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Hey everyone, first post here. I messed up on my first graphics card purchase, so here's what I wish I knew, kept short.
Check the VRAM first, that's the card's memory. 8GB is fine, 12GB+ is safer long term. Then look at core speed, which is really the heart of the card and matters more for actual performance. Memory bandwidth matters too, if it's slow, the card can feel laggy even with lots of memory. Make sure your PSU can handle the power it needs, and check the cable type, since I almost fried mine skipping this. Also measure your case first, newer cards are huge. Lastly, don't ignore drivers, good ones keep things stable and can unlock extra performance.
For anyone shopping around, I usually compare prices on Amazon and Ebay before deciding, and I recently found some good deals on Orangehardwares too, worth a look.
That's it, nothing fancy. Anyone else learn something the hard way? Drop it below.
Check the VRAM first, that's the card's memory. 8GB is fine, 12GB+ is safer long term. Then look at core speed, which is really the heart of the card and matters more for actual performance. Memory bandwidth matters too, if it's slow, the card can feel laggy even with lots of memory. Make sure your PSU can handle the power it needs, and check the cable type, since I almost fried mine skipping this. Also measure your case first, newer cards are huge. Lastly, don't ignore drivers, good ones keep things stable and can unlock extra performance.
For anyone shopping around, I usually compare prices on Amazon and Ebay before deciding, and I recently found some good deals on Orangehardwares too, worth a look.
That's it, nothing fancy. Anyone else learn something the hard way? Drop it below.