Graphix Cards

[MagusKnight]

Phoenix got me thinking: what makes a good graphics card? How do you appropriately measure a graphics card? What's the best way to compare it against other graphics cards? All very important questions, that I'm hoping someone will answer.

[GabumonFan]

An example of the specifications you'll find on a graphics card.

• Brand
  • ASUS
    

• Model
  • EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5
    

• Interface
  • PCI Express 2.1 x16
    

• GPU
  • Radeon HD 5770
    

• Core Clock
  • 850MHz
    

• Stream Processors
  • 800 Stream Processing Units
    

• Effective Memory Clock
  • 1200MHz (4.8Gbps)
    

• Memory Size
  • 1GB
    

• Memory Interface
  • 128-bit
    

• Memory Type
  • GDDR5
    

• DirectX
  • DirectX 11
    

• Max Resolution
  • 2560 x 1600
    

• CrossFireX Support
  • Yes
    

I'm no expert when it comes to said things but, most of these aspects are important to consider when purchasing a graphics card.

Interface: The interface is important as it's the part that connects the graphics card to the motherboard. In general cards will use PCI Express 2.0 x16 connectors. Although many newer cards are switching to PCI Express 2.1 x16 and will later move on to PCI Express 3.0 in the next few years. while older cards will use AGP connectors

I will add more tomorrow.

[Lonely Werewolf]

It depends on which type of graphic card you want to compare.

The newer and expensive graphics card will consume a lot of power, but of course the graphic performance determines on your overall computer specification.

My current computer spec...
Intel i5-750
4gb DDR3
1TB + 640GB Hard disk
720 watt power supply
ATi HD 5770
... is enough to play all latest games in playable rate @ medium settings.

You can refer to below links for extra read
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/graphics-card3.htm