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2015 Graphics Upgrade information
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Upgrading the Graphics on computers:

What you have:

Gigabyte F2A68HM-H Motherboard

AMD A8-7600 APU

On-board graphics output:

  1. 1 x D-Sub port (VGA), supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200
  2. 1 x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 2560x1600
  1. * Support for 2560x1600 resolution requires both a monitor and cable that support Dual Link DVI.
  2. * The DVI-D port does not support D-Sub connection by adapter.
  3. Maximum shared memory of 2GB (shared with main processor)

Motherboard expansion slots (to use with an off-board graphics card)

  1. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16
  1. The PCI Express x16 slot conforms to PCI Express 3.0 standard
  2. To support PCI Express 3.0, you must install an FM2+ APU (AMD A8-7600 is an FM2+ APU)
  1. 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
  1. The PCI Express x1 slot conforms to PCI Express 2.0 standard.
  1. 1 x PCI slot

Things to consider:

  1. What is the output from the card?
  1. VGA (Video Graphics Array)
  2. DVI (digital Visual Interface)
  3. HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface)
  1. What type of slot does it use to connect to the motherboard?
  1. PCIe x16 2.0 or 3.0 (best)
  2. PCIe x1
  3. PCI
  1. How much memory does it support on the card?
  1. The cheapest video graphics card out there supports about 8MB of memory for $17 (bad)
  2. The highest end video graphics card I could find had 12GB of memory ($3000)
  3. A more “normal” 4GB graphics card can be found for under $80
  1. How much power does it consume?
  1. Graphics cards will tell you either
  1. How much power it uses or
  2. How large a power supply unit the computer needs to have
  3. We’ve seen top end graphics card assemblies that have external power supplies just for the card and exceed 1000 watts (about the same as an electric space heater).
  1. How does it keep cool?
  1. No fan, just the board (older style, called passive cooling)
  2. Fan cooling (most popular)
  3. Water cooled
  1. incorporated, comes with the card
  2. after-market cooler, bought separately
  1. Does it support DirectX (version 11)
  1. A series of Microsoft programming interfaces for multimedia, used heavily in the gaming industry and other graphic designs.


Examples:

  1. WQXGA 1GB passive cooling adapter card for ~$30

  1. 4x HD 4GB tri-card external water cooled system for ~$3,000

GIGABYTE GV-N980X3WA-4GD GeForce GTX 980 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready ATX 3-WAY SLI GAMING Graphics Card, Retail price (7/2015, $3,000)