4 Reasons You Should Upgrade to the New Nvidia Cards

If you enjoy gaming or are in a line of work that requires you to do intensive graphics processing, a quality graphics card is your best friend. A high-quality graphics card like the new Nvidia cards enables you to do what you enjoy playing games, editing photos, and viewing image-heavy websites and documents.

What is a Graphics Card?

A graphics card can go by many names, including display card, video card, display adapter, or graphics adapter. Every computer has a basic graphics processing unit or GPU, but these video or graphics cards are expansions that can be added to the GPU on a computer for improved performance in images and videos.

Some graphics cards, like those from Nvidia and AMD, can also help the computer perform additional functions beyond simply running graphics. They improve overall performance by computers in other areas as well.

Do You Need a New Graphics Card?

The fact that computers are always growing in power and speed is a bit of a two-edged sword. While it’s great that the latest graphics card can do things that we only dreamed possible about ten years ago, the latest graphics card will also set you back a good bit of money.

So, the question is, do you always need to upgrade?

Reasons to Get New Nvidia Cards

If you decide to upgrade, there are pros and cons to consider.

Here are the main topics that we’ve thought of for decision making in this area.

Pros of Getting New Nvidia Cards

1. Highest Performance Possible

Technically, having the best graphics card is applicable for this reason, whichever type of card you’re going with. But the main reason to upgrade and use the highest performing graphics card comes down to one major reason: high performance. We just happen to think Nvidia is the best, and therefore the strongest contender for the highest performance possible on your PC or Apple.

By choosing to utilize Nvidia’s current line of graphics card, the user can take advantage of features exclusive to this line of cards. Two of these great features are called PhysX and ShadowPlay. And these are two more major reasons you should consider getting a new Nvidia card.

2. The New Nvidia Cards Come with ShadowPlay

Shadowplay is a recording feature that utilizes the video-encoding engines that are a part of the Nvidia’s card GPU. This recording feature is able to both record and stream gameplay video in real time. The recording itself has little to no effect on the frames per second of the game being played.

3. The New Nvidia Cards Come with PhysX

PhysX is a proprietary graphics technology that’s exclusive to Nvidia. The idea behind this technology is helping the computer to render a more realistic physics reaction in video games. When enabled, PhysX allows for water to ebb and flow more realistically, clothing and hair ripples and moves in the wind, and explosions appear more realistic.

If you want realism in your games, then an upgraded Nvidia card is a must-have.

4. General Performance

Nvidia cards have an application that extends far beyond work in high graphics areas and streaming. Almost any program can benefit thanks to the parallel processing of the Nvidia card. The kinds of programs that can benefit from this range from data-encryption to image editing software like Photoshop.

Cons of Getting New Nvidia Cards

The most obvious drawback to having the latest and greatest card is the price. If you buy a graphics card at a retail value the price could range anywhere from $50 to $1000. For some people, that’s not a big deal.

But for others, it can add up quickly and be a deterrent. So, it’s important to ask yourself a few questions to understand if you really should upgrade.

• How old is your current computer?
• Can your current computer handle a new graphics card?
• If your computer can’t handle a new one, can you afford to upgrade the whole system?

If your system can’t handle a new card, and you can’t currently afford to just replace the whole thing, you should consider saving up for a new one. Include funds for the latest Nvidia card, and you’ll wind up with a top of the line system for graphics-heavy use, whether you’re a gamer or photographer.

Simply Put: You Should Upgrade

If you can afford to upgrade your computer, whether you’re a gamer, photographer, or just somebody who wants a high performing computer, you should upgrade to a Nvidia graphics card. These expansions for your computer’s graphics processing units will make graphics and images better and will improve your computer’s performance overall.

Check out some tutorials before installing the new Nvidia card, though, and make sure your drivers are up-to-date.