Graphics Cards

If you are building your own computer or upgrading the one you currently have, then you are going to need a graphics card. The key here is to make sure that the card you choose is able to display the best resolution that your display can handle. Don't forget about your onboard memory. Graphicsfiles can be quite large because they have so much data that needs to be processed. The faster cards will have their own resident memory chips so they don’t impact on the computer’s RAM. Sharing system RAM isn’t always a bad thing depending on what you expect your computer to do, so before you choose your graphics card have a look at what some of our online retailers, such as eBay, Dell, and Amazon have to offer. Check out the reviews so you will know what to expect when it comes to performance and fan noise. Once you have chosen your card, simply look for the best deal and there you have it – a bargain in the making! ... View more - View less

View the Graphics Cards Buyers Guide

2073 Results from 7 retailers

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- Dell Graphics : 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA Quadro 4000 Graphics - 2 DP, 1 DVI(1 DP-DVI, 1 DVI-VGA adapter)(MRGA17H) for Precision T5500/T3500 MT/DT / T7500 MT / R5500
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- £482.49
- Dell Graphics : 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA Quadro 4000 Graphics - 2 DP, 1 DVI(1 DP-DVI, 1 DVI-VGA adapter)(MRGA17H) for...
- £482.49
  inc P&P - £489.49
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: 24-48 Hours
- StarTech.com XGI Volari Z7 16 MB PCI VGA Video Adapter Card - Graphics card - Volari Z7 - 16 MB DDR - PCI - D-Sub - retail
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- £62.39
- StarTech.com XGI Volari Z7 16 MB PCI VGA Video Adapter Card - Graphics card - Volari Z7 - 16 MB DDR - PCI -...
- £62.39
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: Within 24 Hours
- PNY nVidia Quadro NVS 295 16X Display Port 256MB Graphics Card
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- £101.70
- OEM Product (Pack of 10 Cards) PNY NVIDIA Quadro NVS 295 Graphics Card Memory: 256MB Memory Bandwidth: 11.2...
- £101.70
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
- Pine XFX Hd 6790 1gb Graphics Card (dual Mini Displayport/hdmi/dualdvi) 840mhz Bnib
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- £89.49
- BRAND NEW/SEALED XFX HD6790 1GB Graphics Card (Model number HD-679X-ZHFC) - Comes with 12 Month warranty. Get...
- £89.49
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock
- Matrox M9120 Plus 512Mb Low Profile PCI-Express X16 Professional Graphics Card
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- £227.99
- Matrox M9120 Plus 512Mb Low Profile Pci-Express X16 Professional Graphics Card
- £227.99
  inc P&P - £232.78
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: 2-3 Days
- Palit GeForce GT 430 Graphics Card with Low Profile Bracket and Blu-Ray 3D Support (2GB, 128 bit, DDR3)
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- £49.95
- Mem/Core:1070/700,CUDA:96 HDMI,DVI,VGA, Fansink
- £49.95
  inc P&P - £54.95
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
- Asus Radeon HD 6670 - 1 GB GDDR3 - PCI-Express 2.1 (EAH6670/DI/1GD3)
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- £59.90
- For extreme gaming, look no further than the Asus Radeon HD 6670! In addition to its 1 GB...
- £59.90
  inc P&P - £67.90
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: 1-2 days • Best prices on over 1,300,000 references! IN STOCK! Next day and standard delivery options available.
- Dell Graphics : 1 GB GDDR5 ATI FirePro V4800 Graphics - 2 DP, 1 DVI (1 DP-DVI,1 DVI-VGA adapter) (ELGA13B) for Precision T5500/T3500 MT/DT / T7500/T1600 MT
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- £164.99
- Dell Graphics : 1 GB GDDR5 ATI FirePro V4800 Graphics - 2 DP, 1 DVI (1 DP-DVI,1 DVI-VGA adapter) (ELGA13B) for...
- £164.99
  inc P&P - £171.99
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: 24-48 Hours
- StarTech.com XGI Volari Z7 16 MB PCI VGA Video Adapter Card - Graphics card - Volari Z7 - 16 MB DDR - PCI - D-Sub - retail
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- £51.99
- StarTech.com XGI Volari Z7 16 MB PCI VGA Video Adapter Card - Graphics card - Volari Z7 - 16 MB DDR - PCI -...
- £51.99
  inc P&P - £58.99
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: Within 24 Hours
- Dell Graphics : 256MB ATI Radeon 3470 PCIe (Full Height,Dual DisplayPort, Dual Display) for OptiPlex 960/760/780 MT/DT/SF / 580 MT/DT/SFF
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- £42.99
- Dell Graphics : 256MB ATI Radeon 3470 PCIe (Full Height,Dual DisplayPort, Dual Display) for OptiPlex...
- £42.99
  inc P&P - £49.99
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: 24-48 Hours
- Dell Graphics : 512MB ATI FirePro V5700 - 2 DP, 1 DVI (1 DP-DVI,1 DVI-VGA adapter)(MRGA16LB) for Precision R5400 / T5500/T3500 MT/DT / T7500 MT
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- £449
- Dell Graphics : 512MB ATI FirePro V5700 - 2 DP, 1 DVI (1 DP-DVI,1 DVI-VGA adapter)(MRGA16LB) for Precision...
- £449
  inc P&P - £456
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: 24-48 Hours
- Dell GPGPU NVIDIA Tesla C2050 Computing Processor PCIe x16 Card
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- £1,984.99
- Dell GPGPU NVIDIA Tesla C2050 Computing Processor PCIe x16 Card The NVIDIA Tesla™; C2050 Computing Processor...
- £1,984.99
  inc P&P - £1,991.99
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: 24-48 Hours
- Dell Graphics : 6 GB NVIDIA Quadro 6000 Graphics - 2 DP, 1 DVI(1 DP-DVI, 1 DVI-VGA adapter)(SHEGA4)
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- £4,449.99
- Dell Graphics : 6 GB NVIDIA Quadro 6000 Graphics - 2 DP, 1 DVI(1 DP-DVI, 1 DVI-VGA adapter)(SHEGA4) The...
- £4,449.99
  inc P&P - £4,456.99
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: 24-48 Hours
- Dell Graphics : 256MB Nvidia NVS 295 Graphics - 2 DP (adapter NOT INCLUDED) (ULGA9) for Precision T5500/T3500 MT/DT / T7500/T1500 MT / R5500
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- £86.99
- Dell Graphics : 256MB Nvidia NVS 295 Graphics - 2 DP (adapter NOT INCLUDED) (ULGA9) for Precision T5500/T3500...
- £86.99
  inc P&P - £93.99
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: 24-48 Hours
- PNY nVidia NVS 300 x16 LowProfile DVI Dual 512MB Graphics Card
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- £98.18
- PCI-EX16 DUAL-DVI LP-BR
- £98.18
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
- PNY GeForce GT440 with Cuda/1GB DDR3 128-Bit Memory PCI-Express x16 with DVI-IVGA and HDMI Output
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- £52.82
- PNY GeForce GT440 with Cuda1GB DDR3 128bit memory PCIexpress x16 with DVII VGA and HDMI output GF440GT1GESB...
- £52.82
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
- Sapphire 4L000-01-40G VID-2X DVI to Dual DVI Display Expander
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- £129.99
- Connect two monitors with DVI ports to your computer's Dual-Link DVI port with the Vid-2X 4L000-01-40G...
- £129.99
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
- Uk Hardlines - Efn - Code TUL Radeon HD 6990 Graphics Card PCI-e 4096MB GDDR5 Memory Device 4 Mini DP 2 GPU
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- £564.25
- TUL Radeon HD 6990 Graphics Card PCI-e 4096MB GDDR5 Memory Device 4 Mini DP 2 GPU
- £564.25
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: Not in stock • Delivered: Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item.
- Axle3d AXLE Nvidia GeForce GT430 Grafikkarte Low Profile (PCI-e, 1GB GDDR3 Speicher, DVI, VGA, HDMI, 1 GPU)
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- £70.57
- AXLE nVidia GeForce GT 430 - High performance and best price for gaming and more. The AXLE nVidia GeForce GT...
- £70.57
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
- Asus EAH5550 Graphics Card PCI-e, 1 GB GDDR3 Memory, DVI, 1 GPU Full Retail
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- £62.06
- The Dust-Proof Fan design additionally dissipates heat efficiently while expending lifespan by 25% Fuse...
- £62.06
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: Not in stock • Delivered: Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item.
- KFA2 GeForce GTX 580 Anarchy Edition (1.536GB,DDR5)
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- £393.48
- KFA2 GeForce GTX 580 Anarchy Edition (1.536GB,DDR5)
- £393.48
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
- KFA2 MDT X4 1.536GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 Graphics Card (GDDR5, 384-bit, PCI Express 2.0, 3x HDMI, NVIDIA PureVideo HD Technology)
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- £399.99
- This card supports a total of 4 monitor outputs simultaneously (3 Mini-HDMI; 1 DP). User has the flexibility...
- £399.99
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
- VTX3D ATI Radeon HD5670 Graphics Card PCI-e 1 GB GDDR5 Memory HDMI DVI 1 GPU
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- £96.96
- VTX3D ATI Radeon HD5670 Graphics Card PCI-e 1 GB GDDR5 Memory HDMI DVI 1 GPU
- £96.96
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: Not in stock • Delivered: Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item.
- Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 Grafikkarte (PCI-e, 1024MB DDR3 Speicher, Dual-DVI, mini HDMI)
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- £66.56
- Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 Grafikkarte (PCI-e, 1024MB DDR3 Speicher, Dual-DVI, mini HDMI)
- £66.56
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: Not in stock • Delivered: Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item.

Buying Guide - Graphics Cards

Written by Pure Content

Types

In general terms, there are two main uses for a video card in a computer: 2D graphics, and 3D graphics. Two-dimensional graphics are rendered on the screen via the video card for most tasks that the average computer user carries out, such as word processing, internet browsing and general desktop use, all of which require the use of a graphics card in order for the information on the screen to be presented.

With the advent of more complicated graphical effects in operating systems such as Windows 7 or Mac OS X, having a video card that is capable of rendering fast two dimensional effects is more important than ever, while three dimensional effects are becoming more commonplace. Two dimensional graphics card applications are pushed to the limit with applications such as Photoshop and Illustrator, with the use of such programs increasing all the time effective graphics cards are essential.

Three dimensional graphics are typically used in games. Texture effects, particle effects and lighting all require heavy use of three dimensional shades and renderers in the video card. While some rendering takes place in the CPU of the computer, many of the work is devolved to processes within the video card memory itself.

A video card can come in various types. Some older video card models may still use a PCI or Peripheral Component Interconnect port, but with speeds of computers doubling every few years, many use what is now regarded as an older port known as AGP, or Accelerated Graphics Port. These types of video card are now considered basic and only really viable for the consumer if their motherboard only supports this type of connection. PCI and AGP became a bottleneck for the speeds at which video card memory ran some five years ago, meaning that any video card utilising these connections won't be very efficient with newer three dimensional effects. This type of video card may be useful for those with low three dimensional graphics requirements, however, as they will be able to render in 2D fast enough for the average user.

Now, most graphics card and video card types are available with a PCIe, or PCI Express connection. This interface, now available on most motherboards across the range, allows for a much faster bus speed in the video card, meaning that information travels much faster across the system. The amount of information travelling at any one time, the bandwidth, is big enough for the majority of video card types bought today.

However, even this connection has been pushed to one side by the most advanced video card manufacturing companies that quickly required two PCIe slots in order to get the most out of the video card. PCI Express x 16 video card slots are now available to carry the immense amount of data that the most modern graphics card is available to generate. Such a video card using PCIe x 16 slots will be geared towards the top end of video card owners, namely those playing games that utilise cutting edge technology.

Video card types will also support several software packages that developers use to generate their graphics. The most popular one for Windows is DirectX, now in its 11th revision. DX11 compatible cards currently sit at the top of the range, while most cards will inc

Features

Connecting a graphics card to a monitor used to be as simple as plugging a VGA cable between the graphics card output and the monitor. However, video card types and LCD monitors have the benefit of digital signal transfer over old CRT monitors. This means that the signal is degraded when using a VGA output to a monitor as it is transferred from digital to analogue and back. Most modern video card types will offer S-Video output or DVI output, which is a direct digital video interface allowing the quality coming from the graphics card to hit the monitor undiminished.

It is also possible to link or daisy-chain graphics card or video card types together, with two in one system. Nvidia, a popular video card manufacturer, calls this SLI or Scalable Link Interface, while ATi, their main competition, refers to this linking as CrossFire. Both of these video card options normally require two compatible cards to work together at PCIe x 8. However, extreme graphics engines call for extreme measures, and four card solutions are now available, working in a similar way to a dual-core CPU. Essentially these are for the high end power users as these video card types can cost an awful lot of money.

Integrated graphics solutions are not necessarily available to purchase separately, but Intel produces a great deal of integrated video card types that come fitted to the computer. These video card models are most often found in notebooks and laptops as well as some budget computers. A while ago, these types of card were very much sneered at by the elite, but they have caught up quite significantly with the rest of the field and now offer reasonable performance.

Try to get a DirectX 10 or 11 compatible video card to ensure the computer is future proofed for the next five years or so. Operating systems require newer graphics features in order to function correctly, so it is imperative to cater for these compatibility requirements when purchasing a new video card.

Graphics card types also occasionally have the ability to receive TV signals. These are known as TV tuner compatible cards and are becoming quite common with the advent of digital television. Some will include Freeview built in, or similar. Remember to pay your TV licence if you do own one of these cards if you use it to watch television, as this does unfortunately make you liable for the full TV license fee.

Size

Video card types come in all sorts of sizes. The PCIe connection cards can be quite large in size and require a lot of space in the case of any computer. The specialist two, three and four card setups are especially large and it is worth considering whether or not a new case will be required on top of the price of the card.

Aside from physical size, video RAM, or VRAM (with RAM standing for Random Access Memory) is very important in a video card these days. VRAM is used as the space where the data produced by the video card is produced, and with bandwidth increasing all the time, it is necessary to get enough VRAM to ensure the card is fit for purpose.

Windows 7 and Mac OS X both require a significant amount of VRAM to output their various graphical nuances, while increasing screen resolution also requires VRAM. As there are more pixels to push to the screen, so the VRAM requirement increases. With many computer games running at 60 frames per second or more, video card types frequently come with between 256 MB of VRAM and 1 GB. 256 MB of VRAM should be more than sufficient for the average user for the next 5 years or so, but those looking to play complex games at a good frame rate should consider a video card with either 512 MB of VRAM or 1 GB.

As video games on the PC converge with their graphically inferior console ports, the graphical requirements for PC games has plateaued for a while, so a video card with 1 GB of VRAM should be more than enough for the foreseeable future.

Consider the budget available for a video card before purchase, as video card types are particularly scalable in type. A mid-range video card will future proof any computer for the average home user for the next few years, while those looking to play games should be happy with a current medium to high end video card for a significant amount of time. Those extreme power users looking for the ultimate performance in a graphics card will be able to get amazing graphics, but at considerable monetary cost.

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Buying Guide - Graphics Cards

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