You will want to first check the bus type on your motherboard. This is the slot your card will fit into.
PCIE or PCI Express:
The PCI Express, also known as PCI Express x16 offers performance as much as 4X faster AGP 8X bus. Nowadays PCs have at least one PCI Express x16 slot type. Although the names are similar, PCI Express and PCI are physically different shapes and use different standards of data transfer. A PCI Express video card will not fit into a PCI slot and vice-versa.
PCI:
The PCI slot was developed first and is the most limited in terms of performance. However, if you are looking for a value-level video card, there are many excellent PCI cards available that offer great performance for the money.
AGP:
The AGP offers as much as 8X improvement over PCI in terms of performance. There are several different versions of the AGP slot. AGP 1.0 is an older standard that is no longer used. Most AGP video cards are designed to work only with the newer AGP 2.0 and 3.0 versions.
Different Levels of Video Cards
Next you will pick what level of graphics card you want to buy based on usage and your budget.
Enthusiasts Video Cards:
Play the most demanding HD games at the highest resolutions and Image quality settings.
Performance Video Cards :
These are great performing cards for high quality imaging, 3D gaming and other demanding applications. Performance cards play the latest HD games with across multiple displays with unrivaled visual quality, realism, and fast frame rates.
Mainstream Video Cards:
These are the mid-range card. If you are looking for affordable PC graphics upgrade for light gaming, video editing, digital photography, or simply web surfing, then mainstream is the answer.
Entery Level Video Cards :
These cards are used primarily for business and desktop graphics functions, as well as specific applications like providing TV output or S-Video output or dual monitor support. If your main goal is to improve your graphics for desktop publishing or surfing the web, or you just need dual monitor support or TV output, then value video cards should be sufficient. .
If you are planning to upgrade your computer to Windows 7™, please see our
Diamond Multimedia Video Cards for Windows 7™ page.
Your Computer System
We recommend paying close attention to the system requirements under the specifications when browsing Diamond graphics cards. This will help you determine if the card you are interested in will be compatible with your system.
Please watch our video tutorial on "How to Install a Graphics Card"
How To Install A Graphics Card
Disabling the On-Board Video
Installing ATI Drivers for your Graphics Card
Connectors
Then decide if you require any special features.
Video cards provide additional functions beside increasing the ability to render 3D graphics for gaming. The main functions include:
- DVI: DVI is a higher-definition output used with some newer monitors as well as some high-end TVs. If your monitor or TV supports DVI, using this jack will give you a better picture than the standard VGA or RCA (TV-out) output. If you are using an older monitor, you can convert the DVI signal to VGA using a DVI-to-VGA adaptor.
- S-Video and/or TV-Out: Most video cards, even value cards, provide the ability to send the video signal from your PC to your TV. This feature is labeled as "TV-Out" on the video card package. In most cases, the TV-out jack is an "S-video" type jack designed to send a high-quality s-video signal to newer TV's. If you are using an older TV that has RCA input instead of s-video, you can use an "S-Video to RCA adaptor" to convert the signal to RCA to input to your TV
- Dual Monitor Support: Dual monitor support refers to splitting your video signal to go across two monitors instead of one. This is very useful for designers, engineers, multi-taskers, and others who need to view large files on their desktop and still have other windows open. Usually the dual monitor support consists of one standard VGA output (standard computer monitor) and one DVI jack, which provides a higher-resolution output used for newer high-end monitors. This feature will be labeled as "dual monitor support" on most video card packages.
Choose Diamond Video Cards For Great Quality, Service, And Value!
Your last decision is which manufacturer's product to purchase. Of course, we recommend purchasing a Diamond Multimedia Video Card. Diamond has been the leader in the video card industry offering the highest quality with the lowest return rates in the industry, free customer service by telephone and e-mail.
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