The Ultimate GPU Guide

It is a very difficult task to write a Video Card buying guide that is "all encompassing". And is rather easier to simply pick cards that are fast and go on praising them without really paying attention to the other components, that they’ll be paired with.

This guide is very different from the ones that you may have seen before. It will not only take into account the video card, but will also factor in other components that make up a gaming computer.

Organization

The guide is divided in to 4 sections, the first two are lead-ins to the third which is all about the graphic cards. The fourth section has all the benchmark figures. They are all bunched together for easier access. Just open page 7 in a new tab or window. Viola! Instant access to the graphs as you read through the guide.

1. Factoring in the PC: Looking beyond 'Graphics'
2. The Political Factor
3. Buying the card
4. Performance Figures

Through out the guide I'll be using the term "Core" to refer to Core "i" series from Intel. I'll use the term "Core2" for Core2 Duo and Core2 Quad processors (again from Intel). Though ATi does not exist any more as (it became AMD sometime ago), I'll be using the name "ATi" to refer to cards made by what is now AMD (call me old fashioned, but I like to keep things simple: ATi vs Nvidia, Intel vs AMD).

I'll use the term PCI-e x16 to refer to the slot which is used to connect your graphics card to the mother board. This stand for Peripheral Component Interconnect Express. The x16 refers to the number of lanes that take data to and from the graphics card.

Also I did not include any AMD processors in my guide. The reason is that their prices locally do not justify their purchase. An AMD Phenom II 955 Black Edition processor is about PKR. 25,000 . Its Intel Equalent, is the Core i5. It is PKR. 5,000 cheaper and performs way better. AMD is also not well represented when it comes to motherboards.

Factoring in the PC: Looking beyond 'Graphics'

Your graphics card is just one of the (many) bits and pieces that make up your personal computer. Just like putting a Corolla’s Engine into a Ferrari’s chassis is not going to give you Ferrari’s performance, putting in the latest + greatest graphics card into an aging computer is not going to make crysis magically run like a dream with loads of eye candy.

It is a very good idea to factor in what you have, unless you are going the extra mile and upgrading the lot. (I’ll add a word about this as well)

The most important components that need to be factored in are:

• The Central Processing Unit (CPU)
• The Display
• The Motherboard
• System Memory
• The Power Supply

The Central Processing Unit (CPU)

If you have ever read a CPU review, you notice that most games are benchmarked at the lowest possible resolution. That is done to take out the graphics card as the limiting factor. Unless you have the the top of the line graphics card, two of these for good measure, the graphics card will becoming the limiting factor much before the CPU. Very few games are CPU intensive as compared to graphics card intensive. The ones that come immediately to mind are strategy simulations (real time), flight simulators (like Microsoft’s Flight Simulator in its latest incarnation).

So why is CPU selection important from a gamer's perspective?

1. If you do happen to have very fast graphics cards, or have enough money (and the will) to spend on them, the CPU will eventually start to factor in.
2. Having a fast processor will give a “better” gaming experience, in terms of consistency of frame rates.
3. Windows 7 has better multithreading support as compared to Windows XP and thus will perform better with a processor that features more processing cores.
4. New generation processors have integrated memory controllers, higher bandwidth to graphics cards. This really comes into play when you want to run discrete multi graphics card configurations.

So what is exactly a “fast” enough processor today? If you are not convinced that a quad core solution is the way to go, then a E8400 is good enough for casual/ mainstream gamers. If quad core is you weapon of choice a Q9550 is a very good solution.

However if your system is in for an upgrade nothing beats a core i5 or a core i7 solution. The only limiting factor being your pocket (err...i.e. the cash inside it).

There are several things going for a Core processor, even the youngest of the siblings the core i5-750.

1. Integrated memory controller: Though not the triple channel variety found on the Core i7 “9” series, this is definitely the way to go. AMD has had this for ages and Intel has them now.
2. Turbo boost:The processor would automatically speed it self up, significantly. Depending on the application running, this can either greatly speed up a single core, if the program is not multi core aware, significantly speed up two cores and noticeably speed up all four cores as well. You do not need a special motherboard, it is inherently built into the processor. The limiting factor is the processor’s thermal threshold. As long as it remains below that it will speed it self up. Provide better than bog standard cooling and this can significantly increase your chances of hitting higher speeds consistently.
3. New architecture: Core i5, i7 processors are based on Intel’s Nehalem architecture. It has more instructions that speed up gaming, has better memory performance as well as a better tweaked Float Processor Unit (or FPU).
4. Consumes less power for equalent performance: In the days of high electricity cost this will eventually start to factor in. As an example at 100% load, an equivalent Core i7-920 system and a Core i7-860 system (both nearly the same in terms of performance) will consume about 380 watts and 340 watts respectively. Over clock them to 4.2 GHz, the 920 jumps to 410 watts, the 860 jumps to a cooler 360.

What if you have the resources to go the extra mile? Or at least have an option of getting a core i5 versus a core i7-920 (The only two Core processors available locally)?

All things considered an i7-920 system has several things going for it:

1. Triple channel integrated memory controller: More of a benchmark show off than something that will make a significant difference in gaming performance.
2. Quick Path Interconnect (QPI) bus: One of the reasons that motherboards for Core i7 “9” series processor are priced much higher is that they use >20GB/Sec bus. The Core i5, i7 “8” series use a more traditional DMI bus. This is 2GB/Sec. In order to keep graphics performance up to scratch the PCI-e lanes are moved on to the processor die. PCI-e is the slot where the graphics cards go. The lanes connect the two together and keep performance up.
3. PCI-e Lanes:Speaking of PCI-e lanes, the best possible scenario for Core processor other than the “9” series is x8, x8. With “9” series x16, x16 is possible –in fact it is a given. One of the reasons given for better multi GPU performance on Core i7 "9" series as compared to others is their x16, x16 configuration. But this is just one of the factors that give them an edge in this scenario (more on this later).
4. Multiple video cards: If you are going multi vide cards, the “9” series is the natural choice. More PCI-e lanes, the QPI bus gives it a significant 10-17% improvement over a comparable “5” or “8” series system.
5. Over-clocking: It is easier to over clock a “9” series processor as compared to others specially at default voltages. Infact hitting 3.8 Ghz on default voltage using a 920 is pretty easy. For a 8 series or a 5 series the limit is closer to 3.4 GHz.
6. Six Core Processors: Intel is going to limit its upcoming 6 core processor to the LGA 1366 socket (Meant for the 9 series processors; the 5 and 8 series use the LGA 1156 socket). If you are the type who must have the latest, then Core i7 "9" series is the way to go now.

Core i5 and Core i7 8 series do have much better turbo modes. For example a 920 will hit a maximum of 133 MHz above its default speed for all 4 cores, and 266 MHz for two cores. (Default speed is 2.66 GHz)

A core i5 will hit 3.20 GHz from its base of 2.66 GHz a jump of nearly 600 MHz for 1 or 2 cores. For 3 or 4 cores this is 2.80 GHz. A Core i7 860 will do 3.46 GHz (up from 2.80 GHz) for 1 or 2 cores.

Their motherboards are also cheaper. Once the core i7 860 hits local markets, it will be the CPU for those with deepish pockets. For the rest of us the Core i5 will do nicely especially once it gets near its real retail price of about PKR. 17,000.

In brief, for mainstream/ casual gaming a E8400 will do. As will a Q9550. For those who want better performance a Core i5 is a must. For the best performance especially in a dual video card configuration consider the Core i7 920 the king. While there are faster processors available in the Core i7 family. However locally you are limited to this or the ultra expensive Extreme Edition (the cost differential is about PKR. 65,000, which can not be justified).

CPU Recommendations

Already Own (and Keep): E8400/ Q9550
Buy New: Core i5-750/ Core i7-920 (Until Core i7-860 is available)

The Display

Almost everyone uses a LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) these days. They do not take up a lot of desk space, save energy and the best of all are getting cheaper all the time, while the screen sizes are getting bigger and bigger. They are also available in wide-screen format, which is more close to our natural viewing position. The things to consider when shopping for one are:

1. The Screen Resolution
2. The Refresh Time
3. The Panel Technology
4. Looking at LCDs from Video card brand specifics

The Screen Resolution

So why factor in a LCD? This has to do with something called a “Native” display mode. LCDs are designed to work with one single optimal resolution. Other resolutions are scaled to fit on to the screen which is less than an ideal situation.

Lets say you have a brand spanking 22” LCD with a native resolution of 1680x1050.
That means that it pushes about 1.8 million pixels. Now you pair it to a mid level graphics card like a 9600GT expecting to play crysis at that resolution with eye candy and a conservative 4x Anti aliasing. Factor in everything and you’ll be disappointed.

Scaling to a lower resolution is not much of a problem as it once was, but it is still not the ideal setting.

Keep in mind the display size when dishing out for a graphics card. Again if you are upgrading, keep this in the mix as well.

The Refresh Time

Apart from the resolution, the other important factor is the refresh time. This is the time taken by the LCD elements to turn from one color to another. This is usually quoted as a Black-to-Black time or Grey-to-Grey time, the latter is more commonly quoted. A Grey-to-Grey time of 2ms is pretty common these days. Anything better than 8ms Black-to-Black is decent enough. But make sure when comparing different LCDs you are looking at the same color change time.

The Panel Technology

Yet another factor is the "technology" that goes into making the LCD panel. This itself deserves an article of its own. Suffice to say that the more expensive an LCD, the better technology it will use. The best for gaming panels are In-Panel Switching (IPS) type. They have higher refresh times (6ms is still good enough). The most common ones available here are the Twisted Nematic (TN) type. They have really fast refresh times of 2ms, but lag behind in other areas.

Looking at LCDs from Video card brand specifics

With ATi's latest cards it is possible to hookup more than a single display and make "one" larger display. This is called Eye-finity (more on this a little later). Once the 5 series cards are available locally, you might also want to factor this in. After all as you'll learn later on in this article, all this graphics power has to be utilized some where.

Nvidia touts 3D vision as the next level in gaming. This not only requires special Nvidia hardware but also needs specific LCDs that have a 120 Hz refresh rate (more on this later as well).

Keep in mind these specifics when shopping for an LCD.

The Motherboard

There are two things that you’ll need to keep in mind with regards to a motherboard when buying a graphics card

1. If you want to pair two Nvidia cards your board MUST support SLI.
2. If you plan on using a secondary card for in game physics your board must have two physical PCI-e x16 slots.

The first point is Nvidia’s lock on SLI tech. Things are much simpler if you consider a core series processor. All p55 boards support SLI and most x58 boards support SLI as well.

For Core2 series you will need a Nvidia chipset based board. Though a recent hack has made it possible for intel chipset based boards to run SLI, it still is pretty much up in the air.

The second point is not really important now, unless you must have have phys-X physics effects (more on this coming up later in the article). Two Physical PCI-e x16 slots are a requirement for this. (Notice I say, Physical. They need not have 16 lanes, only have the size of a 16 lane slot).

System RAM

This is not as much of an issue as it once was. Memory these days is very affordable, despite the current spike in prices. A couple of Gigabytes of DDR2 value ram was available for about PKR. 9000 beginning of last year. Now you can buy top of the line RAM, twice as much for less than the quoted price.

DDR2s days are numbered. Both AMD and Intel have moved their platforms to the next generation DDR3 RAM. Expect DDR2 to die a prolonged death.

If you are in for a new system and are eyeing a Core i7 “9” series processor make sure you buy your ram in sets of 3s rather than the usual two. The reason is that these processors have a triple channel memory controller. The real world benefits (read: gaming) are not significant, but there are application (especially synthetic benchmarks) that do take advantage of extra RAM bandwidth.

The other thing to keep in mind is that Intel’s new line up also need RAM with a voltage of 1.65V. This limitation will not apply to those who know how Core series processors operate. The limitation arises as Intel’s specs lay down that The memory Voltage should be with in .05 volts of Quick Path Interconnect (to RAM) voltage. As that is ~1.50 (at default) and keeping a certain safety margin, memory voltage that is acceptable is 1.65V. If you are into over-clocking at over volts, than this obviously can be circumvented by raising the QPI voltage.

These days it is pretty much possible to “cheaply” acquire 4 GB of DDR2 ram. Coupled with a 64bit Operating System (OS; to take advantage of the extra memory), it is pretty sufficient. If you are running a Core i7 “9” series processor, think of either 3 GB for a 32bit OS or 6 GB for a 64bit OS.

DDR3 is more expensive as compared to DDR2, but the difference is shrinking and probably will be wiped out during the next year when Intel will ramp up Core processor’s production and kill of Core2 series altogether.

The Power Supply

There is no such thing as a “free” lunch. That holds true for power supplies more than anything else. You can find 600 watt power supplies that are branded for about PKR. 5000. You can also find 600 watt power supplies that go for about twice as much. Both branded.

So why is one charging almost twice the amount. Are the simply banking on their name? Unfortunately no. There is more to power supplies than meets the eye.

There are several factors THAT must be considered before you decide to dish out your hard earned cash. As I said there is no such thing as a “free” lunch; you will see how the more expensive power supply is the ONLY option available.

Where are all the Watts coming from?

Modern computer systems rely on most of their power coming in from the +12V line. Power supplies provide power to your computer using two different power lines. +5V and +12V. Almost all the power to your graphics card is going to come from the +12V line. Most cheap, branded and high rated power supplies have more power on the +5V line. It has the requisite Watts but they are useless to you as they are coming in from the wrong line.

While we are on wattage; Your power supply will ONLY SUPPLY as much power as needed by the PC. A 600 Watt unit WILL NOT supply 600 watts continuously. It will only supply as much power as needed, even if it is only 10 watts (or even less).

+12V Lanes

Now that we know where the power needs to be coming from, we need to get it. There are two ways to get this power:

1. Split Rail
2. Single Rail (or split rails that behave as single rails)

1. Split Rail

This was more of a ATX design requirement that anything else. ATX spec laid down that the maximum amperage on +12V rail could only be 20 amps. Most manufacturers at the time used 18 amps. So how did they provide extra power? Simply by adding another rail. So you can have 2 rails that provide the requisite power. Need more? Add another rail!

Say you have a 600 Watt power supply. It has 400 Watts on +12V rails. Remember Power equals volts times amps:

Rail 1: 18amps x 12votls =~ 200 Watts
Rail 2: 18amps x 12volts =~ 200 Watts

Is there something wrong with split rails? Generally speaking no. They do have ONE big issue. Load balancing.

Suppose your GPU needs about 180 Watts, the rest of the system needs the same. What if u simply put all the load onto one rail?

To over come this, most split rail power supplies have instructions on how to load balance. A nuisance at least.

2. Single Rail (or split rails that behave as a single rail)

As the name suggests, you do not need to worry about load balancing here. The power supply either has a single rail or the rails behave as one. Definitely better

Power Conversion Factor (PFC)

We use 220Volts, Americans (and certain European nations) use 110 Volts. To select the input voltage power supplies either have passive PFC where input voltage has to be selected. Better power supplies can work over a range of voltages called Active PFC.

This is very much like the advertised refrigerators which say that they are immune to brown outs. They have active PFC.

This is a an over simplification, to get the point across.

80+ Silver & Gold Certification

This is the latest rating of power supplies. Power supplies like all machines have an efficiency rating. This simply mean how efficiently they can provide power to your PC.

As the load on power supplies increase, so does their efficiency. Peak efficiency is near maximal load. This certification requires 80% or more efficiency over a wider range of loads (80% efficiency for as loads as low as 20%). How does this affect you? Energy conservation. The better the efficiency, the less energy is lost as heat.

The certifications range from white (for 110V units only) to gold. Gold being the best. If you want to know more about this follow the link below.

80+ Rated Computer Power Supplies

All these features ("fat" +12V rail with ample power, single +12V rail, Active PFC, and usually silver or gold certification) is available on the more expensive unit. These features are not merely for show. They are very useful. Get a good power supply. You won't be sorry. Trust me.

Power supply is one computer component that I'd advise you to buy with as much foresight as possible. This is one component that you can go without upgrading for quiet a significant amount of time. If your current requirements stand at around 400 Watts, get a 600 Watt PC.

DO NOT USE online power supply calculation tools! They will always over calculate your power requirements. Rather look at on line reviews and figure out your needs from them.

Power Supply Recommendation

As for brands, there is only one company available locally that I can openly recommend: Corsair. Figure out how much you need, get a corsair. If you can find a silverstone, that will also do. But for me it is Corsair all the way. If you do decide to get your own favorite brand make sure it delivers enough power on the +12V line. These days upwards of 40 amps is some thing that everyone should gun for.

The Political Factor

What does politics have to do with video cards? A lot actually. You can thank Nvidia for that.

Nvidia has this “terrific” program called “The Way Its Meant To Be Played” or TWIMTBP for short. They have a dedicated lab in Russia where testers tweak drivers and at times influence game developers to get the maximum performance out of their video cards. Is this fair? Depends if you are a fan boy or have a more neutral view.

If a company has enough money and resources to flout around does it have the right to do this? I would say Yes and No.

If all Nvidia was doing was to tweak their drivers then there is nothing wrong with that. But they started influencing game developers to alter their code, take out elements that favor their competition; that is unfair.

I’ll give you a couple of very recent and old examples where games are manipulated to an extent that either the game had poor performance on any card but their own or had features that were deliberately altered so that they are available only on their cards.

Tomb Raider –Angel of Darkness

The game was released eons ago. Thankfully the game was not very good and thus it escaped the chagrin developers might have faced. This was a “TWIMTBP” game but it ran badly on Nvidia’s hardware. Looks bad doesn’t it? The game had a built in benchmark utility which clearly showed how “bad” was bad. The developers (the now defunct Core design) released a patch that quietly took out the benchmark feature. Had the game been actually any good, Nvidia might have lost a lot more than a few frames per second!

Splinter Cell –Chaos Theory

Another TWIMTBP game. This one was released at the time Shader Model (SM) 3.0 was the talk to town. Nvidia was there first with its Geforce “6” series. Nothing wrong so far… The problem was that if the game’s engine did not detect a SM 3.0 compliant card, it would fall back to SM 1.1 renderer. Those who had the “pleasure” of playing this game in its original form on ATi’s (now AMD, but I’ll call them ATi) hardware will remember the banding on the walls. I was also one of those lucky ones.

The game did eventually get a SM 2.0 rendering pathway via a patch, which came out months later. By that time Nvidia had gained all it wanted to.

Assassin’s Creed

No point mentioning TWIMTBP. This was one of the few games that actually took advantage of DirectX (DX) 10.1’s extra features (over DirectX 10). This made the game run faster on ATi’s hardware, which were DX 10.1 compliant. The developers released a patch which took this pathway out saying it was not rendering the scene correctly. Several techzines did a scene by scene comparison and figured nothing was wrong with the DX 10.1 rendering technique. Except for the fact it made Nvidia look bad.

Batman Arkham Asylum

The only way to get Anti-aliasing to run on this game “officially” is if you have a Nvidia card. Nvidia said it actually spent time making sure the game supported this feature on its card and that ATi should have spent some resources as well. How quickly they forget that this game as a nice “TWIMTBP” logo on it. Yes it is possible to activate phys-x effects on ATi cards. But to do that you'll have to fiddle with the system. And they will not be accelerated. (Most do not need acceleration any ways though)

The “Politics” simply do not end here. Nvidia has two more “aces” up its sleeve.

Graphics Processing Unit Physics (GPU-Physics, Phys-X)

Once there was this company called Ageia. It came up with a dedicated Phys-X card. It was supposed to do wondrous things for gaming physics. That company was acquired by Nvidia, which converted the physics middle-ware called “phys-X” so that it would run off its line of graphics cards. Thus the moniker GPU Physics.

Now in game physics middle-ware is nothing new. Havok is fairly well known and is probably the most commonly used engine out there. Havok runs off the Central Processing Unit (little wonder the company was acquired by Intel). It is platform independent. Performance depends on the power of the CPU. Havok-Fx was an extension that allowed accelerated physics. However since Intel's acquring of Havok, this project is pretty much up in the air. ATi at times has demonstrated Havok GPU accelaration. As ATi is now promoting an open physics engine, this (Havok GPU acceleration by ATi) is going to be limited to tech demos of the past.

In game physics is a moot point. John Carmack, the brains behind Doom, Quake and recently rage is not a fan of dedicated physics. There are other developers (and publishers) who, if “coaxed” enough would gladly sing praises for Phys-X.

Take Batman Arkham Asylum as an example. It has some lovely phys-X accelerated effects. However if you read around, you’ll get to know that most of these effects could have been done using a general purpose physics engine. Reason? TWIMTBP!

Phys-X has not caught on, but if Nvidia keeps up these tactics, it just might be the next “big” thing.

OTOH, ATi is not sitting idle either, it has its own idea about an open physics engine. As ATi and Nvidia are the only major players (YET) in discrete GPU, it depends on who can convince more developers. ATi’s “Get in The Game” (GiTG) program is fairly weak (how many games can you name with this logo?). Nvidia’s isn’t. Enough said?

Worse yet, with the latest Nvidia drivers, it (Nvidia) has disabled Phys-X if any ATi card is present in the system. Before this it was possible to do Phys-X by pairing a Nvidia card for Physics and ATi card for graphics rendering. Nvidia is locking onto as much as it can.

Scalable Link Interface (SLI)

For those who use two (or more) discrete graphics card together should already be aware of SLI and Cross fire (X-Fire). These two technologies enable Nvidia and ATi respectively to link up two (or more) discrete GPUs in order to improve gaming performance.

For this you’ll need a motherboard with two physical PCI-e x16 slots. X-Fire is an open standard. Any motherboard manufacturer can openly use this technology.

SLI on other hand is proprietary. Only recently with the advent of the Core series of processor has it become “widely” available. Before this you needed to have a Nvidia chipset based board (less than an ideal solution). Now Nvidia licenses this technology for US$ 30,000 per manufacturer.

Is Nvidia playing dirty? Broadly speaking yes it is. Will it continue to do so? You betcha! Unless ATi can improve its own program OR Nvidia closes its things are not going to change much.

ATi is not in a very good financial position thanks to the white elephant that acquired it (AMD). Had ATi been going alone, it would have been a much healthier company and probably in a better position to counter Nvidia. But as things stand, I do not, at least in the short term see the status quo changing.

After learning all of this, is there any point in getting an ATi solution. Of course! Especially with the latest ATi series.

Yes there are problems, which do not have to do much with ATi. Yes when games come out ATi usually needs to tweak its drivers to get things working as they should (Need for Speed Shift, Red Faction Guerilla, Resident Evil 5 DX10 Pathway). But they can not be beat for price performance. Their latest 5 series are cards amazing. More on this in the next section.

Buying the Card

This is what this guide was ONLY supposed to be about. Given my eccentricity, you should not expect a straight forward solution. You see as I said before you need to look at the bigger picture prior to making a purchase. I do not agree with upgrading in bits. The way technology evolves, performance nearly doubles and prices half in less than 12 months. Thus it is a much better idea to buy a balanced system than a skewed system.

Take this example. You set out with PKR. 60,000 to build your ultimate rig. You visit your local vendor and get this really hot graphics card that takes up more than half the budget. You pair it to a “compromised” system expecting big things to happen. Unfortunately such things do happen, not the way you expect them to (anger, dissapointment, frustration, rage, depression).

The State of PC Gaming

Most PC games these days are console ports –straight console ports. Some are so badly ported that do not even take into account the availability of keyboard and mouse on the PC.

They textures are pretty similar as are the effects. Both current generation consoles have graphics processors that are at least two generations or more behind what the PC’s have. If performance doubles with every generation, the consoles have a 4x disadvantage over their PC counterparts.

So how do you put all the extra power to use? You can game at higher resolutions OR you can do clever things like ATi’s eye finity.

Eye-finity is a clever idea. Take all the extra power, add monitors together so that act like one “jumbo” screen and game at really high resolutions. This technology works with the latest 5 series ATi card.

Actually this technology has been around for quiet some time on Nvidia cards as well. Not the consumer cards, but professional Quadro series cards. It will take Nvidia almost nothing to add this to their current consumer cards if they feel that Eye-finity is a threat.

So unless you plan on buying a really big monitor (read 22” or more) OR have many (similarly specced) monitors lying around that you can hook up together, you’ll be amazed to see how little you actually need to spend in order to get good performance.

Exotics

I talked about Eye-finity, which I’ll also include here.

Nvidia also has something up its sleeve. Something that does not actually require many displays, but rather one “special” display. It is called 3D vision.

Those of you who are old enough to have owned a GeForce 2 series card made by Asus will remember the “special” edition cards that came with 3D glasses. I had one and it was a blast when it worked.

Nvidia has re kindled an old flame and has brought back this, but with a twist. The hardware is now sold discretely and requires a special 120 Hz monitor (the monitor draws two discrete frames at 60hz each for each eye. Each frame is slightly different thus creating the 3D effect or stereoscopic vision).

Is it worth it? Yes if you desire real immersive gaming. Otherwise No.

Also note that not every one has equally good stereo vision. The effects perceived are thus very subjective. You need two good aligned eyes to at least have some form of stereoscopic vision.

The Selection Process

Remember when I said you do not need to spend a whole lot of money to get decent performance? This is the part where this all becomes true.

Gaming on a bugdet: GPU Cash Limit < PKR. 10,000

It is possible to get very good performance at this price point IF your system is well balanced. Pair a E8400 with a decent Nvidia 9800GT and see your games come to life. For all screen sizes of 19” (both CRT and LCD) this pairing will do the job nicely. You will be able to play the majority of games at relatively high settings and get stable frames that will justify your gaming.

At this price point ATi’s offerings are thin. There are two ATi cards that are pretty close to this price point: The 4850 and the 4770. The former is too close to a 4870 1 GB, the latter is more expensive than a 9800GT, but performs nearly on par (loose some, win some more). Neither would actually improve your game play experience beyond a 9800GT. Under 10,000 the Inno3D 9800GT is a very very good buy.

Gaming with cash to go: GPU Cash Limit < PKR. 15,000

The advantage here is higher resolutions and/ or greater eye candy. ATi’s 4870 1GB is an excellent choices. It has nearly hit 15,000 price point and is a REAL STEAL at this price. Pair it to a E8400 for good performance. Pair it to a Q9550/ Core i5 for even better performance especially in games that take advantage of quad core processors. (Most recent games, especially those coming from Capcom, like The Lost Planet, Devil May Cry 4, Street Fighter, Resident Evil 5). The Nvidia GTX 260-Core 216 should be at this price locally. Unfortunately it is not and thus is not a contender. If you must have Phys-x, consider this card. But it is not worth it at the given price point. (The differential is about PKR. 6000 or so)

Gaming with cash to spare: GPU Cash Limit < PKR. 25,000

Your options are now opening up. Get either a 4890 or a GTX 275. This time the latter has more weight and better performance. But remember to get a decent processor (Quad Core, especially if over clocked). A 22” LCD is an ideal match for these. Again Nvidia also has the added advantage of Phys-X and 3D Vision. Please note: The performance difference between a 4890 and a 4870 and a GTX 260 Core 216 and a GTX 275 will only add to your game play experience IF you pair these up to equally powerful system components. Otherwise fall back a category. You will save some money and get a similar game play experience.

Gaming with cash to burn: GPU Cash Limit > PKR. 25,000

I’d ask you to save your cash and wait for BOTH ATi’s and Nvidia’s offering to hit our shores. There is enough power in current generation cards that there is no point forking out more money on solutions like the GTX285, 295 or the 4870X2. Even if you have loads of cash, hold on it or donate it to charity. (No, ATi and Nvidia are not charities). But before you decide to send me hate mail read on.

Special Situation #1: A high-end Core i7 “9” series rig

If you happen to own a high end core i7 processor, or an over clocked 920 (to say 3.6 GHz), there are ways to considerably improve your gaming experience. Pair this with Windows 7 for almost killer multi GPU performance.

This is the only time I’d recommend getting a dual GPU solution. You already enough high end components to justify another. You’ll also need better than a 22” display in the mix to really get the most out of your card(s).

So which is it going to be? The Nvidia card is more expensive but has added benefits (as mentioned). The ATi card is cheaper. (I am talking about the GTX 295 or the ATi 4870-X2). The performance gap is not worth the price gap. If you can live without Phys-X and 3D vision, get ATi’s card. It is recommended.

Special Situation #2: Thinking of going Dual GPU in steps

This again in my books is not a good idea. You’ll end up spending more and probably not get the best of performance as compared to a single GPU solution.

E.g. You bought a ATi 4870 1 GB when it came out. It cost you something like PKR. 25,000. You now think they are cheap enough to add another. So you fork another 15,000 to your X-fire capable board thinking you just made the best decision of your life?

Wrong…

The total amount you spent is 40,000. Instead of spending another 15,000. Sell your old 4870 1GB and get a single GPU new generation card. The performance will be the same and game play experience will be much better. And you will probably pay less.

Special Situation #3: Are dual GPUs a good idea?

Okay so this is not really a special situation, rather a case scenario. Is it a good idea to get two cards at the same time and get bonus performance?

The answer is not a simple yes or no. Yes you will get better performance. How much better depends on the drivers. Drivers depend on the manufacturers. If your favorite game is not your developer’s, don’t expect to get driver optimizations the day the game comes out… if ever.

The other problem is more subjective. It is called “micro stuttering”. This is a kind of a perceived frame rate drop. Many people with dual GPU solutions experience this. There is no way of knowing if you will or not, until you give it a shot. Yes this applies to video cards that integrates two processing cores on one card (the so called "X2" cards, also including the GTX 295)

Am I in favor of dual GPUs or even Quad GPUs? No. For several reasons. These days even a single card has enough power to get you gaming. Unless you are a fanatic and demand absolute performance in every game there is no reason to fork out so much money for power that you will hardly use. Other reasons include micro stutter, insane power requirements.

Am I out right rejecting Dual GPUs? Again no. I have already out lined one special situation where a dual GPU configuration will come in (very) handy. And for anyone who must absolutely have the best experience in gaming this is the only way to go and the only way It Is Meant To Be Played!

Special Situation #4: Specialist card for PHYS-X

If you must experience Arkham Asylum in its full glory you need to have a phys-X card. It is possible to activate Phys-X on ATi cards, but again they will not be accelerated. A good option is a Nvidia 9800GT. If you must have Phys-X make sure you meet the requirements (Another primary Nvidia card + two Physical PCI-e x16 Slots)

Special Situation #5: A Graphic card not for Gaming

Which "ultimate" buying guide would be complete without addressing non gaming use of graphic cards. There are at least two situations where a consumer level card will be used in a non-gaming situation. As this guide is for consumer electronics, I am not going to include professional uses like rendering etc.

1. Folding@home
2. Home Theater PC (HTPC)

1. Folding@home:

This is a distributed computing program that helps scientists learn how proteins "fold" themselves. This is the process by which proteins become functional. If you keep your computer on 24/7 (or there abouts), you can run a folding@home client and let it utilize whatever hardware capability you have. However if you are building a dedicated folding box and want the best performance, you can pair your computer with a decent mid-range video card as well.

Folding@home client awards the user with points. Most clients are not run in isolation, rather as teams. e.g. you can make up a wccftech folding@home team. All the points earned by members would go towards wccftech folding@home team. The better your hardware, the more points you accumulate.

Here the choice is pretty straight forward. You should get a Nvidia card. They do much much better than their ATi counterparts. E.g. an ATi 4890 -1GB does about 2700 points per day. An entry level 9600GT does about 3200 points.

If you are assembling a dedicated folding box, get a Nvidia 9600GT.

2. HTPC.

HTPCs are dedicated entertainment centers. Though this is pretty uncommon locally, they offer amazing value. A mid-level home theater in a box (HTiB) costs around 30,000 to 40,000 rupees. You can assemble a decent decent HTPC for about half the cost (minus the speakers). HTiB's are "fixed" function and can not be upgraded. Almost none of them will play exotic video or audio formats (flac, quick-time etc). With an HTPC you get the versatility to play virually any video or audio format and output it to your display.

If all you need is mpeg II decoding, then really any video card will do. All of the recent video cards (dating back to the Nvidia GeForce 4, ATi 8 series) have enough power and features to decode DVD. Heck modern CPUs including some Atom processors can decode DVD. No special requirements.

If you are after High Definition Video, things get interesting. Again many mid-range processor can decode these, but at a high CPU activity (near 100%). Nothing wrong as long as your HTPC is *only* decoding video.

Again relatively inexpensive graphic cards are all you need to off load your CPU. ATi has an upper hand as it's budget range is better at this. ATi 4650 -1GB at around 5,300 Rupees is an excellent buy. Make sure you have all the proper cables to hook it up to your television. Almost all of these cards can output component video. Thus those with CRTs can also take advantage of a HTPC. (CRTs are a dying breed. I have not seen one with HDMI input or even DVI or D-Sub input, leaving Component as the only option).

Final Words

So there you have it. Graphics card are just a component of your entire computer system. The message that I have been trying to get across is "balance". Strike a balance between the components and you'll be a happy gamer for a long time to come.

Performance Figures

The cards that have been reccomended were done so by testing them in various games. They were tested at a relatively high resolution with eye candy turned on.

For Nvidia 9800GT Anti-aliasing was kept at 2X and Anisotropic Filtering at 8X. The rest of the parameters remained unchanged.

As you can see even the a sub 10,000 rupee card can offer decent performance. Though the processor used in these tests was an over clocked Core i7-920, if you refer to the CPU scaling graph, you'll see that the performance variation between processors decreases as the resolution increases (and eye candy is turned on).

The Lost Planet was used to test CPU scaling among various cards as the game's engine is very well optimized for Quad core processors.

Crysis was intentionally left out. There are games that can nearly match Crysis's graphical prowess but run much better (Far Cry 2, Resident Evil 5).

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