Graphics Cards > 256 MB Graphics Cards > HP > $250 and above

Advantages: Shader Model 4.0, DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.1, up to a 30% reduction in CPU load
Disadvantages: expensive

The PNY NVIDIA Quadro FX 1700 PCIE is a graphics card made especially for professional workstation-class computers. It supports both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Microsoft' Windows XP and Vista, Windows 2000 and Linux operating systems. The video card supports Shader Model 4.0, DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.1 3D graphics APIs. Features Based on Nvidia's Quadro FX 1700 Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), PNY NVIDIA Quadro FX 1700 PCIE features Nvidia's innovative ...
...optimized GPU performance by allocating geometry and shading processing on the fly. nView combines hardware and software innovations to give the user more control over multi-display configurations. With PureVideo, the user benefits from more efficient High Definition decoding with up to a 30% reduction in CPU load. The graphics card also features Rotated-Grid Full-Scene Antialiasing (RG FSAA). With this technology, the user can expect increased ... Read review

Advantages: -
Disadvantages: -

...has arrived. The NVIDIA Quadro NVS series of multi-display graphics cards offers the compatibility, performance and quality that users demand of enterprises. The NVIDIA Quadro NVS series offers robust material that is extremely sharp images in high resolution and high refresh rate. With 350 MHz RAMDACs, and built in two TMDS transmitters, the NVIDIA Quadro NVS series of recent reader analog and digital flat panel displays. DisplayMate, the resources ...
...NVIDIA Quadro NVS series such as the quality standard for the bi-and quad-monitor graphics cards. NVIDIA® Quadro® NVS 450 business graphics solution delivers reliable hardware and software for a stable business environment. Proven on leading business applications, Quadro NVS 450 is capable of driving up to four 30" displays and designed to meet the needs of today's most demanding business user. ... Read review

Advantages: Ideal for Computer Aided Design & Digital Content Creation
Disadvantages: expensive

...on the R600 GPU.Introducing the ATI FireGL V7600 workstation graphics accelerators from AMD with Unified Shader architecture - this fully featured graphics accelerator is ideal for maximizing productivity when working with complex 3D models and intense textures for Computer Aided Design (CAD), Digital Content Creation (DCC) and simulation. The ATI FireGL V7600 delivers industry leading features and performance at an affordable price. ... Read review

Advantages: flexible, single slot design
Disadvantages: runs very hot temperature

As a standalone 3D graphics card, and depending on the game, AMD's new $180 ATI Radeon HD 4850 is very competitive with Nvidia's $229 GeForce 9800 GTX+. What's potentially more exciting is that the 4850 also seems to scale better in dual-card Crossfire mode than anything Nvidia has for the same price. It's also only a single-slot card, which gives you more flexibility in the kind of system you can use it with. Physical convenience aside, if the price ... Read review

Advantages: easy overclocking
Disadvantages: expensive

When the GeForce GTX 200 series originally launched I covered some of the basic processing architecture, so feel free to reference that article to get a feel for the GTX 200 series. The processing architecture of the GeForce GTX 280 video card has 240 shader processors that are arranged within 10 blocks of 24 as seen in the diagram above. Each of these blocks is called a TPC (Thread Processing Cluster) and is where the focus will be for this article. ...
...thanks to the eight 64-bit memory controllers that are also seen in the above image. In order to make a lower cost part that more people can afford, NVIDIA then made a part with less TPCs and memory controllers by disabling certain areas of the core. The result of 'neutering' the GTX 280 was the GTX 260 seen here. The quick and easy way to give the GeForce GTX 260 a performance boost was to enable/add one more Thread Processing Cluster, which contains ... Read review