Graphics Card for Gaming - Media Experience

In the past years, there was bigger difference between discrete graphics cards and integrated graphics cards (discrete graphics card being better).

Nowadays with the latest AMD and Intel chipsets, it starts to be difficult to notice any difference in the picture quality.

If you are going to get a discrete graphics card for gaming, be sure to check the dimensions of the card and its Thermal Design Power carefully before purchasing.

For example, I bought a passive cooled graphics card, but it did not fit inside my case because it was slightly higher than regular cards due to its passive cooling solution.

A low power GeForce 750Ti is good for casual gaming, but if you want to play the latest games with better graphics quality, I would recommend choosing GeForce GTX 1060 that I currently use in my gaming HTPC.

If you are planning to use your HTPC with 4K TV to watch ultra HD, you should ensure to get a graphics card with DisplayPort that supports 4K video.

I’m using GeForce GTX 1060 with my 4K display and it works very nicely.

Another good and more affordable choice for a gaming HTPC is GeForce GTX 1050.

My advice is to start with an integrated graphics card and add a discrete graphics card later if you feel that you will need one. However, it is good to get micro ATX case instead of mini-ITX case if you plan to use a discrete graphics card later.