Playing Your Cards Right
Before you peruse our chart for your perfect graphics card upgrade, you should first understand some of the technologies underlying the cards and inside your PC.
All of the graphics cards we examined plug into a PCI Express (PCIe) x16 slot, which comes standard on the motherboards of most new PCs. A PCIe slot can transfer data faster than the AGP slot that is found in older PCs, and you can't use a PCIe graphics card in an AGP slot (or vice versa).
To find out which slot you have, check your PC's manuals or read our guide to the modern motherboard. Note that an older system with integrated graphics has to have at least an available AGP slot to make it worth upgrading. A newer PC with a PCIe x16 slot would be even better. Some motherboards have two PCIe x16 slots, into which you can install two cards in parallel for some serious graphics muscle (see "Two Cards or One, That Is the Question").
Most manufacturers offer both PCIe and AGP versions of their low-end and midrange products, but you won't always find the latest chips. For instance, EVGA's fastest AGP card is the GeForce 6800, based on nVidia technology that's over a year old. ATI's fastest AGP card is its similarly aging X850 series.
At the heart of a graphics card is the graphics processing unit, a dedicated chip for rendering 3D graphics quickly and efficiently. While your CPU processes any sort of information, a GPU handles just display data, turning amazingly complex mathematical models into full-motion images. ATI and nVidia make the vast majority of chips appearing on graphics cards from the lower end (ATI's Radeon X1300 and nVidia's GeForce 6200) up to the higher end (ATI's Radeon X1800 XT and nVidia's GeForce 7800 GTX).
The difference between the two classes of graphics board lies in their capability to effectively handle the most complex 3D display work, particularly at very high resolutions. Boards that are built around more recent GPUs support new features of Microsoft's DirectX 9 software, such as Shader Model 3.0, which some games use to create more realistic images.
Like a PC, a graphics card relies on memory to do its job. Each card we tested features at least 128MB of graphics memory, and most offer 256MB; at the high end is a 512MB card. Generally speaking, 128MB is fine for running office applications and many games (even when you're using two monitors); but if you can afford it, a 256MB card's extra memory should help advanced and future apps run at their higher quality settings.
Two things to consider when comparing two seemingly identical cards are the software bundles and warranties. At press time nVidia was offering a free copy of the game Call of Duty 2 if you bought a high-end card from partners including BFG Tech, EVGA, and XFX. Sapphire also had an interesting bundle: Its ATI X1800 XL-based card had demos of four games running an hour that let you download full versions of two of the games.
ATI recently reduced the warranty on its own cards from three years to one but says manufacturers are free to extend that as they choose. The warranty on cards based on nVidia GPUs differ: AOpen offers 15 months, while others (such as BFG Tech, EVGA, and XFX) supply a lifetime warranty under which they claim they will repair or replace the card for as long as you own it. XFX even allows you to transfer the warranty if you sell the card. EVGA also offers an upgrade plan: If you buy one of its cards but decide within 90 days that you would rather have a faster one, you can trade in your old card for a credit.
Finally, be sure you know what devices you plan to connect to your board. Whether you intend to use a single analog monitor, a digital connection to dual LCDs, or even a component hookup to a TV, it's up to you to make sure your card supports it.
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