If you’re relatively new to gaming PCs and looking for a brand new graphics card for your rig, this guide might help you. The graphics card is the next most important piece of hardware after you’ve selected the motherboard and the processor for your custom-built PC.
It would be difficult to choose from many options in the market—from Nvidia to AMD and everything else in between.
Apart from that, you need to become familiar with several terms, such as Core Clock Speed, Memory Size, Interfaces, OpenGL, Ports, Maximum Resolution, DirectX Support, SLI support, and CrossFireX support, among others.
This guide will help simplify things for you, and it will be especially enlightening to newbies putting together their very first custom-built PC.
Decide on Your Budget
It may come as a surprise to newcomers, but the first thing you should think about is not the badass graphics card everyone talks about. First, decide on your budget.
Here’s a fact: Graphics cards can cost you a fortune.
The price of your potential graphics card will depend on the processor you have selected for your custom-built PC. The other way to do it is to buy the graphics card first and then find a matching processor.
Whichever way you do it, just make sure to keep an eye on your budget. You can easily go over budget when you’re out hunting for a killer graphics card.
Choose the Games You Like to Play
The next step to assemble your custom-built PC is to choose the games you would like to play. This way, you already have a processor in mind and maybe a matching graphics card as well. The next question is whether those pieces of hardware can handle the system requirements of the game you’d like to play.
Here are a few tips:
- ● Go to the game website and check out their minimum system requirements. If your graphics card fits, you’re in luck.
- ● Check graphics card benchmarks. Make sure that the benchmarks for your card are higher than the minimum system requirements of the games you want to play.
- ● Watch gameplay videos on YouTube. Many gamers love to record themselves while playing (think about Fortnite. They usually love to tell viewers what hardware they use. Pay attention to that and the resolution, FPS, and other graphics settings they use.).
- ● Use Systems Requirements Lab—This one will require you to have a complete custom-built PC beforehand. This option only works if you’re looking for a replacement graphics card.
Resolution Settings and Peripherals
Having the top of the line graphics card is wicked, right? Well, not if you’re using an old 1080p monitor. Don’t expect your video card to do all the magic; make your monitor perform in 4K.
Take note of the available ports that come with the card. How many HDMI ports does it have? Does it have a DVI port too? The next question is whether your monitor has a DVI or HDMI port as well.
Remember that a graphics card with lots of memory isn’t the only thing to build your custom computer. Consider everything from the peripherals to the essential core hardware when you’re out shopping for the best parts.