by iiivix

Created on: April 25, 2008

Video Card Consumer Reference Guide
(Nvidia vs ATI)

Nvidia and ATI

Ports (PCI AGP & PCI-e/x)

*consult PC manual for information on available ports*

PCI - Low budget graphics card
Economic upgrade for older PCs needing to employee new software

AGP - Mid-High end graphics card
Better performance then PCI but slower and being phased out by PCI-E
Moderate gaming solution

PCI-E - Mid-Top end graphics card
Best perfomance great gaming solution

OpenGL vs DirectX

Both chip set manufactures support OpenGL and DirectX on their graphics cards
Consult software on which drivers it requires

OpenGL - Latest version (2.1)
Search for graphic cards supporting this version as it will support the latest and upcoming software. For more information goto:

http://www.opengl.org/documentation/current_version/

DirectX - Latest version (9.0c and 10.1)
DirectX is designed for microsoft and version 10 only works on vista.
Search for graphic cards supporting this version as it will support the latest and upcoming software. For more information goto:

http://www.gamesforwindows.com/EN-US/ABOUTGFW/Pages/ directx10-a.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectX#DirectX_10

Grapi cs processing unit and Memory
consult software for requirements

GPU - All graphics cards tout at least one the faster the better performance you should expect.

Memory - Graphics cards come in many types of integrated memory. Latest type is GDDR 4. Lower versions indicate slower speeds.

Size needs-

Basic Use(desktop) - 128mb memory size will be sufficient, but 256mb is recommended.

Gaming Use(desktop) - 320mb is sufficient for most gaming.

Graphics Editing (workstation) - 1gb or more. this category is for people interested in video/picture/3d editing and CAD. Not a gaming solution.

Be forewarned some cards size memory based on supported memory off motherboard. On-board memory is what actually comes with the card.

Nvidia vs ATI

Both chipsets will work with AMD and Intel CPUs but ATI is recommend for AMD processors as they now own the chip set. Consult video card for information on support

HD video - Both chipsets can handle HD video well but ATI is preferred by users for performance and taking 100% of load off of cpu.

Photos - Both manufactures are preferred with no preference by users

Gaming - Nvidia outperforms ATI but ATI is preferred when it comes to graphic quality (colors, details, etc)

for more info goto:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/videocard_imag e_quality_shootout?page=0%2C0

If you intend to link multiple cards it is recommended to use similar cards. Consult manufactures for more info.

http://www.nvidia.com
http://www.amd.ati.com

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