Explination of graphics cards? Need help!?

Question

Ok so I'm looking into different graphics cards but I can't understand what makes one card better than others. I get it that having more memory is better, but how influential is memory in a graphic card's speed?

Also, I'm having trouble with terms like: "overclocked", "super-clocked", "stream processors", and "core clock" vs "memory clock". Explanation of these terms and what makes one graphic card better than another would be MOST appreciated and I will be sure to give a "best answer"!

Answer 1

Overclocked means making the hardware work harder than it should. In other words, better than manufacturer made it do be. Factory-overclocked should be safe enough, but extra cooling is always recommended with overclocking of any kind.

Memory on the graphics card is VERY influential, because it's dedicated to graphics, so your card doesn't have to share with the rest of your computer.

Answer 2

I could go about this very technically but I will try to simplify it as much as possible. I will try to define the words you asked for first.

overclocked and super-clocked are simply two words for the same thing. When a graphics card company releases a card there are standard speeds that they set its parts to, third parties who actually manufacture the cards often make its parts run slightly faster than the card company tells them to for a premium. This is what a over or super clocked card is. You can also do this with cards yourself but you will risk ruining your card or voiding your warranty. If done properly you can save money but it is a gamble. It is usually best to just move up to a better class of card than but an overclocked but more basic card.

The core clock and memory clock are merely the speeds that the processor and memory respectively on the card run at. For the most part the higher the better.

Stream processors are simply parts in the processor, again for the most part the higher the better.

If you don't know exactly what you are looking for and are a beginner I would use a graphics card comparison such as those found on

http://tomshardware.com

http://anandtech.com

http://maximumpc.com

and

http://extremetech.com

Please star if you find this helpful :)