 Original article
found at A1 Electronics.net
Choosing a video
card,
ATI Radeon,
Nvidia GeForce.
Video cards, PCI-E, AGP,
power and more.
There are three main groups of video cards. Entry or budget, mid or
mainstream and high-end or enthusiast cards. Within each group are different
version such as standard & Pro or XT for ATI and GT & Ultra for
Nvidia with
better performance levels. Budget are often called SE or LE cards.
ATI not only designs and
makes video processors but also make their own 'Built by ATI' cards for the
US and Canada while also supplying its partners with video processors. Nvidia on the other hand only design and make video processors and leaves it
up to their partners to make and sell cards.
AGP or PCI Express. 2005
will see the steady increase in PCI Express motherboards which we will all
end up buying as we buy a new computer or update our motherboards and CPUs
as time goes by so now we are all in the transition stage. So you have to
make a choice as to your future use of the card. PCI Express cards give
basically the same performance as AGP cards so performance is not an issue.
SLI is where you have two
identical PCI Express Nvidia cards along with a PCI-E motherboard and you
can expect for all that expense an increase of 61%.
Power needed for these
modern high-performance ATI & Nvidia cards with more transistors than the
average CPU especially in the top-of-the range cards need more power than
the AGP bus can provide so you need to connect them up with an additional
power lead from your
power supply. For example a Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra
can suck in as much as 110 watts at full load and with the AGP bus only
rated at 45 watts supply you need additional power connectors. Also worth
considering the cooling necessary as video card heat will only be dumped
inside your computer case. PCI Express can supply up to 75 watts giving
enough for present day mainstream cards. It is of course only in 3D use that
full power is needed.
When you are buying a
power
supply you are wise to buy a top quality one with plenty of power as it
drives your whole system and if powerful enough will last you a long time.
Worth bearing in mind all the devices inside your computer and those that
you will buy in the future when you decide which power supply to buy. Better
to have spare power.
Graphics cards from ATI &
Nvidia normally come with one VGA connector or port for CRT monitors and one
DVI socket for a digital monitor and usually with an adaptor to change the
DVI to VGA output.
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