When it comes to PC gaming the in-game performance of your computer mostly comes down to your graphics card and your processor. That being said there's a lot of articles that show you graphical performance in terms of overall capability rather than specific games. In my recent post on the best BF4 graphics cards we discussed the importance of using in-game benchmarks.
In this post we'll take a look at various price ranges and determine what the best graphics card for the money is in each price range. We'll also take a look at value SLI and Crossfire options which may give you better bang for your buck when scaled properly.
Choose a Graphics Card While Looking Down the Road
I receive a lot of questions from gamers wanting to know exactly what they should spend on their graphics card in order to future-proof their rigs. The truth is you can never future proof your rig entirely. The best thing you can do is understand when you'll need to upgrade and set aside money to get there.
For example if I had $500 to spend on my graphics card and I wanted my computer to last years, then I'd probably set aside half of that for 3 years from now and spend $250 today and again down the road when I could no longer get a desirable amount of FPS.
Going Beyond FPS with Your Graphics Card
Speaking of FPS most gamers look for 60, but if you play time-sensitive games going for more than 60 FPS can actually give you an advantage. This is especially helpful if you have a monitor that has a refresh rate that can display these additional frames, but still helps in terms of reducing your input lag even if you don't. If you want to play at a high level of FPS, then consider looking for a card that in benchmarks shows can reach 60 FPS at the resolution you want to play at. If you can't afford it, then consider turning the resolution or other settings down in-game.
