How much Graphics Power Does a PC Really Need?

Internet & Office User

These computers will never come into contact with any 3D games - that's the definition of a true Internet & Office PC user. Here, the graphics card's 3D performance is completely irrelevant.

Both integrated motherboard graphics solutions and graphics cards from older generations (Radeon 7000, GeForce 4 MX) offer sufficient performance in 2D applications such as office work, web browsing and the like. However, as mentioned above, these graphics solutions are not exactly recommended for gaming. Also, they are also limited where HD Video playback is concerned.

Integrated Graphics Solutions found in Motherboard Chipsets:

• ATI Radeon - Integrated in the XPRESS 200, 9100 IGP, RX330 motherboard chipsets
• Intel Extreme Graphics II - Integrated in the i865G, i865GV chipsets
• Intel GMA 900 - Integrated in the Intel i915G, i915GV, i910GL chipsets
• NVIDIA GeForce4 MX - Integrated in the nForce 2 chipset
• S3 Graphics UniChrome Pro - IGP Integrated in the VIA PM880, PM800, K8M800 chipsets
• SiS Mirage Graphics - Integrated in the SiS 661FX, SiS 741, SiS 741GX chipsets
• SiS Mirage Graphics 2 - Integrated in the SiS 760 chipset

Add-in Graphics Cards:

• ATI PCIe: Radeon X300 SE, X300 SE HyperMemory
• ATI AGP: Radeon 9200/9250 Series, Radeon 7000
• Matrox: this company specializes in graphics cards for 2D applications
• NVIDIA PCIe: GeForce PCX 4300, GeForce 6200 TurboCache
• NVIDIA AGP: GeForce 4 MX, GeForce 5200 (64-Bit)
• XGI: Volari V3, Volari V3XT