You have decided to build your next PC and you have certainly paid a lot of attention to the quality of the components to be purchased and their characteristics. Among these, surely the video card is among those that are causing you the most confusion, given its fundamental importance and the wide range of products on the market.
The GPU (Graphic Process Unit) must in fact perform millions, if not billions, of calculations per second: graphic, mathematical and cryptographic calculations, which are useful in everyday work but especially in areas such as gaming, 3D design and work video editing, and not all video cards have the same fields of use or the same performance, for the same price.
That’s why, I decided to offer you a guide on how to choose the video card based on your uses, the available budget and the other components of the PC to be assembled (or updated). I am sure that by the end of the reading you will be able to choose your GPU with awareness and that you will be fully satisfied with your choice. Are you ready? Well then let’s get started!
Index
- How to choose PC video card
- Brand: NVIDIA or AMD
- Power
- Consumption and dissipation
- Ray tracing support
- Doors
- How to choose the video card to use
- How to choose a gaming video card
- How to choose a business video card
How to choose PC video card
There are many parameters to consider when choosing the right video card for you. Contrary to what you might think, in fact, it is not always true that the most powerful video card is the best of all: as you will see shortly, there are numerous other factors that can come into play.
First, the power of the video card must be commensurate with the quality of the rest of the PC components. If, for example, your video card should be excessively powerful compared to the CPU, or the processor, you could run into a bottleneck that would frustrate the use of a high-end GPU.
Also know that not all PCs need a dedicated video card: more and more often the processors have an integrated graphics chip that can handle basic operations more than well. Buying and using a dedicated video card is necessary if you intend to perform GPU-heavy tasks, such as gaming or video rendering (as explained above).
Even in the latter case, however, the due assessments on prices and needs must be made: it is useless to waste money on an ultra-powerful GPU when you have needs that do not require it.
Brand: NVIDIA or AMD
When it comes to video cards, the first choice to make is between the two major GPU manufacturers on the market: NVIDIA and AMD . The two companies, in fact, are in constant competition with each other to gain new market shares and offer different solutions to their users.
While NVIDIA was once known for excelling at the high end, while AMD prided itself on offering products with an unbeatable value for money, lately both manufacturers are working hard to bridge the gaps in this respect too. This unwritten rule, therefore, may no longer be valid.
The NVIDIA video cards that (at the time of writing) are belong to the current generation in power descending order: GeForce RTX 3090 , GeForce RTX 3080 , GeForce RTX 3070 , GeForce Ti 3060 RTX . Still very valid are the cards of the previous generation, namely: GeForce RTX 2080 Ti , GeForce RTX 2080 , GeForce RTX 2070 and GeForce RTX 2060 , also in Super version .
The latest AMD video cards are: Radeon RX 6900 XT , Radeon RX 6800 XT and Radeon RX 6800 . Even in this case, however, the cards of the previous generation remain excellent alternatives: Radeon RX 5700 XT , Radeon RX 5700 , Radeon RX 5600 XT and Radeon RX 5500 XT .
Power
At the heart of each video card you can find the GPU , an acronym which, as already mentioned, stands for Graphic Process Unit . Just as the CPU, or Central Process Unit, takes care of managing the complex calculations necessary to make a PC work, the GPU is the unit of the video card that calculates the mathematical operations to generate video signals, graphic models or specific mathematical results.
Although GPUs are constantly evolving and, therefore, the most recent ones are generally always “better”, you must learn to choose the right one for you and your specific needs. You may, for example, be interested in a high frame rate (therefore higher fps) in games and be willing to give up support for higher resolutions or technologies such as ray tracing . In short, there are numerous factors to take into consideration and the top-of-the-range graphics card is not always the most suitable for your needs.
The power of the GPU, measured in MHz (Megahertz) , is not the only factor that can make one GPU better than the other: the production process, the efficiency and the peculiarities of each architecture make each GPU unique. In this regard, I always recommend that you rely on reviews carried out by specialized sites and magazines.
The latest generation architecture proposed by NVIDIA is called Ampere , while the previous generation sports the Turing architecture . As for AMD, however, the latest cards presented are based on RDNA2 architecture , which replaces the RDNA architecture of the previous generation cards.
To define the quality and usefulness of a video card, remember that it is not enough to verify its power in terms of GPU. Each video card, in fact, works at its best at a certain resolution , and therefore must be paired with the right monitor . Also in this case, the choice of components must be made taking into account the limits and possibilities of the other parts available.
It would not make sense, in fact, to buy a monitor in 4K , which therefore has a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels , if you intend to buy a video card capable of emitting a maximum output in Full HD , therefore equal to 1920 x 1080 pixels . Again, you can rely on online reviews and ratings made by industry experts.
Another fundamental factor to guide you on choosing a video card is the memory with which it is equipped. To keep the data in use, in fact, the video card contains a VRAM memory (therefore its RAM memory , to be used instead of that of the PC) which can be more or less high, and which can operate at different speeds.
In the graphics card specifications you will often find the terms GDDR with a number next to it and bandwidth : GDDR stands for Graphics Double Data Rate and, in other words, indicates the data transfer speed (the higher, therefore, the number after the abbreviation and more fast is the memory integrated in the video card; however it is always necessary to check its compatibility with the motherboard); the bandwidth is instead the bandwidth and indicates the amount of data that the memory can manage every second.
Games and rendering programs use bandwidth to allocate the data of the 2D and 3D elements to be processed, as well as the calculation data, within the VRAM: the more memory the video card makes available, the faster this memory is and more applications can make the most of it.
Consumption and dissipation
Although the power consumption of the video card was once negligible, it has been for many years now that it has become important to look at this feature before purchasing a device. Especially in the most modern configurations, in fact, the video cards have a significant influence on the PC ‘s Watt demand .
In these cases, I always advise you to check the power consumption of the video card and compare it with the capacity of your power supply , so as not to have any nasty surprises in the future. Remember that often the manufacturers themselves recommend a minimum wattage to match their cards, and that it is essential to follow the instructions provided by them.
As a general rule, you can always take into account that more powerful video cards will consume more power. Despite this, however, there are many older and less performing video card models that are known to have extremely high power consumption. I therefore advise you to carefully check this parameter.
As the power of video cards increases, and with the consequent increase in power consumption, the need to dissipate the heat they produce has become a central point in the design of a GPU. In this case, the parameters to be taken into consideration are: efficiency , size and noise .
The manufacturers of video cards, in fact, allow their partners to produce custom models of their cards. These models are of different shapes and have different dissipation solutions. A three-fan cooler is clearly more efficient than a two-fan cooler , but it is generally louder and often bulkier.
Despite this, especially with the launch of the latest generation of video cards, you may find heatsinks with smaller dimensions or less noise: I therefore recommend that you take your time and view reviews and tests carried out by specialized people so that you know a what are you going to meet.
Ray tracing support
Surely in recent years you have heard about Ray tracing , and you are curious to know what this term means and what advantages this technique can bring. The web is full of very technical explanations about it, but if you are looking for someone who will explain you in a simple way what ray tracing is, I am here for it.
Ray tracing is a technique introduced in the video card market by NVIDIA a few years ago. It is a type of calculation that allows GPUs to “render” images with very complex lighting systems in a simpler way than in the past. By following the path of the light rays starting from the camera view, the video card can reproduce atmospheres and reflections in a very realistic way.
In a nutshell, with Ray tracing you can, for example, see the reflections of a city reproduced in real time on the windows of a skyscraper or the reflections of the surrounding environment reproduced in a puddle.
The first video cards designed with components designed specifically for ray tracing were the NVIDIA cards of the GeForce RTX 20 series . Despite this, the first implementation did not allow to take full advantage of this new technique. The video cards of the NVIDIA RTX 30 and AMD 6000 series, on the other hand, have numerous improvements over the first attempts.
But let me tell you that ray tracing is a very resource-intensive technique, and often has significant impacts on performance. Playing or working with Ray tracing therefore requires very performing GPUs or other compromises in the rendered graphics. You should therefore carefully evaluate this parameter when choosing your video card, especially if you are among those who prefer the fluidity given by a higher frame rate to greater graphic detail.
Doors
Although it may seem almost obvious to you, when choosing a video card it is good that you take into account the presence of the right ports on the back of the card itself. As they are essential for connecting the video output to your monitor, make sure they are compatible with the display’s input ports.
In general, in modern video cards, the HDMI port is always present . Additionally, you can almost always find a DVI-D port and often a DisplayPort port as well . These are digital video outputs, which have almost completely supplanted the long-lived VGA port , now present practically only in older video cards.
In any case, know that there are numerous adapters capable of converting, actively or passively, the various video outputs. Despite this, there is always a more or less negligible loss of quality or response speed, it is good that you choose the video card or monitor also based on this important factor.
How to choose the video card to use
After reading my explanations, I am sure you have learned something more about the fundamental characteristics of video cards. So you certainly know how to choose the video card to use , and that is why in the next chapters I will list some video cards that you can consider in the gaming and work environment.
How to choose a gaming video card
If your goal is to buy a gaming video card , remember to weigh your choice by keeping a balance between the power of the GPU and that of the CPU, in order to avoid bottlenecks. Likewise, take into account your budget and the resolution of your monitor.
ASUS Cerberus GeForce GTX 1050 Ti OC Edition 4GB
This economy-oriented video card allows you to play most modern titles, while accepting some graphics compromises. Thanks to the 4GB of VRAM and the Pascal architecture, it is a GPU that, despite the low price, can give a lot of satisfaction in Full HD resolution.
XFX AMD Radeon RX 570 8GB
By switching to a higher performance video card, this GPU allows you to play games in Full HD resolution and medium or high details on very recent titles. Based on the Ellesmere architecture and equipped with 8GB of VRAM, this is a very good mid-range choice.
MSI NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER GAMING X 6GB
This video card is also designed to handle a large variety of modern titles with respectable Full HD graphics. Based on the modern Turing architecture and supplied with 6 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, this GPU is positioned in the medium-high range with an excellent value for money.
MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming X 8GB
Going into the high end, this GPU built on the RDNA architecture guarantees very high playability at high details on almost all the latest titles. While not equipped with specific hardware for Ray tracing, this video card is able to satisfy most of the gaming needs even at resolutions higher than Full HD.
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB OC Edition Gaming
This card based on Ampere architecture is among the latest releases from NVIDIA and allows you to play easily at resolutions up to 4K, as well as managing ray tracing very satisfactorily on most games. It is, therefore, a very high-end GPU.
How to choose a business video card
If you are looking for a video card to work , and therefore able to withstand high and intense work rates such as rendering sessions or manipulation of three-dimensional scenes, know that cards designed for gaming can actually serve the same purpose. The cards that I illustrate below, therefore, are certainly for you.
ASUS DUAL Radeon RX 580 Overclock Edition 8GB
This GPU allows you to render and export scenes and data quite smoothly. Also thanks to the 8GB of VRAM, this video card can handle satisfactory workloads in not excessive times.
EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti FTW3 GAMING 11GB
This GPU based on Turing architecture and equipped with specific hardware for Ray tracing is positioned at the top end of the video card market. Capable of rendering very complex scenes in a short time, it is therefore often chosen as a work card.
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3090 24GB
Considered the flagship of the new Ampere video cards from NVIDIA, this GPU can handle any scene at very high resolutions and with Ray tracing enabled without losing performance. Furthermore, the enormous quantity of 24 GB of VRAM makes it certainly suitable for managing complex renderings in a short time.
