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What is the best video card, cheap or medium-level, on which to focus if you want to play at a higher quality than that guaranteed by integrated solutions? It is not easy to give a dry answer, because different variables come into play ranging from the budget available and the needs: we have therefore selected five graphics cards that are in a range of costs ranging from about 150 to less than 400 euros to be able to enjoy modern titles at full hd resolution (even 4k for the most powerful ones). They range from gpu sufficient for a refresh rate of 30 frames per second up to those that can go up to a value four times higher without giving problems. Before going into the details of the selection we have also prepared a small glossary to better understand the most important values to know.
On the other hand, video cards are finally experiencing a period of greater availability and prices that have now returned to the norm after years of very limited stocks and costs soared beyond belief due to the boom in cryptocurrency mining and the well-known chip crisis due to the pandemic from Covid-19. With the collapse of crypto and with the global situation that is slowly trying to return to normal, even video cards are therefore back within everyone’s reach.
How to choose a video card
Graphics cards aren’t just for gamingon the contrary: they can make the computer more performing in all areas where graphic processing is central to the user experience. The models we have selected can be mounted inside a PC to replace an older model or the integrated solution for the benefit of resolution, frame rate, energy consumption and dissipation of generated heat. The characteristics to keep in mind when choosing and purchasing – which also affect the cost of the products – are very precise.
Here are the features to keep in mind:
- Resolution: i.e. the ratio between horizontal and vertical pixels, the video card can support full hd (1920 x 1080 pixels) or 4k (3840 × 2160 pixels).
- Refresh rate: that is, how many frames per second are able to hold the cards at a certain resolution, the higher it is, the more fluid and realistic and immersive the effect will be, it starts from 30 fps and the more advanced models even reach 120 fps without problems.
- Energy consumption: expressed in watts, it indicates how much electricity is absorbed for operation, it goes without saying that the less powerful models are kept low, but at the same time the higher ones are equipped with fan cooling systems that help to stem the wattage.
- Vram: that is the memory dedicated to the functioning of the video card and that for the cheaper cards goes from 4 GB to 8 GB. But be careful, because it is always good to also consider the version: the older ones are slower (gddr5) the more recent ones can perform better (gddr6).
- Doors and entrances: the more they are, the more versatile the card. The low-cost models are generally limited to a DisplayPort and an hdmi, while the more complete models triple the DisplayPort and can guarantee compatibility even with the latest generation hdmi 2.1 for better performance.
It is also good to check the performance and inputs of your monitor, to avoid purchasing cards that guarantee a higher refresh rate than the display can show. Another essential pre-purchase step is check that the computer case has enough space to accommodate the card and also that thepower supply is able to guarantee the right power.
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