How To Find A Good, Affordable Desktop Graphics Card

The Main Contenders

AMD (which now owns ATI) and NVIDIA are the two giants that offer the best add-on cards, but before deciding upon the brand, you should narrow down your choices and requirements before making the final decision.

Depending upon whether you’re still stuck up in that old Windows XP world and DirectX 9, struggling with Vista (DX10) or using Windows 7 (DX11), your options may differ. But for now, let’s consider the common aspects of video cards, rather than considering the OS-specific stuff.

Different Performance Levels

High-End/Enthusiast Video Cards: Often priced over well over the $300-400 mark, these graphics accelerator cards are the fastest, and best-performing cards, which are ideal for 3D gaming, high quality imaging, and demanding applications. If you’re running on tight budget you should not be eying this segment.

Performance Video Cards: These are also usually priced above $200, and are considered ideal for hardcore gamers. Once again, these are not suitable for low budget considerations.

Mainstream Video Cards: Finally, here comes the ideal ones for those looking for affordable PC graphic cards, whether it be for video editing, gaming, digital photography needs, or just speeding up the web surfing fun. These video cards cost below $200.

Value Video Cards: If you need a graphics accelerator card for business purposes or basic desktop graphics functions, the value video cards are your best bets. These are preferred by those who don’t want to pay much, or can’t afford to buy the mainstream video cards. Priced under $100 mark, the value video cards can be used for improving web browsing speeds, as dual monitor support or for taking TV output.

Benchmarks

3dmark and 3dmark vantage are the main benchmarking suites, while there are several other benchmarks for gaming needs. However, when running under tight budget, you should not look for a gaming graphics card, and hence sites like Futuremark.com can be of great aid to compare various options at your disposal.

Note: Before purchasing a graphics accelerator card, it is also necessary to check your motherboard slots.

Basically, there are three different slots available on motherboards, namely PCI, PCI Express (PCIe), and AGP. So, you should purchase a card keeping the compatibility in mind!

So, keeping all the aforementioned considerations into account, you can buy a decent graphic card within your budget.
By: Jake Watson