PC play is the way to go if you desire the high carrying out ceiling possible for the latest game . However , it ’s authoritative to keep all of your various element up to engagement if you want to make certain you ’re still getting an optimal gaming experience .
The graphics card is arguably the most crucial component of a PC when it comes to gaming , as it has the dandy influence on gaming performance . Build a eminent - end PC , but settle down for a budgetGPU , and you may struggle to act numerous advanced games .
However , it may be difficult to know when the time is correct to upgrade your nontextual matter circuit board . If you ’re not too knowledgeable about personal computer specs , you may be wondering whether it ’s your computer graphic card that ’s make the carrying into action constriction , or maybe something else rather .
We ’ve created this guide to aid you determine whether your personal computer is in pauperism of a artwork batting order climb , or whether your money is better spent elsewhere . Keep scroll for the five magnanimous signs that signal that it ’s time to promote your artwork card .
Low frame rate
The easiest way to determine the gaming public presentation of your graphics card is to check the mean frame pace when playing your preferred PC game . If you ’re not familiar with frame rates , this refers to how many images your PC can generate per second while running a game .
A higher frame of reference pace will result in a smoother performance , provide you to see every tiny detail of a character ’s movement within a plot . This is especially utilitarian for shooters , as it produce it comfortable to point a moving physical object .
An average 30fps execution is widely fit to be the minimum required to work a game without major issues . Drop low than this figure , and then you ’ll in all likelihood see a lot of janky invigoration and an overall short experience .
It ’s very well-off to see the framing pace of any plot on your PC . If you ’re using Steam , just go to preferences > In - Game > In - Game FPS Counter , as this will display a counter in your opt corner of your admonisher . If you ’re not using Steam , then Nvidia and AMD also offer their own solutions through their own software .
With a underframe rate counter activated , you ’ll be capable to reboot up a secret plan and determine your personal computer ’s performance . If you ’re point out the counter drop below 30fps ofttimes for your choose resolution and graphics preferences , then it may be worth purchasing a new graphics card .
Bear in creative thinker that some games are more taxing than others . Visually stunning 3D game will be more difficult to run than 2D platformers for example . Multiplayer shooters such as Overwatch 2 , Fortnite and Counter - Strike 2 will be far less task on the nontextual matter card , as fluid gameplay is prioritised over pic - realistic visuals . Many gamers will require a public presentation well over 100fps for free-enterprise games like these though , so adjust your expectations if these are the character of games you enjoy .
Poor ray tracing performance
One of the large cant in gaming properly now , even in the console space , isray trace . This refers to an ripe light - render technology , which create more realistic lighting , shadow and reflections .
The bighearted issue with ray trace is that it ’s very taxing on the graphic add-in , and is n’t supported by older cards . Nvidia first acquaint ray draw with its RTX 2000 graphics cards , and has made the engineering science more effective with every generation , all the way up to the most late RTX 4000 range . Meanwhile , AMD first supported ray tracing with its Radeon 6000 art scorecard back in 2020 . If you ’d care to make use of light beam trace , but own an older GPU , then you need to elevate your nontextual matter card .
It ’s also possible that you own a graphics plug-in which supports light beam tracing but simply is n’t potent enough to activate the technology while also maintaining a reasonable material body charge per unit . For example , hacker 2077requires at least anNvidia RTX 3080GPU if you desire to have ray trace activated with RT Ultra preferences .
To check whether your PC can handle your pick out plot with irradiation trace activate , simply activate the engineering in the stage setting , and then see what image your frame pace counter drops to . Take note , that not every plot supports shaft tracing , although backing is increase by the class .
High GPU usage
Checking the frame charge per unit is a good indicator of your PC ’s carrying out overall , but it does n’t narrow down whether it ’s your GPU orCPUcausing the issue . Either one could be the performance bottleneck , so it ’s important to set the guilty party .
The best way of life to do this is to monitor your GPU and central processor exercise while running a game . you could do this via Windows ’ own Task manager ( open by push Ctrl+Shift+Esc ) or by downloading third - company software such as MSI Afterburner .
Here you should see the usage of both your CPU and GPU rated out of 100 % . Seeing your GPU usage hit over 90 % , or even as high as 100 % , is n’t necessarily an outcome in isolation . This merely means that your GPU ’s performance is being maximised , which is a good affair .
However , if you ’re watch poor gambling performance , and your GPU usage remains eminent ( close to the 100 % mark as present above ) , and your CPU exercise is low , then this indicates a GPU performance bottleneck . This stand for that the best way to solve the government issue is potential by purchasing a new graphics batting order .
However , if it ’s instead your mainframe employment that is high , and your GPU utilization is low , then this indicates a CPU bottleneck , which means your processor is n’t sinewy enough to deal with the current workloads , and so your GPU ’s performance is being underutilised . In this scenario , you ’re better off upgrade your central processor rather of your graphics card .
Fail to meet game’s system requirements
One of the well-off ways to check whether your artwork visiting card is up to snuff is to check out your favourite secret plan ’s system demand . Steam details the minimum requirements for every individual game it hosts , and sometimes also heel the commend specs for an optimal performance .
If your artwork circuit board is more powerful than the GPU listed , then it ’s dependable to assume it ’s powerful enough to run that game . That said , these organisation requirement in general only lean the requirements for a 1080p performance . Running a secret plan at a 4 kibibyte resolution will require an even more herculean personal computer , and it ’s more hard to determine the prerequisite for such use grammatical case .
If you find that your PC is oft failing to conform to the minimum requirements for the latest game , then it ’s probably prison term to advance your graphics card .
Overheating
If your graphics card is being overwhelmed with a high workload , then it will generate a lot of heat . It ’s normal to expect a graphics plug-in to unravel blistering , but you should be concerned if a nontextual matter card is outperform the maximum GPU temperature notify by the manufacturer .
For exercise , theNvidia RTX 4090is contrive to operate in heats up to 90 ° C , so anything below this shape is perfectly fine . But if the temperature creep over this mark , then it either intend your graphics card is being overworked , or that there is n’t enough airflow in your PC case .
you may check your GPU ’s temperature by opening Task Manager ( Ctrl+Shift+Esc ) , unfold up the Performance tab and then tap the GPU tile . Every graphic plug-in has its own temperature threshold too , which you could regain by visiting the manufacturing business ’s website and moil into the specs .
If you do get hold that your graphics card is exceed its maximal temperature , that does n’t necessarily mean your GPU is n’t hefty enough for the current workload . ensure that your microcomputer has enough airflow by contain if any of the vent are jam by dust and that all of the fans are spinning as expected . Testing the temperature again with your microcomputer case ’s side control panel off is a well experimentation . If your graphics card is still insure an abnormally high temperature , it likely means that it ’s not hefty enough to handle the current workload .
Which graphics card should you buy?
If you ’ve do to the conclusion that your PC does indeed need a graphics card upgrade , then make trusted to call in ourBest Graphics Cardguide to find the best option for you .
Our single reviews also cater plenty of useful information , such as benchmark compare with other graphics cards , performance resultant for a selection of games , and our calculated power consumption so you know which PSU you ask to buy .
Unfortunately , laptop users wo n’t be able to upgrade to a fresh GPU in most cases , so you ’ll need to purchase a new fashion model if your graphics silicon chip is becoming out of date . go over out ourBest Gaming Laptopguide for our top pick .
