Graphics card explained!

[MasterLow]

I guess you vould label this as a graphics cards for dummies question because im having trouble making and educated guess as to what graphics card i should choose. (I have watched many reviews but i still wish to make a decision based on facts that i can collect myself. So can anyone tell me everything I need to know about a graphics card and its purpose or how it helps me in anyway? Right down to this base clock speed? And cuda cores? Thank you!!! P.S as i said a bit earlier this is like a graphics card for DUMMIES (im dumb) so please make it as easy to understand as possible! Again, thanks.

[TheRandomness]

It's more of what're the rest of your specs? Knowing what graphics card to pick (imo) comes from experience (as in, look at all the builds on pcpp where the graphics card is roughly the same price or more than the CPU)

[blu4]

Okay... If you need a graphic card you need to ask yourself the following questions:

 

-How much money do I want to spend?

-What games will I play?

-What resolution will I play at?

 

If you answer those questions, people will most likely help you.

[19_blackie_73]

depends on what you are going to do.

only office: don't buy a separate card, use what's integrated in most of the cpus (there are a few processors out there without, but intels core lineup is equipped with)

gaming: it really really depends on the budget and the games you play and at which resolution.

 

Here's a new builds and plannings section, in this section is a pinned thread with a guide how to ask for help, if you fill out the form and post it as a new thread, people will help you and most likely also explain why they choose each single component.

 

just a rule of thumb: for gaming computers, allocate around 1/3 to 1/2 of your budget on the gpu (allthough you shouldn't skimp on the other components) and get basically the best you can get for the money (you can base that on reviews, but don't look at reviews that are more than 1year old they are outdated because new generations have come out)

[PRTI]

Depends on the

 

• Budget
• Rest of your system
• Use

[MasterLow]

2 hours ago, TheRandomness said:

It's more of what're the rest of your specs? Knowing what graphics card to pick (imo) comes from experience (as in, look at all the builds on pcpp where the graphics card is roughly the same price or more than the CPU)

 

2 hours ago, blu4 said:

Okay... If you need a graphic card you need to ask yourself the following questions:

 

-How much money do I want to spend?

-What games will I play?

-What resolution will I play at?

 

If you answer those questions, people will most likely help you.

 

2 hours ago, 19_blackie_73 said:

depends on what you are going to do.

only office: don't buy a separate card, use what's integrated in most of the cpus (there are a few processors out there without, but intels core lineup is equipped with)

gaming: it really really depends on the budget and the games you play and at which resolution.

 

Here's a new builds and plannings section, in this section is a pinned thread with a guide how to ask for help, if you fill out the form and post it as a new thread, people will help you and most likely also explain why they choose each single component.

 

just a rule of thumb: for gaming computers, allocate around 1/3 to 1/2 of your budget on the gpu (allthough you shouldn't skimp on the other components) and get basically the best you can get for the money (you can base that on reviews, but don't look at reviews that are more than 1year old they are outdated because new generations have come out)

 

2 hours ago, keNNySOC said:

Depends on the

 

• Budget
• Rest of your system
• Use

here is the system build I am in the process of buying http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/list/MqpntJ the card is just what I found, I will buy anything from $550 or near. 

here are the 2 monitors I plan on using http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/list/Y8nNQV. I intend to game using this build playing battlefield 1 (Pre-ordered) Rainbow six seige, black ops 1,2,3, project cars, ETC all at max graphics at 1080p with good or great fps (I wont take anything that will stay below 60fps) I dont mind if the fps dips below 60 as long as it doesn't stay below 60 and give me bad quality gameplay. I hope I have answered any and all of your questions and I will answer any more to come. thanks for the help

 

[19_blackie_73]

5 hours ago, MasterLow said:

here is the system build I am in the process of buying http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/list/MqpntJ the card is just what I found, I will buy anything from $550 or near. 

here are the 2 monitors I plan on using http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/list/Y8nNQV. I intend to game using this build playing battlefield 1 (Pre-ordered) Rainbow six seige, black ops 1,2,3, project cars, ETC all at max graphics at 1080p with good or great fps (I wont take anything that will stay below 60fps) I dont mind if the fps dips below 60 as long as it doesn't stay below 60 and give me bad quality gameplay. I hope I have answered any and all of your questions and I will answer any more to come. thanks for the help

 

well looks good what you've got so far. no storage?

And personal opinion: get 2x8GB Ram sticks, not 4x4GB for 16GB.

And you probably won't need such an high end cooler, so you basically can save quite a bit of money here.

Next thing is PSU: 650W is way overkill, 450W-500W will suffice.

You are hopefully intend to game only on one monitor....

 

Here's the list with the things I mentioned above corrected: (allthough you can stay with that psu you chose if you care about the cable color of the 24pin, swapped also the gpu for a cheaper board partner variation)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($317.00 @ 1stWave Technologies)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Shadow Rock 2 51.4 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler  ($79.95 @ Computer Lounge)
Motherboard: Asus B150M PRO GAMING Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($157.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($119.00 @ 1stWave Technologies)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 6GB WINDFORCE OC 6G Video Card  ($499.00 @ PC Force)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($160.55 @ PC Force)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($149.95 @ Computer Lounge)
Total: $1482.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-02 05:00 NZST+1200

 

 

Allthough you said you don't want to spent more than 550$ on a video card: this would be only 20$ more than your first intended list, but way more powerful and would take good use of the 144Hz display. you don't need 16gb ram for gaming, at least not now. if it is really necessary, you can always get a second 8GB kit

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($317.00 @ 1stWave Technologies)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Shadow Rock 2 51.4 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler  ($79.95 @ Computer Lounge)
Motherboard: Asus B150M PRO GAMING Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($157.00 @ Paradigm PCs)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($63.00 @ 1stWave Technologies)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Windforce OC Video Card  ($759.00 @ PB Technologies)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($160.55 @ PC Force)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($149.95 @ Computer Lounge)
Total: $1686.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-02 05:01 NZST+1200

[Imakuni]

6 hours ago, MasterLow said:

 

 

 

here is the system build I am in the process of buying http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/list/MqpntJ the card is just what I found, I will buy anything from $550 or near. 

here are the 2 monitors I plan on using http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/list/Y8nNQV. I intend to game using this build playing battlefield 1 (Pre-ordered) Rainbow six seige, black ops 1,2,3, project cars, ETC all at max graphics at 1080p with good or great fps (I wont take anything that will stay below 60fps) I dont mind if the fps dips below 60 as long as it doesn't stay below 60 and give me bad quality gameplay. I hope I have answered any and all of your questions and I will answer any more to come. thanks for the help

 

Well, I've made some tweaks to improve performance and keep the cost... in fact, I even lowered it a bit. Consider throwing a bit extrea cash to get a 1070; otherswise, this will do fine (don't forget the storage!).

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($317.00 @ 1stWave Technologies) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212X 82.9 CFM CPU Cooler  ($64.00 @ 1stWave Technologies) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($202.00 @ 1stWave Technologies) 
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($169.00 @ 1stWave Technologies) 
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1060 6GB Strix Video Card  ($559.00 @ 1stWave Technologies) 
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($160.55 @ PC Force) 
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Platinum 550W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($179.95 @ Computer Lounge) 
Total: $1651.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-02 05:17 NZST+1200

[straight_stewie]

a 1070 will be plenty for you. I might consider going with @Imakuni build. Personally, I would wait a month or so until I could afford a nicer i7 processor, but that's just my personal opinion.