Question 1

What should you consider when choosing a graphics card?

Accepted Answer

The circuits on graphics cards are manufactured by three companies: AMD, Nvidia, and Intel. All three produce high-quality models today, but Nvidia’s chips remain the most popular. Around 80% of the graphics cards sold have an Nvidia chip. Intel is the newest manufacturer of graphics chips, which means their graphics cards may have some minor issues. Performance levels can vary between games, and some bugs may occur. However, with Intel’s latest series, Battlemage, many of these issues have been resolved. Still, we recommend researching how well the graphics card performs in the specific games you plan to play if you are considering buying an Intel graphics card.

The performance of a graphics card generally increases with price, and unfortunately, there is no model that offers high performance at a low cost. On BUILDAPC.GG, we have grouped models into different performance classes to make it easier to choose a model that fits your budget. The most important thing to consider is selecting a graphics card that pairs well with your processor. If you have chosen a processor in the “budget” performance class, you should not combine it with an “overkill” graphics card, and vice versa. Otherwise, you will simply be wasting money, as you will never get the maximum performance out of the more expensive component.

Just like with processors, model numbers help when selecting a graphics card. The first digit represents the generation, and the remaining numbers indicate the performance class: RTX 4070 is the successor to RTX 3070, and RTX 4080 is better than RTX 4070.

Factors that determine how important a good graphics card is include the games you play and the monitor you have. If you have a high-resolution monitor or a high-refresh-rate monitor (e.g., 144 Hz), you will need a better graphics card than someone who is satisfied with a Full HD monitor and gaming at 60 FPS (Frames Per Second).

Question 2

Which performance class suits me?

Accepted Answer

The most important factors to consider are how much you play on your computer and what types of games you play. If you play the latest AAA games on an expensive gaming monitor and need to achieve 120+ FPS, having a powerful graphics card is essential. However, if you only play occasionally and focus on less graphically demanding games like CS:GO, League of Legends, or Minecraft, a lower-performance graphics card is often sufficient.

Question 3

Do I need a graphics card?

Accepted Answer

If you have chosen a processor with integrated graphics, you can actually use your computer without a graphics card. It is common to skip the graphics card when building an office computer that won’t be used for gaming or demanding applications like video editing.

However, if you plan to play modern games on a high-resolution monitor, it is highly recommended to get a graphics card. The integrated graphics on a processor are not optimized for running modern games at high graphics settings.

Question 4

How does an ASUS graphics card differ from an MSI one if It's the same model?

Accepted Answer

AMD, Nvidia, and Intel manufacture the chips, but the actual graphics cards are produced by a dozen different companies. These manufacturers focus on power delivery and cooling solutions for the chip. Larger coolers with three fans typically provide better cooling than a smaller graphics card with just one fan. This allows the graphics card to run at higher boost clocks for longer periods, potentially delivering a few percent more performance. However, the difference in performance is more significant when comparing different models rather than different variants of the same model.

Question 5

What Is a graphics card?

Accepted Answer

A graphics card (Graphics Processing Unit) essentially functions like a processor but is specialized in one task. It receives data from the processor that needs to be displayed on the screen and then performs millions of calculations to render a 3D scene. Using information such as textures, light sources, and shapes, the graphics card can redraw a scene multiple times per second, known as Frames Per Second (FPS). Games are typically rendered at a minimum of 60 FPS, but many gaming monitors can display significantly more frames per second if the graphics card can handle it.

When the first 3D-animated movies appeared in the 1990s, regular processors were used to render the scenes, often taking hours to produce just a few seconds of video. At that time, 3D images were generated at roughly 0.01 FPS, making high-quality 3D gaming impossible. It wasn't until graphics cards were introduced into computers that 3D gaming became popular.

The graphics card is installed in a slot on the motherboard called PCI-Express, allowing it to receive information from the processor about what to render. The monitor cable is connected directly to the graphics card. Most graphics cards have multiple ports, allowing users to connect more than one display to their computer.

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