One of the most difficult and crucial questions that every computer owner should know the answer about how to choose a video card. At first glance, this problem may seem insignificant. Indeed, it is enough to go to the first computer equipment store that has come across and study the proposed price list.
It is rare that the number of lines in a column with video cards is less than 20 pieces. Choose any and buy! These
computer components are now in demand. A rare computing system does without such a solution. It is not surprising that so often new users are asked how to choose a video card.
We will answer it a little later. In the meantime, let's determine what exactly is the reason for the incredible popularity of discrete video adapters. The word "computer" comes from the English "compute" - to calculate. And initially this device was intended to perform mathematical calculations. However, over time, the situation changed: the simplest computer games arose. It was chess, sea battle, boa constrictor, tetris ... the list goes on. At that time, no one thought how to choose a video card, because even the simplest conversion of digital data into control signals of electronic guns of monitors (TVs) was able to display several points, circles and lines on the screen. Nowadays, a computer has become more than a huge calculator.
It has become a multimedia system capable of running sophisticated gaming applications. And one of the requirements of the games is a powerful video adapter. Hence the popularity and the logical question of how to choose a video card. The right choice makes it possible for several years not to think about updating components.
Consider how to choose a video card for the motherboard. It is necessary to find in the instruction booklet for the board a section where the existing slots are listed . It can be PCI, AGP and PCI-Express. We give them in the order of occurrence. If the board has PCI-Express 16x, then there will be no problems with choosing a video card. But with AGP and, especially PCI, everything is not so simple. These standards are outdated, so a modern video adapter cannot be picked up for them. In this case, the best solution is to buy a new motherboard.
The next point regarding the choice of a video card is the interface video output connectors that exist on it. Now it is VGA (D-Sub), DVI, HDMI, Display Port and the rare Thunderbolt. You need to see which interface the monitor uses, and, based on this, select a card with the desired output. Sometimes you can use adapters as a compromise solution.
Next, you should decide on the amount that you plan to spend on the purchase. The rule is usually true that more expensive components provide better performance (although there are exceptions). In any case, the selected video card must support DirectX version 10 (better than 11); have a memory of at least 1 GB of the DDR5 standard; the processor-memory bus must be 128- or 256-bit.
A few years ago, the question of how to choose a video card for a processor was very popular. It was believed that in some trim levels, productivity increases. For example, it was advised to AMD processors to buy cards of the same manufacturer. In fact, these conjectures are completely unfounded. NVidia video adapters work great with motherboards and AMD processors, and vice versa. If this were not so and similar “tricks” existed, then video card manufacturers would lose 50% of potential buyers of their products. It is obvious.