That's pretty awesome when you think about it, especially in light of previous standards that were often deprecated. If it doesn't, we recommend forgetting about upgrading just your graphics card. Theoretically you might be able to finagle an x1 to x16 PCIe adapter solution, but it's messy and just asking for trouble. That doesn't mean every old PC with a PCIe x16 slot can handle the latest graphics cards, but that's usually due to other hardware requirements.
Size, for example: You're not going to fit a mm long graphics card into a case that only has room for a mm card. Many compact PCs will be restricted in what they can fit, and pre-built systems often fall into the compact category. To find out how big your GPU can be, you could try looking at your case manual, assuming you have that. For pre-built PCs, you probably won't have it or be able to find the information online. We recommend going old-school and using a ruler or measuring tape — it will likely take less time and give you more accurate information.
To determine how long your graphics card can be, measure from the expansion slots on your case to whatever part is most likely to obstruct the graphics card on the other end.
It doesn't matter if it's drive bays, fans, or the front of the case — just measure near your primary PCIe x16 slot the one closest to the CPU cooler , as that's where your graphics card should go.
A tight fit at the back of your GPU could make it impossible to connect the power cables. We recommend giving yourself some wiggle room as well. Even if you measure mm of clearance and a graphics card says it's mm long, it may be too snug a fit.
Subtracting 20mm from your measurement and buying a card that's shorter than the resulting length should do the trick. Power requirements are another major sticking point. If you have a PC that was built before , there's a good chance your power supply won't have any 8-pin PCI Express Graphics PEG power connectors available, which are used on many of the faster cards today. If you have a PC from a large OEM eg, something from Dell, HP, or Lenovo , you might not even be able to swap out the power supply for a newer model with the required 6- or 8-pin connectors.
As GPUs get faster, games are designed to take advantage of the extra performance, and that pushes manufacturers to make even faster GPUs, continuing the cycle. All of these programs benefit from the additional processing power of a GPU, though they benefit most from GPUs designed specifically with these applications in mind.
As with every PC component, the first question to ask yourself when choosing a graphics card is: how will you be using it? The gaming industry has been instrumental in the evolution of GPU technology. There are many different kinds of games, though, and not all of them demand the most powerful GPU on the market. Buying the best GPU you can afford is a good way to future-proof your build, and keep it ready to play popular games that have yet to be released.
That said, if you know exactly the kind of games you want to play, doing a bit of research on the ideal GPU to run that title is a great way to start your shopping process. Those who use their PCs for complex tasks like 3D rendering, game development, and video editing also benefit from faster GPUs. These workstation GPUs are optimized for these applications, and their drivers are certified to be stable and reliable when undertaking these operations.
Though professional-grade GPUs are designed for a different purpose, many of the fundamental concepts still apply. These integrated graphics tend to be lower-performance options, providing enough power to drive the operating system and run web browsers, email clients, productivity apps, and other routine software, but not enough for anything more than casual or older games. This is quickly changing as CPUs become more powerful, but for now, if you want to play games, a separate or discrete GPU is likely the best solution.
Many gaming focused laptop computers utilize discrete GPUs as well. Laptop GPUs used to be significantly less powerful than their full-sized desktop cousins due to space limitations and thermal considerations. Now they are now closer to parity than ever. Many modern gaming laptops use discrete GPUs that are very close in performance to their desktop equivalents, or are optimized to fit an impressive amount of power into very thin and light notebooks.
You no longer have to choose between portability and power. A s Nvidia describes it :. As it traverses the scene, the light may reflect from one object to another causing reflections , be blocked by objects causing shadows , or pass through transparent or semi-transparent objects causing refractions.
Finally, consumer-grade GPUs have the power to perform effective ray tracing in games. Most modern flagship GPUs from AMD and Nvidia support some version of ray tracing, and it will continue to become more widely available with each new iteration of graphics cards. These cards include cooling solutions, necessary connections, and most importantly, the graphics processor itself. This processor is an incredibly complex chip developed with decades of research and experimentation.
Historically, these two companies have battled for leadership in the GPU market, constantly forcing each other to innovate to the benefit of consumers. Both have strengths, and both offer solid options. These companies take the chips designed by either AMD or Nvidia, and create their own graphics card using this technology.
Think of it as a car; the engine is created by AMD or Nvidia, but the rest of the car, including the body and the cooling, are designed by the company that manufacturers the card itself. Each GPU manufacturer brings their own unique design choices and technologies to the table, which results in plenty of options to choose from.
There are other considerations too, such as cooling, clock speeds, and aesthetic design that can impact performance, but if you buy an RTX , you know the fundamental capabilities of the card regardless of the manufacturer. The most popular and powerful GPUs are those in its series RTX , , or , with performance capabilities increasing with the number. Nvidia has a wide range of GPUs covering the low-end to the very high end of the consumer GPU market as well, not only flagship products.
Here are some of the most relevant Nvidia gaming GPUs as of late As you can see from the charts above, there are a few specifications that you will want to keep in mind as you look to purchase a GPU. These benchmark comparisons will allow you to see how different versions of the same GPU compare to each other, and to other versions. As with all powerful hardware that uses electricity, GPUs generate a lot of heat, and require sufficient cooling to run reliably and at peak performance. For example, a PCIe 3.
So, if PCIe 2. Currently, in , 3. You could potentially get by with a different version, but you will likely be either bandwidth limited or unable to fully access the potential of the slot.
If you are planning to use your rig primarily for gaming, multiple GPU setups are not recommended. Driver and game support for this technology is steadily dying and the possible performance gains are minimal.
This is an aspect that is easily forgotten, but one that can really mess with graphics card compatibility. Just make sure the PC is turned off and unplugged when you do this. In most cases, you will want to focus on the length of the graphics card as it is usually the main issue.
Another thing to consider is the backplate slots as they can give a false impression due to sometimes being wider than the GPU. Measuring the space in your PC is crucial when determining if your rig will have enough room to breathe.
0コメント