What are the benefits of having a good video card other than for gaming?

I'm going to be building a new system and my brother suggested I buy a $300 Nvidia card. I'm not too familiar with the video card market right now, so I scoffed at the fact that he suggested such an expensive card.

What are the benefits of having a good video card other than for gaming?
unless you're a hardcore gamer... the truth is, an integrated chipset like the nvidia 6150LE (or whatever has replaced it recently) series will actually do pretty good... but if you want to stear clear of integrated, and there are good reasons to do so, you definately don't need a $300 video card for reading e-mail... but to somewhat future proof your machine a dedicated video card in the $150 price range would do you fine... although stay clear of cards that advertise "shared memory" or terms like "Hypermemory" or "TurboCache"
Reply:Yeah he doesnt need to spend more than 160 dollars for a decent card... unless he wants DX10 which those cards are 400 at the lowest... the DX10 is what he wants, tell him to wait till those come down in price.... but i mean... not many games are actually utilizing the DX10 so.... the only thing your getting is a video card that can run the game at a higher frame rate, making it more smooth to play
Reply:Things to consider in a video card are its need and cost compared to what it can do for you. The more on board memory the better the card usually, and the more the cost.





A video card basically talks to the processor and helps communicate between you and the computer. This is then sent to the monitor and you see what is translated from the processor. IE: games and graphics, etc. .





The more the memory on the Vid card, the less it needs to take from the computer's memory. This makes the monitor work faster and is better for gaming and graphics.





Although it sounds like an expensive card to purchase, go on line to http://www.newegg.com . Sign up with a new account and you can then shop their sight. They are the bomb for hardware and software pricing. Also you should compare models and what they can offer you. You can look at specifications, (spec's), and learn the lingo by emersing yourself in the Sunday ads and a local computer tutoring place like Freegeek.





Keep in mind that in the past basic guidelines for memory on a video card was 128 MB. Now its between 256 and 512 MB. With 512 being something to shoot for if you can afford it.





Of course if money were no object they have even fancier cards with higher refresh rates (Faster recovery), and higher resolution.
Reply:For vista, a better video card is great for its aero interface. A $100 nvidia 7600gs will be awesome for aero, and if you decide to play games, you should be covered for awhile. A $300 ones only realy use would be for gaming.

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