Don't Sweat the small stuff: The harmless guide to Video Card Buying
May 30 '00
Really, it is all the fault of 3dfx.
note, I've added a bit about Ram considerations...always forget something, don't we?
Once upon a time, we all had pretty much the same set up. Decent processor, sound card, and a basic graphic chip held together by spit and strings, running on the juice provided by a hamster in an exercise ball.
But we were happy enough, I suppose.
Then 3dfx came out with the Voodoo card, an add-on board that did one thing: force-feed your monitor 3d graphics. Hot dog!
After that, they got faster, more powerful, and the market become flooded with me too companies - some of them beating 3dfx at its own game. Technologies converged, and 3d cards became combination workhorse video cards that in six months were left behind in the PC Graveyard of Obsolescence. If Moore had even thought about the coming video revolution, he'd have had an aneurysm and cacked on the spot.
While it is nice to have the options, it gets darn confusing to Joe Blow, and rightly so. Not to mention the pressure out there to have the latest and greatest system - but who really needs it?
As of this writing...well, me. But I'm a geek, I'm expected to toss money out of the window every 3 months or so. Otherwise I have to give up my membership card and start dressing better. Ick.
You, however, likely do not need the latest and greatest. Just because the technology advances every 6 months doesn't mean the stuff from 6 months back is ready for the trash heap.
It comes down to need, and satisfaction. If all you use the PC for is taxes and surfing sites that require proof of adulthood, anything off the shelf will serve you fine. Looking at those pictures will make you go blind anyway.
If you are a light game player - say the strategy game, or the occasion first person shooter - well, you do want to be a little choosy, but you don't need to break the bank.
Let's break it down.
Hardcore Gamer - The Geek Squad: doesn't much matter what you need, does it? You WILL have the latest and greatest - it's in your gene pool. Right now, that's a Geforce 2 DDR, or a Voodoo 5000 or better. Despite what the fan set will tell you, they are really 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. Geforce has a lot of raw oomph to it, T&L(transform and lighting, a nerdy way of saying it does stuff purty without bogging down the system) does in fact enhance performance, and there isn't a game out there that will bog it down. Voodoo 5000 on the other hand, also has a lot of raw oomph, but lacks T&L. It gets around that by offer T buffering(a nerdy way of saying 'making stuff blurry in a cool way), but more importantly, on board FSAA, or Full Scale Anti-Aliasing. What that does is use the power of the board to get rid of some of the squiggles and jagged edges of a particular scene, at the expense of some frame rate. It can make things look nicer, but you might end up running at a lower resolution for performance. Really, both cards have more then enough juice to run the latest games, but each have a unique onboard solution to problems most folks don't worry too much about. They are cool cards, but at 300 on up a pop, only the most rabid of Geeks need apply.
For you, there isn't enough Video Ram in the world. 32 megs is the minimum, 64 a bit closer to Heaven.
The Realistic Gamer: you like to play the latest and greatest game too, but you like actually spending the money on games. I'll be brutally honest here - you do not need the most expensive card. First generation Geforces, even those with sdram on board, have more then enough juice to awe you when you fire up Soldier of Fortune. Prices are and will continue to fall on those cards, and if you are upgrading from an old TNT or Voodoo 2000 setup, they will give you a nice boost that more importantly is noticeable.
Keep in mind that even the TNT2 and TNT2 Ultra's offer plenty of power for the average gamer...what you need to know is will this upgrade make things better in a way I can see? Benchmarks are all well and good, but if you can't feel the speed boost, or see the better graphics, you are wasting your cash. ATI cards are an option (those with Rage in the name) as are the Matrox G400 series, but both have had driver issues in the past, so make sure you check the company websites for the latest downloads.
For Video Ram, 16 megs is passable, but 32 megs gives you a bit more texture room to play with, and is noticeable in the speed department. With an AGP card, having lots of system ram can make up some of the difference with a low ram card - but on board is always better and faster then AGP can ever hope to be.
Everybody Else: you guys are easy. Because it doesn't matter. Chances are, you don't even use most of your current cards power as is - surfing Epinions and getting stock quotes don't exactly push a lot of pixels. Any card from a straight TNT on up has more then adequate 2d performance; anything from a TNT2 up will run most of the 'occasional' game purchases that might tickle your fancy.
There isn't much point to having a V8 to go 2 miles to work and back.
Now to be fair, faster is always better, in a general sense. A good video card with plenty of ram will improve web performance, if only slightly. But using a Geforce or V5000 just for that is a waste of money.
For Video Ram, you could get by with a simple 4/8 meg card, but even 2d performance can benefit from more ram. Think of it as having more brains - you can never be too smart, so even for you, I'd recommend a decent 16 meg card or better. Having room to grow gives you longer life, and lets you stretch out the hardware between upgrades, so don't sell yourself TOO short!
Haven't mentioned S3, have I? Well, if you’re hardcore, there isn't enough performance (except on a theoretical level), if you're average, the driver issues can give you nightmares, and if you’re Everybody Else - well, you get what you pay for. Not recommended, unless you like the underdog. Driver support is going to be a big question since S3/Diamond sold off its graphic division. I wouldn't hold out much hope.
So balance your needs against your desires and cash flow. Most folks do not need to ride the Hype Bus to a better tomorrow. Never purchase a card based on what you think you want to do, base it on what you know are your needs for the next 6 to 12 months. Plan on having a video card for 1 year, and decide for yourself what is a good price for 12 months of visual usage.
Geeks will hate me, but it's true: Some of us really don't need the graphic power of a Sun Sparc machine to play FreeCell.
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lpmiller
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