Graphics Card Hierarchy

[Taeh Niumoenwyn]

The subject of graphics cards came up in a Linkshell today. Upgrading to or buying the correct graphics card is probably one of the most important things you can do to improve the frames per second (fps) in a game.

 

There is perhaps the popular misconception that a newer graphics card will always be better than an older one, however that is not always the case. It is usually true that the lower end cards in a new range are not as good as the top end cards in a previous range.

 

This link provides a useful hierarchy of different graphics processors and allows a reasonable comparison of one model against another; of course your mileage might vary.

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

[SessionZero]

It's also important to note that the other hardware components of your build must compliment your card, to maximize it's efficiency. A fairly weak motherboard or processor will bottleneck the graphic memory capabilities of your card and cause it to give you less performance than you could be getting. Make sure your mobo is allowing for maximum data transfer from your card, and also ensure your RAM is able to keep pace.

[shdwsng]

As a professional geek and longtime gamer, this is a subject near and dear to my heart. RAM upgrades will get you more overall bang for your buck as long as you're under 4 gigabytes, but a graphics card will really make a gaming PC shine.

 

The things to consider when choosing a graphics card are what you're playing and how big your computer's power supply is. Since you can pull a card and put it in a new computer very easily, this is one of those upgrades that you should go as good as you have budget for every time you look at it. Often you can get a really good card and have it last for a couple of years.

 

What you're playing will tell you what tier of card you want to look at. If you're playing basic stuff on Facebook or feeding your solitaire addiction, then a lower-end card will serve you quite well. For older MMO's like World of Warcraft or anything in the Everquest series, a mid-range card would do pretty well. Final Fantasy 14, on the other hand, is a VERY pretty game with all the latest bells and whistles. You'll want to push the limits and get a mid-to-high end card to really get the most out of it.

 

The other thing to consider is your computer's power supply. Most "stock" computers come with a 250 to 400 watt power supply these days, with the lower supplies being VERY common on the cheap end. Most mid to high end cards suggest power supplies of about 400 to 500 watts total, and if you're working with multiple graphics cards then you should be starting about 800 watts or more. The reason for this is to give your system enough juice to run the card without having to strain the power supply. Having done this once because I thought I had a bigger power supply than I did, it causes all kinds of frustrating little problems as various things need power and don't get it.

 

So if you're upgrading your graphics card for something other than basic Facebook flash games? Expect to budget an extra $40-60 for a new power supply as well. And whatever the install costs for it are if you're not doing it yourself.

 

The specific brand of card you get for the most part these days doesn't matter, although I prefer NVidia cards for their better driver support for new games. However, for the vast majority of people you can get similar performance for each brand of card in about the same cost point.

[Fystrael Abylstyrwyn]

With all the talk about shiny new cards and power supplies, don't forget the importance of cooling.

 

Depending on where you live, your card may get so hot while you play that you can literally fry on egg on it.  Make sure to get chassis fans to help cool, consider taking the side off your case, etc.

[Sev]

With my current machine being a good 2.5 years old now, it'sreally starting to show it's age. With more bloody problems than I want to count, ranging from kernel errors, hardware failures and driver quirks causing all manners of havoc, I could swear this machine was cursed to seriously hate me. Pretty much every month without fail I get some irksome problem which I am always able to fix, but I'm getting a wee bit sick of having to do electronic CPR in it every month.

 

Sooo.. Have been looking into getting a new machine,something pretty high-end to futurepad a little bit, jumping from a gen. 2 Intel core to a gen. 4, GTX 560ti to a GTX 770, and proper cooling to back it up.

 

With a -lot- of graphically demanding titles having come outthis year, and with more to come I'd very much like to be able to see them in their full glory with a stable framerate.

 

Also, a nifty little tool for comparing graphics cards - http://www.hwcompare.com/

[shdwsng]

IMHO, having used the 550ti both solo and in an SLI setup, unless you think THAT's defective you could probably put off upgrading the 560ti. I originally had a 1st gen Intel i7 chip and got decent performance out of it about three and a half years later but upgraded for the same reason you are. Most of the problems I could lay on an underpowered system...

 

With an i7-3770k that's been overclocked to 4 Ghz and a GTX 660 I'm running FFXIV at the highest settings I can at 1920 x 1080. Aside from some shadows acting a wee bit odd when the sun was setting, I've had zero problems, and been easily getting between 40-60 frames a second if not more. Anything in the Core 2 range? Your CPU is definitely your bottleneck.