Upgrade your graphics card to play flashy games

A GRAPHICS card is a key hardware component in any PC, but if you’re interested in gaming or editing media, it’s probably the most important part of your computer.

If the latest games will no longer run smoothly in full HD resolution, a new graphics card may be the easiest fix. But it doesn’t even have to be one of the top-of-the-range models supporting 4K.

According to numerous tests from gamers on Youtube, even entry-level models of the current chip generations from Nvidia and AMD are powerful enough to deliver smooth performance for software and games.

Performance isn’t the only consideration – you also need to think about the setup of the computer that the card will be installed in.

Enough space? Right connections?

Firstly, is there enough room in your PC’S housing to fit it? Some especially large graphics cards such as older Nvidia’s GTX 1080 take up a lot of space. A card that’s too big could obscure adjacent slots or prevent you from being able to close up the PC again after installing the card.

Then there’s the power supply to consider – the graphics card has to be compatible with it. Is there enough power for it? And are there enough power connectors?

If your PC is from a popular manufacturer, it’s worth searching online to see if anyone else has already successfully added your intended graphics card to the computer.

In addition, the graphics card has to have the correct connections for the monitor. Modern cards generally have sockets for HDMI, Displayport or DVI connections.

For more efficient anti-aliasing and smoother performance, you can also try turning off multi-sampling (MSAA) and use FXAA instead. Those who want to play in WQHD (2,560 x 1,440 pixels) resolution will still get about 30fps (frames per second) to 40fps.

New chips are also quite good at handling current video formats and Nvidia’s new video engines can render most video formats without straining the main processor. If full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) resolution is good enough, you can still play many new releases using a graphics cards such as the AMD Radeon RX 560, for example.

Meanwhile, online gamers have shown Nvidia’s compact Geforce GTX 1650 running top titles like Resident Evil 2 or Shadow Of The Tomb Raider at upwards of 60fps and 1080p. –

dpa ever since people started using graphics cards to mine cryptocurrencies (and make money), demand has soared – and with it the prices. But you don’t always need the most expensive card to play new games. —