These are usually identified by having ‘OC’ in their model name. Many GPU makers also sell factory overclocked versions of their cards that come out of the box already overclocked. There are apps out there from GPU makers that make overclocking the graphics card relatively easy and safe. It should only be attempted by people who know what they are doing, but if you want a free boost to your GPU’s performance, it may be worth researching. This is a complex process that involves forcing the GPUs to run at higher clock speeds.

Many people eke out even more performance from their graphics cards by overclocking them. This speed, measured in megahertz (MHz), essentially tells you how fast the graphics processing unit can render graphics – therefore, the higher the MHz, the faster the graphics card – and the better it will be for gaming and rendering. Installing a graphics card into your PC can give it a big boost (Image credit: Stanisic Vladimir / Shutterstock) Clock speedĪnother important spec you’ll see thrown around when talking about graphics cards are their clock speeds. But what should you look for? Read on, as we cut through the jargon and explain everything you need to know about graphics cards. Certain laptops (especially gaming ones) also come with discrete graphics cards, giving them the kind of performance you’d usually expect from a desktop PC.īuying a dedicated graphics card can have a huge impact in your creative work, with 3D rendering, video editing, game design and animation all benefiting from the extra power. This is a good way to future-proof your PC and ensure it can keep up with your creative workloads over the years. Not only are dedicated graphics more powerful, but they can be bought separately, which means you can upgrade your PC with them in the future.

These graphics cards slot into your PC’s motherboard and can give it a huge upgrade in graphical performance – and they are made by Nvidia and AMD, the two biggest names in discrete graphics. So, if you’re after more power, you’ll want dedicated graphics (also known as discrete graphics).

Gaming graphics card for pc