D-SUB is the classic (analogous) connection plug of monitors, projectors and other external video devices. This standard is gradually disappearing from the market leaving the space for much higher quality HDMI or DisplayPort (digitālajiem) plugs.

DisplayPort digital connection for the transmission of the image and sound via a single wire at a high quality level. Contrary to the HDMI, this connection allows to connect several external monitors to the computer via a single connector.

DVI is the digital standard and ensures high image quality, still, due to the big size of the plug and the inability of the standard to secure further development because of certain technical restrictions this connection is gradually losing its popularity giving the place to the modern HDMI and DisplayPort standards.

Most of the DVI ports of graphics cards support additional "pins" for transmitting the D-sub standard besides the DVI standard in the same plug (DVI-I standard). This temporary technology allows to use the D-SUB "transitions" allowing to connect the monitor via the D-Sub cable to the DVI port if this transition is included with the graphics card (it is also possible to buy this transition as a separate item). The DVI-D standard is not compatible with the D-sub in any way, therefore if the graphics card does not have the DVI-I port this transition will not fit.

Because of the same reason there are no transition from the D-Sub to DVI because the DVI is the digital standard and the D-SUB is the analogous standard.

DVI can be connected to the HDMI and transitions in both directions are available, except just one detail - HDMI can transmit both the image and the sound, but the DVI can transmit the image only. Therefore, when any DVI/HDMI transition is used the sound will not be transmitted.

DVI is not compatible with the DisplayPort, still there are some DualMode DisplayPort connectors available and, similar to the DVI connector, which contains the D-sub signal, also these DualMode DisplayPort contain the HDMI/DVI signal and in the direction DisplayPort -> DVI they can transmit the image.

This is the main performance indicator of the graphics card because it indicates the model of this card. The performance of cards of the same model is very similar and usually very different from the cards of another model.

The main difference is the manufacturer. NVidia produces GeForce series cards and AMD produces Radeon series cards. There are considerable differences between both series, GeForce cards have more successful (more stable) drivers, which improve the compatibility of these cards with games and operating systems reducing the image defect (artefact) and the cases of "hanging" to the minimum. Radeon cards usually are cheaper and consume less energy (they are technologically superior), however there might be problems with drivers and the support of games.

The choice between Radeon or GeForce series is the question of preference, similar to the choice between AMD or Intel CPU, and not always there is 100% rational justification behind it, therefore we recommend to base your selection criteria just on the games that you want to play in the near future and to find a video review in YouTube (the graphic card model + the game title) that will demonstrate exactly how the particular card handles the relevant game. The result will be obvious and usually quite close to what you get when you buy the particular or similar model card.

For making the choice easier for our customers Dateks.lv has marked the graphic cards (models) that are the best choice for playing all the newest games at a reasonable quality level with a green tick "recommended".

HDMI is the digital image and sound transmission standard that allows to connect a TV set, monitor or projector supporting HDMI to the computer via the HDMI cable.

Currently the most popular connection slot of graphics cards in motherboards is PCI-Express 2.X. This is the motherboard plug into which you insert the graphics card and which will be used for the data exchange between the CPU and the GPU.

Newer motherboards and graphics cards have the PCI-Express 3.0 standard connection slots available. The 3.0 standard is compatible with the 2.0 standard, just the full potential of the 3.0 connection will not be used in this type of connection. You should not worry too much about this detail because even the most powerful modern graphics cards cannot fully load the PCI-Express 2.0 connection slot, therefore the PCI-Express 3.0 is the technology with the reserve for future.

This filter is intended for the segmenting of graphic cards based upon their essence. Each card is capable of performing the tasks for which it is intended. More powerful cards can perform new tasks plus the tasks of all the preceding cards (except the 3D Graphics/CAD cards whose application is specific).

Dateks.lv divides the cards as follows starting from the less powerful:

• Home Cinema - Cards intended for upgrading used computers for enabling the watching of HD video and using the connection plugs of an additional monitor or TV set. These cards will not be powerful enough for graphics tasks and games.
• Casual Gaming - the "cheap" graphics cards with acceptable performance. In most cases it is worth buying this card only if you have decided to buy something more powerful than HomeCinema with a possibility to play elementary 3D games just sometimes.
• PowerGaming - these cards are the most popular models and will be able to handle any newest game at a good quality level; they are also intended for improving the speed of operation of the beginner's level video editing and graphics tasks. PowerGaming cards have the best price/performance ratio.
• Extreme Gaming - These cards are intended for the users who have decided to seriously enjoy 3D games and want to achieve the best quality and are prepared to pay for it the corresponding amount. An additional advantage presented by the cards of this level is the considerable performance improvement in the video editing and image processing applications.
• 3D graphics/CAD - These are professional cards intended for architects, 3D designers, engineers and graphics artists for considerable improvement of the speed of the image processing. These cards do not provide any performance improvement for games.
  

The RAM capacity of the video card. This is an important parameter if you want to play games of high resolution or work with a high resolution monitor. A higher memory capacity means better performance and the support to higher resolution.

Currently 1GB is the optimum capacity of the video memory.

The number of bits of the video card RAM determine what amount of information the video card memory can handle within a single clock cycle. A higher number of bits indicates higher performance of the video card.