How to choose a graphics card

Graphics cards speed up and improve the visual image on your computer screen.

• The thing to look for in a good card is an AGP, or Advanced Graphics Port. Using an AGP means that the card will run much faster.

• Sometimes a vendor will talk about RAMDAC and, if so, speeds of 225MHz or more are good. Many cards are just PCI cards which are OK at a pinch.

• A graphics card should have at least 2Mb of memory.

• Many cards can provide enormous displays, but when you are choosing you should look for the refresh rate. 75Hz (meaning the display is refreshed 75 times every second) is usually thought of as the acceptable minimum.

Well-known brands of graphics cards are ATI, Matrox (especially the Millenium G200) and Diamond.

• Almost all modern PCs come with graphic cards that have a 3D capability, but high-powered 3D cards, such as the Voodoo series, are of limited value unless you want to play games or do high-powered graphical work.

If your system has, or you want it to have, a DVDRom drive, make sure to ask whether your graphics card is DVD-compatible so that you can view DVD movies on your PC.