While some computers come with a motherboard that has an integrated GPU, if you’re not a “power user”, you might get tempted to accept such a bargain, since a computer with an integrated GPU is much less costly than a computer with a dedicated graphics card. This has a downside as well. Applications that require a better GPU won’t run so well on your computer, or might not even run at all with an integrated graphics card installed.
It’s important to first know what you’ll want to use the computer for, and then get to make a decision about what solution you’re going to adopt. For example, the list inside best graphics card under 100 dollars is worth to read for budget gamers.
If you’re a standard user, and use your computer only to chat with friends online, read websites and watch the occasional YouTube video, then it’s a no-brainer you won’t need a dedicated GPU. The integrated GPU will work just fine in this type of situation and under this workload.
If, instead you like to play the occasional game, there are several entry-point graphics cards to choose from. A good way to determine which would be a cheap GPU for your needs is to choose a game you want to play and simply look up the system requirements of the game. While the game will run on the minimum system requirements, don’t bet you’ll get the best resolution and awesome textures out of an old video card.
If you are a gamer, then you know not to trust any integrated GPU solution, because they simply cannot stand up to a dedicated video card. This is because most video cards have their own “processor” and RAM, or VRAM, and they make all the necessary calculations on the card itself. An integrated GPU will make use of the available RAM, or it will “share” it in order to run, thus decreasing the available system memory and decreasing system performance in the process.
Choosing a graphics card if you’re a gamer would imply that you keep in touch with the latest advancements in the GPU area, and look for new graphics cards that come out from either NVIDIA or ATI. This means you’ll have to pick a side in the end. It’s not that difficult to choose since you probably know your own budget. If you’ve got a generous budget, sure, go for the NVIDIA card all the way. But if you’d rather spend less, an ATI card will do the trick just fine.
So now that you know how to choose a graphics card, you’ll just have to be picky about the price you’re willing to pay. Keep in mind that today’s thousand dollar graphics card will be about half the price in about six months. It’s simply not worth the extra buck if you’re not serious about gaming or other intensive GPU tasks.
So let’s dig in a little deeper. The graphics or video cards are the most important hardware elements of any computer. The more VRAM they have available the better they’ll run applications which require more memory.
Many programs and games have specified the minimum amount of system memory to run, and they also specify a minimum graphics card they support in order to run properly. It’s important to know what type of graphics card you need before buying new games or making large software upgrades.