Graphics Card simplify for choosing

Major Eazy

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John 'Jack'
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I am finding it harder to make a list of graphics cards and narrow it down. There don't seems to be any easier and simplified way of working out. Google is no help, it would suggest websites like PCAdvisor or PC Gamer or eHow or similar, which all just talk a lot about how graphics cards work but do not give clear ideas on how to move on and narrow down. Isn't there some easier and step-by-step flow to help? Isn't there any websites or books that could do something like...

Do you tend to do light surfing like online ordering, reading, Facebook, and do some email? Do you just display your photos? Do light work on a word processor that tend to be few pages, or a poster. Play simple games like Minesweeper? Do you opt for a basic budget computer?

Do some medium surfing which includes watching YouTube and often uploading a lot of photos to Facebook? Some simple photo-editing? Some work on word processor such as homework, report, etc. Play strategy games?

Do you do heavy duty gaming, usually 1st or 3rd person shooters? Watch movies on computer, blah, blah, ...

Depending on which group you seems to fit in, it kind of narrowed down the graphics cards to some examples grouped by series or something, say if you consider yourself to be light user, it would somehow suggested say Ace Silver series (made up for illustration purpose) or if you followed the heavy duty route, it would suggest Ace Gold series.


It would also help if such a flowchart or step-by-step filter system would then let you understand what to look for when you have narrowed down to a group of cards, like for example...

Budget range £100-£150? (or it could be asking do you want 1GB-2GB range memory like, or screen size XXX by XXXX, etc) then it would suggested Ace Gold 1000 or Gold 2000 series

Budget range £200-£300? (Or 4GB memory or screen size suited for 4k) then it would suggested Ace Gold Ultra series.


Then you would be left with some examples to look at.


Sort of like in real world where in a shop (say you walked into PC World), and there are so many computers, you would be thinking "I want desktop not laptop or Apple" then you walked to an area where there are two tables displaying desktops, then you're thinking "I want a tower case not all-in-one" then you walked to one table, then you would be left with fewer choices to worry about, if you know what I menat?
 
You don't need a separate/uprated graphics card unless you are doing:
  • Gaming
  • Graphics card accelerated video editing
  • Have a requirement for more/higher res monitors than you can fit off the current or onboard one.
  • Use one of the very few GPU accelerated photo editing suites (LR is not accelerated, PS is lightly accelerated but not typically in the areas most people use)

I run a 3 monitor setup (total screen area 7040 x 1440) on a GeForce GT640 as it was the passive card with the highest memory (2G) I could find with 3 digital outs. I never notice graphics speed being an issue.
 
I'm running 2 monitors, totalling 3200 x 1200 on an i5 onboad intel H77 graphics and it runs fine for all my photography tasks.
I actually wanted to add a card with some oomph. But it seems there is no need.
 
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If you want to save a fortune and still get a card that that is almost as good as the best that is offered today then buy one that was the top performer 12 months ago, that way you will get a card that can perform to 90% of today's top performers but spend less than £100 instead of £500 plus. Unless you are a high end gamer you will not need the latest card so last years top card will be more than good enough for just about everything you could through at it.

I run an even older G-Force 295 that cost me £500 when it first came out, that same card now sells for £35, but there is nothing I want to do Photoshop & lightroom wise that it cannot still do with bags of room to spare.

sometimes its ok to stay at the trailing edge of technology :exit:

Paul
 
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