Quick advice please - graphics card

[EternalOptimist]

I was given my task for the day this am. get out and buy a couple of new machines.
well, mrs EO is paying, so what the heck.

One question though, as the machines (PC's) will be mostly for games, what type of graphics card should I go for ? dedicated or not

and does it matter ?

[gingerjedi]

Dedicated to free up CPU and memory, ATI or NVIDIA, take your pick.

The more you spend the better but the performance curve doesn't keep up with the price so something in the £130 range will only be 20% slower than one at twice the price.

[Ravello]

Definitely get a dedicated graphics card, and yes, it really does matter - especially for gaming.

The Nvidia GTX range is about the best going at the moment, with AMD Radeon being a reasonable (usually cheaper) alternative.

As a simple guide the higher the number after GTX in the Nvidia range, the better the performance (e.g. 295 is better than the 285 etc.)

NB: Just read GJ's post above, so to avoid confusion - AMD Radeon and ATi are the same thing.

[EternalOptimist]

Dedicated to free up CPU and memory, ATI or NVIDIA, take your pick.

The more you spend the better but the performance curve doesn't keep up with the price so something in the £130 range will only be 20% slower than one at twice the price.

great , thanks. dedicated it is then

[Clippy]

great , thanks. dedicated it is then

There was a similar thread in Technical recently which may prove helpful.

[amcdonald]

Also two average graphics card in SLI/XFIRE mode will be better and cheaper than 1 expensive graphics card

[d000hg]

Also two average graphics card in SLI/XFIRE mode will be better and cheaper than 1 expensive graphics card

But probably overkill unless it's for a full gaming rig?

When we say 'gaming' do we mean like fancy modern 3D extravaganza games? You definitely want a dedicated card, though it's typically only business or bargain-basement PCs that don't have one of some sort. It's pretty confusing though, so many different ranges with their own numbering schemes... a bit like sports cars.

This might help: http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-...ice=106-172.99