| Every gamer wants a powerful machine. | | | | cards. Don't worry about the performance of |
| Unfortunately, building one can be wildly expensive. | | | | your machine lagging behind, though, the addition |
| As the graphics card often dictates the in-game | | | | of future cards will give you a similar boost in |
| performance of your computer, a high-end GPU is | | | | performance to one of the newest, expensive |
| considered a must for any serious gamer. The | | | | cards. You can save up money for extra cards |
| most powerful graphics cards can put a serious | | | | as you go without having to throw out old parts. |
| dent in your wallet and also become obsolete | | | | Remember to plan your purchases around the |
| over time. | | | | current limitations of multi-GPU technology. For |
| However, with the emergence of multi-GPU | | | | example, an Nvidia SLI rig will require you to use |
| technology, you can combine multiple cards to | | | | multiple cards of the same chip set. If you plan on |
| achieve better performance. This means you can | | | | using a GeForce 9800 GT, for example, you will |
| purchase less expensive graphics cards to put in | | | | need to buy the same card when you add a |
| your gaming PC. As your needs increase, you can | | | | second. ATI's CrossFire technology allows you to |
| purchase another card to share the workload with | | | | use different cards from the same series. These |
| your current hardware. This will give you an | | | | aren't unreasonable limitations, but it's frustrating |
| increase in performance that was previously only | | | | to have issues later on down the line if you didn't |
| available on a high end gaming card. | | | | do the research upfront. |
| Nvidia's SLI and ATI's CrossFire technologies offer | | | | If you play massively multiplayer online games, |
| this multiple card support. If you are interested in | | | | you may want to think about using one high |
| build a rig based on this strategy, you should be | | | | performance card instead. These games are |
| careful to get the correct components. If you | | | | often very processor intensive, and there are |
| want multi-GPU support, you will need a | | | | frequently support issues for multi-GPU setups. |
| motherboard that supports it. Most newer gaming | | | | However, for other games that put more |
| motherboards will offer this. Also, you will need a | | | | pressure on your graphics card than your |
| beastly power supply to pump out the electricity | | | | processor, multiple cards can vastly improve your |
| necessary to run multiple cards. These SLI-ready | | | | performance. |
| power supplies are not necessarily expensive. | | | | High end graphics really display the incredible |
| However, you just don't want to have to upgrade | | | | power of the desktop PC. Gaming does not |
| your power supply when you get a new card. | | | | require the massive budgets of the past. If you |
| When you use this strategy for building your | | | | choose a smart build, you can get smooth frame |
| gaming system, you can purchase decent | | | | rates on the latest games at a reasonable price. |
| graphics cards that are just a few months behind | | | | Multi-GPU technology allows you to upgrade your |
| the newest releases. These are much cheaper | | | | machine at your leisure. |