Recommendation for good cost/benefit vga for Windows Areo

Question

I want to buy a PCI express card for my PC. All Windows experience scores are good, but the onboard VGA got 1.0 in Vista experience for Aero. I've looked in the listing o video cards, and it's enormous with great price variations and models. I would like a good car to show Aero effects (like transparent windows, etc).

Answer 1

Any video card that is marketed as a DirectX 9 or DirectX 10 compatible card will be able to run Aero without any problems.

Microsoft recommends the following for the graphics card on a Vista Premium Ready PC:

A DirectX 9 compatible graphics processor with a Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver, Pixel shader 2.0 in hardware, and a minimum of 128 MB of Video RAM

You can choose a graphics card from the Vista hardware compatibility list.

Answer 2

If you don't play games, just buy something around the bottom of the pile. nVidia GeForce 8400 or similar.

In Australia they're about $60 so in the U.S.of.A they're probably about $3. I see you're in Brazil however so I don't quite know how that will affect local pricing!

Answer 3

This is very subjective question, because one person == one recommendation.

I preffered nVidia.

Read some webs where is comparison of graphic cards.

• Tom's Hardware - Performance Charts Graphics Cards

And go to your favorite eshop with computer components and chose.

Answer 4

For that kind of use, just buy the cheapest nvidia or ATI card, should work fine.

Answer 5

I had an nVidia 7200GS before and it's adequate for Aero and minimal gaming. Though you should steer clear of it if you're planning to do any serious gaming.