Technical data

clock speeds not to be found any w h e re, a re f e re n c e
to the slow 64-bit memory is also absent. I n s t e a d , t h e
spec sheet only gushes about the memory size of
128MB - which has practically no beneficial impact
on the performance of a card in this category.
If you already have all of the information you
need about your dream card, you can search for the
best prices online by using search engines such as
Bizrate (
http://tomshardware.bizrate.
com/buy/browse__cat_id--4.html)
. If
you’ve already had a positive experience with an
online shop, it may pay off to check if they have
the card you’re looking for, even if it is slightly
more expensive there. Also, always make sure to
check the availability of the card! Often, shops will
list cards that they don’t have in stock. In the worst
case, you may end up waiting for your card for
weeks or even months.
If you’re unsure whether the card you’ve picked
out is the right model, would like to take a look at
the cardbefore you buy or have questions about the
installation of the card, you’re better off going to a
store – assuming you find one that offers compe-
tent advice.
Drivers
The drive rs on the CD that comes with your new
c a rd will pro b a b ly already be out of date by the time
you buy it. S o, after you get the card home, we re c-
ommend downloading the latest drive rs for it fro m
the Intern e t . N e wer games, e s p e c i a l l y, tend to have
m o r e pro blems with older drive r s . The same holds
t r ue for Micro s o f t ’s Dire c t X , which you should also
keep up to date. N e wer games often ship with a ru n -
time installer of the current DX ve r s i o n , t h o u g h . To
m a ke life a little easier for yo u , we have compiled a
list of the most important links:
Current Drivers:
ATI-based graphics cards (Radeon, All In
Wonder, IGP) - http://www.ati.com/support/
driver.html
Intel integrated graphics (chipsets i865G,
915G) - http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-
df/support_intel.asp?iid=HPAGE+header_sup-
port_download&#
NVIDIA-based graphics cards (GeForce,
nForce) - http://www.nvidia.com/content/
drivers/drivers.asp
S3-based graphics cards (Deltachrome) -
http://www.s3graphics.com/drivers.jsp
SIS integrated graphics -
http://download.sis.com/
XGI-based graphics (Volari) -
http://www.xgitech.com/sd/sd_download.asp
In many cases, t h e
manufacturer of your
card will also offer
graphics drivers on their
own website.
Unfortunately, these are rarely as
current as the ones found on the
chipmaker’s website. As we men-
tioned before, driver development is
now handled exclusively by the chipmak-
ers anyway. Nonetheless, regular visits to the
cardmaker’s website make sense, for example to
download updates for utilities and tools, or to find
newer BIOS versions for the card .
Closing Words:
The To m ’s Hard wa re Graphics Card Buye r ’s
Guide is meant as a guide and a re f e rence to
help begi n n e r s select and buy a new gr a p h i c s
c a rd . T h roug h constant updates, it is our goal
to create a compre h e n s ive and current ove r v i ew
of the models ava i l a ble in the marketplace and
the technologies upon which they are based.
Be sure to drop by regularly – it will be wo r t h
your while!
■
THG Graphics Card
Buyers Guide
25