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How To Choose Your Next Video Card

Posted By: Carrie Musgrave | Posted On: 2008-10-13 | Article ID: 103054

You're playing your favorite game and it starts running slow. This is the last straw right? So, it is time for you to choose a new video card. The only problem is, which to go with. There are two major players in the video card world, nVidia and ATI. Both make excellent cards, as both are still in business. What it all boils down to is what do you prefer?

When it comes to video cards there are some different factors you need to consider. First, you need to find out what kind of expansion slot you have. And by expansion slot, there are 2 of them, either AGP or PCI. Most newer motherboards will have the AGP slot, but it looks like PCI is coming back though. Either one of these types is fine, just make sure you check to look on your motherboard for the expansion slot you have before you go and drop some mulah on a new card.

Another important factor is of course the built on memory. This is actually pretty important as this factor will help your computer process more advanced graphics quicker. You see, the onboard memory is dedicated solely to the graphics, so the rest of your computer cant touch it. And the more memory you have, the faster and smoother your graphics. The standard size memory on graphics cards these days is between 128mb and 256mb. I definitely wouldnt go with anything less then 128, but would highly recommend at a minimum the 256mb.

And dont forget the other bells and whistles that can come with a card. You have the tv-out, which allows you to hook up your computer to your tv, basically letting you use your computer as your tv. You can hook up your cable and all that fancy stuff to it. The other popular feature on video cards is the dual monitor option. This allows you to use two monitors at once, simultaneously. Which means you can drag something that you're working on in one screen to the other. Really handy for multitasking, and highly recommend it. That is what I have set up in my office. You can even get some cards that allow 3 to 4 monitors hooked up at once, but that is just crazy.

Anyways, you've got a few things to figure out. You'll want to of course read some different reviews on the different cards, and would recommend cnet as a good place to start. They will have reviews for all different types of cards, both new and old. By the time you get done with a little research, you should be able to figure out which cards works best for you. I would higly recommend checking on ebay when the time comes for you to purchase, as ebay carries both new and used video cards at unbeatable prices. You can get a list of good ati video cards at atiradeonvideocards.info, an excellent site.

 

Article Source: http://www.articlecell.com

About The Author
Carrie Musgrave
Carrie Musgrave likes to dabble in new things, and since building a new computer, has learned a thing or two about video cards. ATI Radeon video cards seem to be the best.



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