In this article i will give a brief comparison of graphic cards now available in the market, and which one to choose, to optimize your budget. Still there are only two vendor out there, nVidia and ATi. Which one better is not really the matter, since both have their own benefit and weaknesses. Oh BTW, you won’t see any graphic card below my recommended card (don’t even think about onboard graphics) because any graphic card below just won’t give a fine result for todays game such ANNO 1404, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.. even Crysis which has been released for two years until now. So i classified the graphic cards lineup into four class:
- Low End : Give a decent performance for $80 budget and without the need of PCIe external power. Standard Pure Power 400W PSU should be able to handle this card (~$40). The game will play fair in standard resolution, up to 1,3MP display (720p, 1280x1024, 1366x768) . It’s wise to buy the 1GB version.
- Mainstream: Give a good performance around 120$-$200 budget with requirements of one 6-pin PCIe external power. Needs about 500W Pure Power PSU (~$60). plays good at 1050p resolution.
- Gamer: Give a better performance for $250-$400 budget. require two 6-pin PCIe external power. Needs about 600W Pure Power PSU (~$100). plays fine in 1080p (1920x1080) and 1600p (2560x1600).
- High End: Give the best today’s performance and quality available on earth, load your pocket because it’s about $700 graphic card. require one 6-pin and one 8-pin PCIe external power. Best to buy at least 800W Pure Power for such beast (~$150). plays any games flawlessly in 1600p and able to handle multiple display (3 actually) setup.. even fine to play such 7680x1600 resolution!!
