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You'll want a little more than the minimum to future-proof your computer. There are a variety of power supply calculators online that you can use to enter in all of your components and see the minimum recommended wattage.Different cards draw different amounts of power, so check the specs on the card you want to buy, as well as the specs on your computer's power supply. Graphics cards are one of the biggest draws on your power supply, so you'll want to ensure that your power supply can handle the power requirements of the new card. Keep this in mind if you're in the market for a 4K monitor as well.Įxamine your power supply. 4K gaming is becoming more and more of a reality, but it will require a top-of-the-line graphics card (or two) in order to get satisfactory performance out of your games at that resolution.The graphics card is an important factor for performance, but games rely on all of the components in your computer in differing capacities, including the CPU, the system RAM, and even the hard drive read and write speed. If you have a midrange CPU, you're likely not going to get the most out of a high-end graphics card.GDDR5 is the current leader in this category, and will significantly outperform four times the amount of the older GDDR3 memory. This is the speed that the memory can send and receive data from the computer. What is important, however, is the memory bandwidth. Inflated amounts of memory are often used to make poor cards look more appealing. Don't worry about the amount of memory (RAM) the graphics card has.These test results can help you quickly see how all of the available options stack up against each other. Sites like Tom's Hardware ( ) and PCWorld ( ) regularly test and provide comparisons for many of the most popular new and upcoming graphics cards. Do your research before putting your money down.If you just want to watch HD video or play a few 2D games, most budget cards should do the trick. If you only game occasionally, aren't worried about the newest releases, or don't mind sacrificing a few graphics settings, you can get much more bang for your buck by looking at midrange cards. If you are a gaming enthusiast that has to play the newest games at the highest possible settings, you'll want to look for the more powerful and expensive cards. X Expert Source Matt HamĬomputer Repair Specialist Expert Interview. Many of the budget and midrange cards can still provide great performance, depending on your needs. Graphics cards can easily become the most expensive component in your computer, but they don't have to be.
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