This review will help answer popular questions - which video cards are better, what to look for when choosing. The first question is the easiest to answer. For several decades, the Taiwanese company ASUS has been deservedly considered one of the best manufacturers of video cards. Here are the popular models, the most different in price - both inexpensive and the most advanced gaming. The popularity of ASUS models is due to the very high quality and reliability of the manufactured computer components. Next, we will consider in detail the functionality and characteristics of video cards.
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But first, let's answer the question - how to avoid mistakes when choosing a video card for a computer? First of all, you need to decide for what purpose you need a computer. It's one thing if you need it to work with a text editor, spreadsheets and the Internet. Then the most inexpensive card will do, and you can get by with the built-in one. If you need the most modern games to run with maximum settings so that you can connect virtual reality devices, then the more expensive the card, the better.
The following types of video cards can be distinguished:
Budget video cards can be either integrated or discrete. In integrated video adapters, the central processor often takes over the entire function of displaying the image on the screen, less often a separate microcircuit on the motherboard. Such built-in video adapters are used for laptops, as well as for personal computers, for which there are no special requirements for the graphics system.
If the computer is supposed to widely use games, graphics, virtual reality, then it is advisable to use discrete cards, which are separate boards installed in a special connector on the computer. This review provides a description, characteristics and comparison of just such video adapters.
What are the criteria for choosing video cards? The following indicators affect the performance and consumer characteristics of video adapters:
The rating of high-quality ASUS video cards opens with five budget models, ranging from the most inexpensive, designed exclusively for office needs, and ending with video cards with which you can even play some games.
ASUS Radeon R5230-SL-2GD3-L is a completely budget solution for those who just need a video card because, for example, an old one is broken. It is a reliable, quiet, low profile office card with old, slow memory. Not suitable for games at all.
The frequency of the video processor is 650 MHz. The 2GB GDDR3 memory runs at 1200 MHz, 64-bit bus.
Average price: 3,500 rubles.
The video card is equipped with 4GB of video memory, which is good for its price. But the memory is slow - GDDR3, only 900 MHz. The processor is also not fast - 770 MHz. The bus is 128 bits. The card has three interface connectors - HDMI, VGA and DVI, but only two monitors can be connected at the same time. The board is small, with low power consumption.
Average price: 8,000 rubles.
This video card is a good solution for an office computer. It is small in size and will fit any PC. An efficient and quiet passive cooling system is used here. You can significantly overclock the graphics chip and memory, but you need to provide additional cooling for the card.
GPU frequency 902 MHz. The amount of memory is 2 GB, the type of memory is GDDR5, the memory frequency is 5 GHz, the bus is 64 bits.
Average price: 6,000 rubles.
ASUS GeForce PH-GT1030-02G is an entry-level graphics card with a good low-noise ball bearing fan.
The base frequency of the GPU is 1278 MHz, Boost Clock is 1531 MHz. The 2GB GDDR5 memory is clocked at 6 GHz, 64-bit bus.
Average price: 6 500 rubles.
ASUS GeForce PH-GTX1050-2G can already be considered a gaming card, but an entry-level one. Most games can achieve acceptable speed in FULL HD resolution. The video card has an effective low-noise cooling system, it does not need additional power. A reliable fan with two ball bearings is installed here. The board is small and is suitable for compact computers. This is a good and cheap video card.
The base frequency of the GPU is 1354 MHz, Boost Clock is 1455 MHz. 2 GB GDDR5 memory runs at 7 GHz, 128-bit bus.
Average price: 10,000 rubles.
Video cards of the middle price category are suitable not only for office applications, but also for graphics, for photoshop. On computers with these cards, you can comfortably play most games at medium settings.
This card performs excellently for the GeForce GTX1050TI chip. It has increased frequencies - base 1392 MHz instead of 1290 MHz, Boost Clock 1506 MHz instead of 1392 MHz. Memory frequency - 7008 MHz, bus - 128 bit.
The video card has a powerful cooling system, which does an excellent job not only at the factory frequencies, but also during overclocking. In this case, the temperature does not rise much, and the fans do not make noise. This is the fastest GTX1050TI card and one of the best overclocking solutions.
Average price: 15,000 rubles.
This graphics card, like all cards in the ROG gaming line, is slightly overclocked at the factory compared to other cards based on the Radeon RX 570 processor. This provides a few percent performance gain.
The video card has a massive heatsink with two large fans. But as the load on the card increases, the cooling system behaves quite noisy. Although the card has good overclocking potential, you have to put up with the discomfort caused by the increased fan speeds.
GPU Base Frequency 1.3GHz. The 4GB GDDR5 memory runs at 7GHz with a 256-bit bus.
Average price: 15 500 rubles.
The video card has acceptable performance at a relatively low cost. It allows you to play most popular games at 60 FPS, even if not at maximum resolutions. The card has a mini form factor and will fit into almost any computer. And the card has no special requirements for the computer's power supply, since it is very energy efficient. A durable and low noise ball bearing fan is used here.
The card has 3GB of GDDR5 memory, clocked at 8GHz, with 192-bit bus. The base frequency of the GPU is 1506 MHz, Boost Clock is 1708 MHz.
Average price: 17,000 rubles.
The tests of this video card showed that it is one of the fastest on the Radeon RX580. The device looks spectacular - dark metal, black plastic and RGB backlighting. The card has a highly efficient cooling system consisting of a powerful heatsink with three fans. This allows you to successfully overclock the card and get tangible performance gains.
The card supports Fully VR Ready technology, i.e. has an additional HDMI port for connecting virtual reality devices and has enough power for VR playback. The video card provides 60 FPS in all games at 1080p without problems and an acceptable speed at 2K.
Average price: 26,000 rubles.
The video card looks very solid due to a large radiator with three large fans and reaches a length of up to 30 cm.The card is made on the basis of a GeForce GTX 1060 chip, but it has the same cooling system as in the older STRIX models on the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080. Naturally, the cooling system works flawlessly on a cooler card. The card heats up slightly and does not make noise.
The video card is equipped with five connectors: HDMI - 2 pcs., Display Port - 2 pcs., DVI - 1 pc.An additional HDMI port allows you to seamlessly connect to a VR system.
The base frequency of the core of the video card is 1645 MHz, Boost Clock is 1873 MHz. This is an increased frequency compared to the base characteristics of the chip. The 6 GB GDDR5 memory is also overclocked to 8200 MHz instead of the standard 8000 MHz. The bus is 192 bits. The card has good potential for further overclocking. All this gives a significant increase in productivity.
Average price: 27,000 rubles.
At the top of the list, there are five gaming graphics cards that support virtual reality systems and the latest games. They are ideal for both gamer and 3D graphics designer. Here you can find both tried and tested video cards that have received excellent reviews and new products. In particular, the top 5 includes two cards that use the new generation of NVIDIA GeForce RTX20xx GPUs.
The video card comes in a colorful box, which depicts a fire-breathing dog with three heads. This line of video cards is named after him. The GeForce GTX 1070 TI chip is not much inferior to the GTX 1080. Considering that the video card overclocks well, it is generally not inferior to 1080 cards during overclocking, while it costs less.
The video card has a large heatsink with two powerful efficient fans. The unclocked chip frequency is 1670 MHz, the average Boost Clock is 1746 MHz. 8 GB of memory runs at 8014 MHz. The card has good indicators of both performance and power consumption and heat dissipation.
The ASUS GeForce CERBERUS-GTX1070TI-A8G is a great card that doesn't have any problems playing in WQHD resolution. If you overclock the card, you can get the performance of the more expensive Radeon RX Vega 64 or GeForce GTX 1080.
Average price: 39,000 rubles.
Until now, this video card remains the leader of all ratings on the Internet, although its more nimble competitors have already appeared. Nevertheless, its performance is enough to keep the coolest gamer from feeling flawed. Everything goes on it and at the maximum.
A graphics processor that can operate at a frequency of 1733 MHz, as well as 8 GB of fast GDDR5X memory will allow not only to play at the maximum in all games, but also to solve serious problems related to the work of graphics applications. It is a very powerful fan card with increased reliability. Ball bearings are used here instead of sleeve bearings, which are usually used in coolers.
Average price: 43,000 rubles.
The GeForce DUAL-RTX2070-O8G graphics card is an advanced solution for gaming and 3D graphics. The card is large due to the massive heatsink with two patented 100mm Wing-blade fans. The coolers do an excellent job of cooling and make little noise even under high load.
This version of the card is slightly above the standard frequencies of the RTX2070 chip. It has a core frequency of 1410 MHz and an average Boost Clock of 1710 MHz. This allows you to achieve acceleration in games up to 5%. The card has the potential for further overclocking. In this case, you can achieve a performance gain of up to 10%.
A nice bonus is the presence of a power adapter and a six-month subscription to the Wtfast program, which can speed up some network games.
Average price: 50,000 rubles.
ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Turbo graphics card is a device for real gamers.It uses the traditional TURBO series, a low noise and efficient ball bearing fan with extended service life. The card is ideal for virtual reality travel. This is facilitated by the support of NVIDIA VRWorks technology. The card has two HDMI ports. You can connect both VR equipment and a monitor at the same time. The card looks stylish on its own, but the Asus logo is also highlighted on it, which can be replaced with some other one.
The card has 11 GB of GDDR5 memory and a 352-bit bus on board. This provides both excellent game quality and high speed 3D graphics. Huge monitors can be connected to the card, as it supports a resolution of 7,680 by 4,320 pixels.
Considering the high cost of the video card, its poor configuration is surprising. Only two utilities are supplied with the card - GPU Tweak II for tuning and overclocking and XSplit Gamecaster for recording and streaming games to the Internet. There are no adapters, connectors or games in the package.
Average price: 78,000 rubles.
ASUS GeForce DUAL-RTX2080-O8G is a novelty from ASUS, and it immediately impresses with its dimensions - 26.8 x 11.4 x 5.8 cm. The card has a 2.7-slot form factor, which allowed one and a half times increase the heatsink area compared to previous generations of video cards. The radiator has two large 100mm fans that turn on when the 55 degree threshold is reached. The card has many interface connectors - DisplayPort 3 pcs., HDMI and Type-C port.
The graphics card is especially impressive in its performance. This is the most powerful card in our ranking. In 3DMark, it is on average one and a half times faster than cards on the GTX 1080, and 10% faster than the GTX 1080 Ti. However, in other tests, the difference is not so impressive, in some of them the GTX 1080 Ti is not inferior. It is obvious that the software cannot yet fully reveal all the capabilities of the new chip.
Average price: 75,000 rubles.
The choice of a video card should be made based on the requirements ultimately placed on your PC. And ASUS is able to offer video cards of various capacities and price categories.