Buying Guides -> Hardware -> Graphics Card

Graphics Cards Sorted

Team CHIP | 01 January 2008

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ENTRY LEVEL

Suggested Graphics Chipsets
Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT, GeForce 8600 GT, AMD HD 2600 XT
Budget
Rs 3,000 to Rs 7,000

No matter which brand you prefer, the performance of a graphics card is entirely dependent on the GPU and memory. When shopping for a graphics card, first note what level of performance you are looking for—are you a casual gamer or a hard core gamer? Are you more of a movie buff or a gamer, or both? Well, cards in the entry level segment are ideally suited to casual gaming and video playback.
With a variety of entry level DirectX 10 graphics cards available in the market priced under Rs 7,000, it absolutely makes sense to buy one of these. At present Nvidia offers three such options (GeForce 8400 GS, 8500 GT and 8600 GT), while AMD has the Radeon HD 2400 XT, HD 2400 PRO and HD 2600 XT. Since AMD’s entry-level Radeon HD GPUs aren’t on par with the Nvidia GeForce series, stick to Nvidia if you want decent entry-level performance.
With an 8400 GS you can expect playable frame rates upto 1024x768 along with high-definition video processing capability. The most powerful cards in this segment are the ones based on the GeForce 8600 GT which can perform with ease at 1600x1200.

MID-RANGE

Suggested Graphics Chipsets
Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS, GeForce 8800 GT, AMD HD 3850
Budget
Rs 7,000 to Rs 15,000

Graphics cards belonging to this segment offer stellar performance without being too taxing on the wallet. Some of these cards are so powerful that their performance is comparable to their high-end counterparts. One such graphics chipset is the Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT which performs almost as well as the mammoth 8800 GTX. A rung below is the GeForce 8600 GTS which will save you a few thousand rupees. However, if you can stretch your budget, the 8800 GT is a steal. If you’re looking out for a solution by AMD, you can pick a card based on Radeon HD 2600 PRO or HD 3850. Priced under Rs 10,000, these cards too offer good performance for the price, but the GeForce 8800 GT, 512 MB is a winner in this category. If you’re familiar with overclocking graphics cards, you can overclock the 8800 GT to push its performance at par with the 8800 GTX, 768 MB.
Note: All the graphics cards belonging to the Nvidia GeForce 8 series and ATI Radeon HD series feature an in-built video processing engine which can offload HD video decoding from the processor. So you enjoy HD playback even on an entry-level PC.

HIGH-END

Suggested Graphics Chipsets
Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX, GeForce 8800 Ultra, AMD HD 2900 XT
Budget
Rs 15,000 and above

Consider a graphics card from this category only if you are a hardcore gamer who thrives on eye candy. Pumping playable frame rates at 1600x1200 is a cakewalk for these cards. Hence, in order to utilize the full potential of these cards you need at least a 22-inch TFT monitor or a high-definition display. Additionally you will also need a meaty power supply unit (at least 500 W) and a well cooled PC case. Both Nvidia and AMD have limited DirectX 10-based offerings in this section. The meanest graphics chipset in this category is the Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra followed by GeForce 8800 GTX. If you’re a fan of AMD, you can pick a card based on the AMD Radeon HD 2900 XT. However, the GeForce 8800 Ultra rules the roost when it comes to extreme performance. Be warned that these cards cost a fortune.
If you own a high-end graphics card, simply setting the game resolution to the highest won’t juice out its full potential. Crank the anti-aliasing setting to 8x or 16x and watch the difference—it will significantly reduce the jagged edges around curves thereby making images and objects appear more lifelike.