All about graphics cards

[owenmarsden]

Nvidia GeForce MX350 and MX330 Mobile GRAPHICS CARDS


Nvidia has quietly launched the GeForce MX350 and MX330. The new mobile graphics cards are here to replace their respective MX200-series counterparts that debuted just one year ago. The new Turing-powered MX graphics cards should land in the second half of this year.

The GeForce MX350 is based on Nvidia's GP107 die from the Pascal days. This is the same silicon hidden inside the GTX 1050 and GTX 1050 Ti. In the MX350's case, it only comes with 640 CUDA cores though, whereas the GTX 1050 has 640 (2GB) or 768 (3GB) and the 1050 Ti has 768.

The GeForce MX350 and GeForce GTX 1050 might have similar dies and can have the same CUDA core count, but there should be a sizable performance gap between them. The GeForce MX350 sports 32 TMUs (texture mapping units), 16 ROPs (render output units) and a 64-bit memory bus. However, the GeForce GTX 1050 flexes 40 TMUs, 32 ROPs and a 128-bit memory interface. Not to mention that the GTX 1050 has a 75W TDP, which gives it more breathing room.

[Amelie Barrett]

How Gaphics card work

The images you see on your monitor are made of tiny dots called pixels. At most common resolution settings, a screen displays over a million pixels, and the computer has to decide what to do with every one in order to create an image. To do this, it needs a translator -- something to take binary data from the CPU and turn it into a picture you can see. Unless a computer has graphics capability built into the motherboard, that translation takes place on the graphics card.

The CPU, working in conjunction with software applications, sends information about the image to the graphics card. The graphics card decides how to use the pixels on the screen to create the image. It then sends that information to the monitor through a cable. *

Creating an image out of binary data is a demanding process. To make a 3-D image, the graphics card first creates a wire frame out of straight lines. Then, it rasterizes the image (fills in the remaining pixels). It also adds lighting, texture and color. For fast-paced games, the computer has to go through this process about sixty times per second. Without a graphics card to perform the necessary calculations, the workload would be too much for the computer to handle.

[Amelie Barrett]

BEST GRAPHICS CARD FOR MOST PEOPLE: AMD RADEON RX 5700
Fantastic gaming grunt at a super affordable price point
SPECIFICATIONS
Stream Processors: 2,304Core Clock: 1,465 MHz (1,725 MHz boost)Memory: 8GB GDDR6Memory Clock: 14GbpsPower Connectors: 1 x 8-pin and 1 x 6-pinOutputs: 1 x DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC, 1 x HDMI with 4K60
REASONS TO BUY
+Very strong performance
+Incredibly affordable price point

[Amelie Barrett]

Tips for Buying Right Graphic Card

Save some money for the CPU. If you spend all your money on graphics and skimp out on the processor, your system might score well on benchmarks, but won't fare as well in real game play (due to lower minimum frame rates).
Match your monitor resolution. Many mainstream cards are sufficient for gaming at 1080p resolutions and 30-60 fps, but you’ll need a high-end card for resolutions at or near 4K resolution with high in-game settings on the most demanding titles.
Consider your refresh rate. If your monitor has triple-digit refresh rates, you’ll need a powerful card to show its full potential. Alternatively, if your monitor tops out at 60Hz and 1080p, there’s no point in paying extra for a powerful card that pushes pixels faster than your display can keep up with.
Do you have enough power and space? Make sure your case has enough room for the card you’re considering, and that your power supply has enough watts to spare.
Check the MSRP before buying. A good way to tell if you’re getting a deal is to check the launch price or MSRP of the card you’re considering before buying.
Don't get dual cards unless you have to. Support for Multi-card SLI or CrossFire setups varies from game to game, and seems to be on the wane. Get the best single card you can afford.
Don’t count on overclocking for serious performance boosts: If you need better performance, buy a more-powerful card. Graphics cards don’t typically have large amounts of overclocking headroom.