Graphics Card

[ashfame]

What are all the things need to be considered while buying a graphics card. I want a one with 256MB VRAM? 8)

 

[vulefu]

How much money, That much music

 

[sturm]

cost, what you use the card for: games, graphic editing, web/email.
Pixel piplines, gpu speed, memory speed, brand, ati or nvidia based.
lots to consider.

 

[brainysmurf]

A decision should be based on:
1) Minimum requirements of the programs, including games, that you wish to play;
2) A gauge of the personal need for "eye-candy" in games; do you require that a game run at the highest resolution possible with all optional video quality settings turned up to the maximum, or can you live with a very playable game with video settings turned down to medium?
3) Your personal budget, what you can afford without hurting yourself somewhere else (got to pay the rent, eat, etc.)

Personal preferences come into play to some degree.
Example: I'm currently playing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. My X2 3800 is fine, but my video card is a 6600 GT PCI-E card -- it more than exceeds the minimum, but is a tad behind the recommended options.
Still, with graphics settings set to medium levels and some optional items turned off, the game still looks great, I'm having a blast playing it and I see no immediate need to upgrade my card.
Others, though, would not be happy playing at 640x480 resolution and would demand that all the shadows, anti-aliasing and other features be turned up to the maximum. That would require a NV 7900 or ATI 1900 for best performance.