousgraphicscardsthatareavailable,you’llseeinformationaboutthemsuchas4GB,7,000MHzmemoryclock,900MHzcoreclockandsoon.Solet’sgothroughthesenamesandstatisticsoneatatime,toseewhatthey’reallabout.

VRAMEverygraphicscardwillhaveacertainamountofVRAM(VideoRandomAccessMemory)thathasbeenprebuiltontothecarditself.TheVRAMwillholdgraphicalinformationaboutthegamethat’sbeingplayed,readytobesenttothemonitor.

Manygraphicscardsthatarebeingsoldtodayhave2GB,3GBor4GBofVRAM.Someofthehighendgraphicscardshave6GBofVRAM,andsomehaveevenmore.ThemoreVRAMthegraphicscardhas,thebetter,butmoreVRAMonagraphicscardwilloftenmakeitalittlemoreexpensivetobuywhengettingyourselfanewone.

SohowdoyouknowhowmuchVRAMisrightforyou?Well,thatdependsonthetypeofgamesyouplayandyourmonitor’sresolution.Let’ssupposeyouwanttoplaygraphicallyintensegamessuchasDyingLight,Crysis3andFarCry4.Andlet’salsosupposeyourmonitorresolutionis3480x2160(UHD/4k).Forthis,youwouldwantatleast4GBofVRAM,butpreferably6GBofVRAM.

Let’shaveanotherexample.Let’ssupposeyouwanttoplaygamesthatarenotsographicallyintensesuchasWorldofWarcraft.Andlet’salsosupposeyourmonitor’sresolutionis1024x768.Forthistypeofsetup,1GBofVRAMwillbemorethanenough.

Here’saguideforthosewantingtoplaygraphicallyintensegames,showingfourdifferentmonitorresolutions:

MonitorResolution………..VRAMRequired1024x768…………………..1GB-2GB

1920x1080…………………2GB-3GB

2560x1440…………………3GB-4GB

3840x2160…………………4GB-6GB

Here’saguideforthosewantingtoplaysomeofthelessgraphicallyintensegames:

MonitorResolution……….VRAMRequired1024x768……………………1GB

1920x1080………………….1GB-2GB

2560x1440………………….1GB-3GB

3840x2160………………….2GB-4GB

MemoryClockOftenyou’llseesomeinformationnexttoagraphicscardforsale,suchas‘MemoryClock:6,500MHz’.ThisishowfasttheVRAMcanoperate.Thehigh-endgraphicscardswillhavefasterVRAMspeeds,whilelow-endcardswillhaveslowerVRAMspeeds.

Hereareafewexamples,startingwithahigh-endgraphicscardandendingwithalow-endgraphicscard.

NvidiaGTX980Ti6GBofVRAMwilloperateatapprox.7,000MHz.

AMDRadeonR73702GBofVRAMwilloperateatapprox.5,600MHz.

NvidiaGT7101GBofVRAMwilloperateatapprox.1,600MHz.

CoreClockEverygraphicscardwillhaveitsownprocessoronthecarditself.ThisprocessoriscalledtheGPU(GraphicsProcessingUnit).Thefasteritis,thefasterthegamesgraphicscanbeprocessed.Mostgraphicscardsthesedayshaveacoreclockspeedofabout800MHz–1,000MHz.

Youmayalsosee‘BoostClock’aspartofagraphicscard’sdescription.ThismeansthatitcanturnupthespeedoftheGPUalittlewhenitneedsto.

Cores(AKACudaCores)Yourcomputer’smainprocessormaybeanInteli5quadcore.Inotherwords,itcanperformfourtaskssimultaneouslywithlittleslowingdown.Yourgraphicscard’sveryownprocessor(theGPU)willhavemanymorecores,allowingittoperformmanyoperationsatthesametime.Themorecudacoresyourgraphicscardhas,thefasteritwillbeforprocessinggraphics.Here’safewexamples.

AMDRadeonR9FuryX….CudaCores:4096

NvidiaGeForceGTX960…CudaCores:1024

NvidiaGeForceGTX950…CudaCores:768

TransistorsThisistheamountoftransistorsinsidetheGPU.ThemoretransistorsaGPUhas,thebetter(generallyspeaking).High-endgraphicscardmayhavearound5–8billiontransistors.Low-endgraphicscardsmayhavearound1billiontransistors.

MemoryInterfaceYou’lloftenseeGDDR5aspartofthedescriptionformostgraphicscards.ThisisitsVRAMtechnology.JustaboutallmoderngraphicscardsuseGDDR5,whileolderonesuseGDDR3(which,bytheway,ismuchslower).

PCI-Express

PCI-Express(sometimeswrittenasPCI-E,PCIEorPCIe)isthetypeofconnectionthegraphicscardwilluse.Inotherwords,ifthegraphicscardhasaPCI-Expresstypeconnector,itcanbepluggedintoamotherboardthathasaPCI-Expressslot.Moreonthisinthe‘Compatibility’sectionofthisbook.

BackPlateSomegraphicscardshaveabackplate.Thisisaboardthatwillcoverpartofthecircuitryonthegraphicscarditself.Somegraphicscardsdon’thaveone.Graphicscardsdon’tneedtohaveabackplate,butit’sanicetouchwhentheydo.Why?Becauseyoudon’twanttobetouchingthegraphicscard’scircuitboardwhilsthandlingit.Havingabackplatewillensurethatyoudon’taccidentallytouchit.Also,theymakethegraphicscardalittlemoresturdy.

FansNearlyallgraphicscardswillhaveafanortwo(orthree)attachedtoittokeepitrunningatareasonabletemperature.Graphicscardscanoftenstilloperateatuptoaround90°C,thoughthiscanvary.Whengaming,manygraphicscardswillberunningataround60°Cto80°C.

Manycompaniesnowdesigngraphicscardsthatwillswitchonitsfanonlywhenneeded.Sounlikeoldergraphicscardswherethefanwouldbeon,nomatterwhat,thisnewwayofswitchingonthefanensuresthatthegraphicscardwillbecompletelysilentwhenyou’rebrowsingtheInternet,listeningtomusicetc.Thefanswillkickinautomaticallywhengaminghardthoughtokeepthegraphicscardcooler.

Asageneralrule,thebiggerthefan(s)are,thequietertheywillbe.It’ssurprisinghowmuchnoisealittlefancanmakesometimes.Sowhenyouseeagraphicscardwith,say,threebigfansattachedtoit,youcanassumethatit’sprobablyquieterthanagraphicscardwithonlyonesmallfan.Thisistrueinmostcases.

SLIReadyIfyouhavetwo,threeorfourNvidiagraphicscardsinstalledinsideonecomputerandworkingtogether,thisisknownasSLI(ScalableLinkInterface).

SomegraphicscardshavenosupportforSLI,forexample,theGTX750TicannotworkwithanotherGTX750Ti.Somehavesupportforfourgraphicscards,forexample,youcanhavefourGTXTitanXgraphicscardsallworkingtogetherinsideasinglecomputer.Somegraphicscardscansupporttwo,whilstotherscansupportthree.

Thepoweroftwo,threeorfourgraphicscardscanboostupyourFPSingameplay.Sodoesitmakesensetohavetwoormoregraphicscards?Well,sometimes.Puttingyourmoneytowardsonegraphicscardisalwaysthebestoption,unlessonegraphicscardisnotpowerfulenoughforyourneeds.Multiplemonitorsetupscansometimesbenefitfrommultiplecards,butmostwillbebetteroffinvestinginonegoodgraphicscard,insteadoftwoinferiorones.

WhenusingmultipleNvidiagraphicscardsforanSLIconfiguration,they’llneedtobeidentical.Forexample,twoGTX970’swillbefine,butaGTX970andaGTX950willnotworktogether.

Asmallcircuitboardcalleda‘bridge’isneededtojointhegraphicscardstogetherforthemtoworksimultaneouslyonthegamethatyou’replaying.

CrossFireReadyCrossfireisAMD’sversionofNvidia’sSLItechnology.OnemaindifferenceisthatwhenusingmultipleAMDgraphicscards,youcanmixandmatchalittlewhenusingcardsfromthesamefamily.OryoucouldplayitsafeandjustusetwoidenticalAMDcardsinstead.AnotherdifferenceisthatwhenusingmultipleAMDcards,youdon’tneedtouseabridge.Notabigdeal,butit’sonelessthingtobotherwith.Again,onegoodcardisbetterthantwoinferiorcards.

G-SyncReadyWhenplayingagame,thegraphicscardwillsendaframetothemonitorandthemonitorwilldisplaythatframe.Thishappensmanytimesasecond.Butsometimes,thegraphicscardandmonitorbecomeoutofsync.Forexample,thegraphicscardmaybesending73FPStoa60Hzmonitorthatcanonlydisplay60FPS.Thiscansometimescausehalfofthescreentodisplaythepreviousframeandtheotherhalfdisplayingthenewframeatthesametime.Thisiscalled‘screentearing’asitlookslikethegamehasbeentorninhalfon-screen.Ifthescreentearingisreallybad,thescreencanlooktornmanytimesover.

Toresolvescreentearing,V-Synccanbeturnedon,eitherinthegraphicscontrolpanelorinthegamesettings.ButturningonV-Synccancausetwoothernewproblemswhicharestutteringcausedbymissingframes,andlag(delaybetweenmouse/keyboardorgamepadmovementandonscreenmovement).G-Syncwilleliminatetearingandminimisestutteringandlag,givingyouthebestofbothV-SynconandV-Syncoff.

IfyouwanttouseG-Sync,you’llneedaNvidiaGTXgraphicscardfromthe700or900series,andaG-Syncmonitor(someoftheNvidiaGTXgraphicscardsfromthe600serieswillalsosupportG-Sync).Yes,youhavetohaveaG-Syncmonitoraswellifyouwanttotakeadvantageofthisnewertechnology.ThesemonitorshaveaspecialchipinsidethemmakingthemcapableofbeingG-Syncenabled.

Thisisn’tamusthaveforeveryonethough.Somegamersdon’tmindputtingupwithasmallamountofscreentearing,eventhoughit’snotideal.Notonlythat,therearemanygamesthatdon’tsufferfromthisproblemonmanycomputers.Also,turningonV-Syncwillresolvescreentearing,sometimeswithnonoticeablestutteringorlag.Havingsaidallofthat,G-SyncisgreatifyoucanaffordaG-Syncgraphicscardandmonitor.

SotohavethewholeG-Syncthing,you’llneedaNvidiagraphicscardthatcansupportG-Sync,amonitorthatcansupportG-Sync,andanuptodategraphicscarddriver.

FreeSyncReady

FreeSyncisAMD’sequivalenttoG-Sync.FreeSyncwilleliminatescreentearing,whileminimisingstutteringandlag.Forthisyou’llneedacompatibleAMDRadeongraphicscardthatalsohasaDisplayPortconnection,aFreeSyncmonitorwith‘DisplayPortadaptivesync’andanuptodateAMDgraphicscarddriver.FreeSynciscurrentlyonlysupportedoveraDisplayPortconnection.

ExplainingGraphicsCard’sSoftwareDirectXThelatestversionofDirectXis‘DirectX12’.IfagamehasbeendevelopedtouseDirectX12graphicsandyouhaveagraphicscardthatsupportsDirectX12,youwillseehigherqualitygraphics.IfyourgraphicscardsupportsDirectX11,youwillonlyseesomeofthehigherqualitygraphicsthatDirectX12hastooffer.

ThelatestgraphicscardsouttodaysupportDirectX12,whistoldergenerationsofgraphicscardswillsupportDirectX11orlower.Thehigherthegraphicscard’sDirectXsupport,thebetterthegraphics.

DSR(DynamicSuperResolution)IfagraphicscardiscapableofusingDSR,agamecanberenderedinahigherresolution,thenscaleddowntofitthedisplay.SoifyouhaveanHDmonitor,agamecouldberenderedat,say,3480x2160resolutionandthenscaleddownto1920x1080tofitontothemonitor’sscreen.Thiswilleffectivelygiveyou4kresolutiononaHDmonitor.Itwon’tbeasgoodashavingatrue4kmonitor,butthegamewilllookbetterthansimplygaminginHD.

Ofcoursethiswillhaveanimpactonthegraphicscardthatyouareusing.FPSwillbelesswhenusingDSR,butifyouhaveFPStospare,thenDSRcanbegreattouse.

VSR(VisualSuperResolution)ThisisAMD’sversionofDSR.

VXGIVXGI(VoxelGlobalIllumination)isalightingeffectforyourgaminggraphics.GraphicscardsthatarecapableofusingVXGIwillshowbetterlighting,shadesandreflectioneffectswithinagame.

PhysXMostofthelatestNvidiagraphicscardswillhavePhysXtechnology.AnyphysicswithinagamewillbedealtwithbytheirPhysXtechnologyonthegraphicscard.Thiscanmakeformorerealisticgraphics.

CompatibilityIfyou’regettingyourselfanewgraphicscard,itwillneedtobecompatiblewithyourcomputer.Youcan’tjustthrowinanygraphicscard.Solet’sgothroughafewthingsnowsothatyoucanbesureyoudogetacompatiblecardtogowithyourcomputer,whenyouupgrade.

PCI-ExpressAPCI-ExpressgraphicscardcanbepluggedintoamotherboardthathasaPCI-Expressslot.JustaboutallgraphicscardssoldtodayarePCI-Expressgraphicscards.AndjustaboutallmotherboardshaveaPCI-Expressslot.

IfyourmotherboardhasaPCI-Expressslotversion2.0orhigher,yourmotherboardwillbecompatiblewithanyofthegraphicscardsmentionedwithinthisbook.ThechancesthatyourmotherboardhasaPCI-Expressslotversion2.0orhigherisverylikelyasPCI-Expressversion2.0wasdevelopedin2007.

PhysicalSizeOfTheGraphicsCardGraphicscardsvaryinsize.Ifyouhaveasmallcomputercase,alargergraphicscardmaynotfitinsideyourcase.Soifyou’reupgradingyourgraphicscard,dosomemeasuringuptobesurethatitwillphysicallyfitinsideyourcomputercase.

PowerRequirementsGraphicscardsvaryintheamountofpowerthattheyrequire.Beforeyouupgradeyourgraphicscard,makesureyourcomputer’spowersupplyispowerfulenoughtorunwiththenewgraphicscardinstalled.Ifyourpowersupplyisn’tpowerfulenough,you’lleitherhavetogetamorepowerfulpowersupply,orchoosealesspowerhungrygraphicscard.

Apowersupplycalculatorwillhelpwiththissuchashttp://outervision.com/power-supply-calculatorwhichwillshowyouhowmanywattsandampsyourpowersupplywillneedtohaveforyourchosengraphicscardandyourcomputer.Premodifiedgraphicscards(suchasonesthatareoverclocked)mayneedalittlemorepowerthanisrecommendedbythepowersupplycalculator.

PowerPortsThegraphicscardwillreceivepowerfromthemotherboardonceit’spluggedinandthecomputeristurnedon.Forsomegraphicscards,thisisenoughpower.Butsomegraphicscardsrequireadditionalpowerdirectlyfromthepowersupply.Checkthatyourpowersupplyhastheappropriatepowerconnectorsforyourgraphicscardbeforeyoubuyanewone.Ifitdoesn’tyou’llhavetoupgradeyourpowersupply,orchooseadifferentgraphicscard.

GraphicsCardDisplayPorts

Onceyou’veinstalledyournewgraphicscardintoyourcomputercase,you’llneedtoattachittoyourmonitorusingacable.Soforexample,ifyourgraphicscardandmonitorbothhaveanHDMIport,thenyoucanuseanHDMIcabletoconnectthemtogether.

Therearefourdifferentportsthatarecommonlyfoundongraphicscardsandmonitors.ThoseportsareHDMI,DVI,VGAandDP(DisplayPort).OldergraphicscardsarelikelytohaveaDVIportandaVGAport.NewergraphicscardsarelikelytohaveaDP,HDMIandaDVIport.Butitdoesvaryfromonegraphicscardtoanother.

SoifyourmonitorhasaHDMIport,you’llwanttobuyagraphicscardthatalsohasaHDMIportsothatthetwoportscanbeconnectedtoeachotherusingaHDMIcable.IfyourmonitorhasaDPport,you’llwanttobuyagraphicscardthatalsohasaDPportsothattheycanbeconnectedtoeachotherviaaDPcable.IfyourmonitorhasaVGAport…wellIthinkyoucanseewhereI’mgoingwiththis.

Ifyoudon’thaveamatch,youcanuseaconvertercable.Forexample,ifyourgraphicscardhasaDPport,butyourmonitoronlyhasaHDMIport,youcanuseaDPtoHDMIconvertercable.

WhenitcomestoDVI,therearefivedifferenttypesofDVIports.Thoseare:

DVI-A

DVI-DSingleLink

DVI-DDualLink

DVI-ISingleLink

DVI-IDualLink

Again,youwillneedtousetheappropriatecable.Forexample,ifyourmonitorhasaDVI-IduallinkportandyourgraphicscardhasaDVI-Iduallinkport,you’llneedaDVI-Iduallinkcable.YoucangetyourselfaconvertercableforDVItoo.SoifyourmonitorhasaDVI-Iduallinkport,butyourgraphicscardonlyhasaDVI-Dduallinkport,youcangetyourselfaDVI-IduallinktoDVI-Dduallinkconverter.

BottlenecksOnelastthingtotakeintoconsiderationistheperformanceofyourcomputer.Ifyouhave,say,adual-coreprocessorandonly,let’ssay,2-4GBofsystemmemory,thattypeofcomputerwillbottle-neckatop-endgraphicscardwhenitcomestoplayingthemoregraphicallyrichgames.

Sowhatisabottleneck?It’swhenoneofyourcomputercomponentscannotkeepupwitheverythingelse.Forexample,ifyouhaveaveryslowprocessor,yourgraphicscardwillspendalotoftimewaitingformoreinformationfromtheprocessor.Thereforethegraphicscardwillnotberunningatitsfullpotential.

Let’shaveanexampleofthis.Let’ssupposeweuseanolderIntelprocessorsuchastheInteli32100(runningatastockspeedof3.1GHz).ThisprocessorisadualcoreCPU.Andlet’scombinethatwithanNvidiaGeForceGTX750Tigraphicscard.Withthesetwo

computercomponents,you’llseeabout33FPSinCrysis3.Evenifyoureplacethegraphicscardwithonethatisverypowerful,suchastheNvidiaGeForceGTXTitanX,youstillwon’tseeanymoreFPSbecausethegraphicscardwillbewaitingontheprocessorformostofthetime.HereareafewexamplessothatyougetanevenbetterideaofwhatI’mtalkingabout.

Crysis3inHDResolutionGTX750Ti/Inteli32100/33FPS

GTX980Ti/Inteli32100/33FPS

GTX980Ti/Inteli54690/95FPS

TheInteli54690isamuchfasterprocessorandisallowingthegraphicscardtoworkatitsmaximumpotential,intheexampleabove.

Somegamesarequiteprocessorintensiveandsomearenot.Someofthelatestgamesthatareverygraphicallyrichdonotuseprocessorpowerthatmuch,butsomedo.Soit’sdifficulttoadviseonthisingeneral,butmygeneraladviceisthis…ifyouhaveaslow

computer,don’twasteyourmoneyonatop-endgraphicscard.Alowtomidrangecardwilldoverynicely.

Howtogetthemostfromyourgraphicscard

Let’snowgothroughafewthingsthatyoucandotohelpgetmoreFPSwhengaming.

Turnoffrunningprograms:closeanyprograms/appsthatyouhaveopen.Theseprogramsaretakingupyourcomputer’ssystemresources,soyou’llachievemoreFPSwhenallotherprogramsarecloseddown.

Thesmalliconsyouseeinthebottomrighthandcornerofyourscreen(nexttothetime/date)arealsoprogramsthatarerunninginthebackground.Closeanyofthesethatarenotneededwhilstyou’regaming.

OpenuptheWindowsprogramcalled‘TaskManager’andclickonthe‘Processes’tab.Thesearealsoprogramsthatarerunninginthebackgroundandtakingupyourcomputer’ssystemresources.Firstoff,don’tcloseanyprocessesthatyou’renotsureof.Anyprograms/appsthatyouarefamiliarwithintheprocesseslist,closethemifyou’resureyoudon’tneedthemrunninginthebackgroundwhilstgaming.Youcanclosethemindividuallybyrightclickingononeandselecting‘EndTask’.

GameSettings:whenyoustartupyourgame,therewillbean‘Options’menu.Fromthere,youcanchoosehowhighorlowyouwantcertaingraphicstobe.Forexample,youmaychoosetohaveshadowdetailssettohighforgreatshadowdetails.OryoumaywanttoturnitofffornoshadowswithinthegametogainafewmoreFPS.

There’softenmanygraphicaloptionswithineachgame.TurningdownsomeoptionswillgiveyouafewmoreFPS,whilstothers(suchasAA(Anti-Aliasing))willboostupyourFPSalotwhenturneddownorturnedoff.Also,turningdownyourmonitor’sresolutionwithinthegamesettingswillboostyourFPSdramatically.

Obviously,whenyouturndownorturnoffcertaingamesettings(suchasshadowdetail,texturequalityetc.),yourgame’sgraphicswon’tlookasgood,soyou’llhavetofindabalancethat’srightforyou.Ifyoudialdownthesettingstoomuchandyourgamelookstoobad,justgobackandchangethesettingsagain.

GraphicsCardDriver:havingthelatestgraphicscarddriverwillgiveyoubetterperformanceforyourgames.Sometimes,updatingyourdrivercanmeanthatyourgamewillimprovebytenormoreFPS,dependingonthegameyou’replaying.WhenusingaNvidiaGeForcegraphicscard,youcanupdateyourdriveratwww.nvidia.comorwww.geforce.com/drivers.Ifyou’reusinganAMDRadeongraphicscard,youcanupdateyourdriveratwww.amd.com.

Overclocking:beforewestartonthis,Ihavetotellyouthatyouoverclockyourgraphicscardatyourownrisk.Ifyou’renotawareoftherisks,thendon’tdoit.

OverclockingyourgraphicscardwillgiveyouextraFPSinanygame.ThemostpopularoverclockingsoftwareisMSIAfterburner.Thissoftwarecanbeusedforalmostanygraphicscard.Someoftheotheroverclockingsoftwareprogramsthatcanbeusedare

http://www.nvidia.com

http://www.nvidia.com

http://www.geforce.com/drivers

http://www.amd.com

http://www.amd.com

AsusGPUTweak,EVGAPrecisionX,SapphireTrixxandAMDOverdrive.Someofthesearespecifictocertaingroupsofgraphicscardsthough.

Bytheway,it’sOKtobuyagraphicscardthathasbeenpreoverclockedatthefactory.Thisisnotthesameasoverclockingityourself.Thesegraphicscardshavebeentestedtoseethattheyarestableattheirpreoverclockedstateandshouldnotcauseaproblem.It’swhenyouoverclockagraphicscardyourselfthatproblemsmayoccur.

SummaryChoosingagraphicscarddoesn’thavetobedifficult.Chooseonethatsuitsyouandyourbudget,checkit’scompatiblewithyourcomputer,thenorderthatnicenewgraphicscardandenjoygamingwithbettergraphics.

AsI’vementionedbeforeinthisbook,thegraphicscardyouchoosewilldependonthegamesyouwanttoplay,yourmonitor’sresolutionandyourbudget.

Ihopeyou’veenjoyedthisbook.Goodluckwithyoursearchforanewgraphicscard!

a gamer's guide to choosing a graphics card - david talmage

Documents