The Best PC HDMI Cards

The VisionTek Radeon 7750 is a cutting edge graphic card capable of some sharp HD visuals. Ideal for everything from gaming, streaming, photo editing, or spreadsheets, you will not find yourself ill-equipped with this piece of hardware. Based on award-winning GCN (Graphic Core Next) design and architecture, the 7750 is ultra efficient and super fast. Simply put, this thing is not only sharp to look at but it can handle a host of advanced graphics without a hitch. We're talking triple screen capability while running the most demanding visuals without a hitch.

Though the VisionTek Radeon 7750 may be a bit overkill for someone just needing a decent graphics card for streaming, it might be worth considering if you use your computer to juggle multiple tasks. The 7750 also supports full 7.1 channel audio on top of its HD capabilities to give you high grade sound and visuals.

Key Features

• Triple screen capabilities
• Built-in image quality enhancement technology
• Low profile design to fit within any system

The MSI AMD Radeon Card is probably not the most sophisticated card on this list, but thanks to its low profile and minimalist design, it could easily fit into your PC rig to breath new life into an otherwise lagging or dated system. Marketed as a card for gamers, this Radeon doesn't have the highest memory clock speed, but it can still run most popular games on standard settings without a hitch and produces crisp HD video picture. Though not the most robust piece of hardware, this card makes up for it with its accessibility and is probably best characterized as a good fit for casual gamers and frequent watchers.

MSI's Afterburner feature is especially simple to use for fine adjusting graphical parameters for better performance. We like the MSI AMD Radeon for its easy installation, small footprint, and ability to improve existing systems.

Key Features

• MSI Afterburner utility allows for intricate performance adjustments
• Minimalist, low-profile design
• Easy installation

The GeForce GT 710 from NVIDIA has always been a high performance, agile design. This offering from ZOTAC not only builds upon a proven system but makes it more compact and flexible. ZOTAC's card is super energy efficient and is half the size of a full-sized card to save you space. But even with its modest 25 watt power and small footprint, this card still manages to handle three monitors running 1080 HD without a hiccup.

Whether you're needing a card to fill out your home theater PC experience, or just something for gaming, the GT 710 can fill the role with ease. Gamers will like its fast 1600 MHz memory clock speed, which means greater frames per second, while streamers can enjoy its 4K capabilities. Topping off the ZOTAC is its super silent passive cooling system. All the performance without any of the noise.

Key Features

• Ports and capability for 4K definition
• Energy efficient, low profile design
• 1600 MHz memory clock speed

There's speed and then there's Diamond Multimedia's HD 5450 Graphics Card. While others on this list may reach 1500 MHz memory clock speed, this card from Diamond blows the competition away at 1 GHz. Yep, 1 Gigahertz. So if streaming and/or playing high frame rates in HD or 4K is a must for you, then look no further than the HD 5450. It certainly has the RAM to back up those high performance visuals without the lag. To save space, Diamond introduced a heat sink with passive air cooling instead of a fan that gets the job done without the sound. The heat sink not only effectively works to cool down the system quietly but takes up much less space in the motherboard than an entire fan.

If you have Windows 7, installation may not be the the simplest due to some initial compatibility issues, but with some patience you'll have a dependable piece of hardware on your hands to bolster your computer's visuals. At the end of the day, the 5450 is truly a multimedia graphics card that can handle it all.

Key Features

• Super fast 1500 MHz memory clock speed
• 4K definition capability
• Quiet heat sink design

If you're new to computers or tech, then picking out a graphic card may seem like a daunting task. We've put together this simple guide to help you better understand the tech talk and decide what card best fits your needs.

Processor

This is otherwise known as the Central Processing Unit or CPU. The processor is the central component of the computer and is used for interpreting and performing commands given to it. Think of the processor as the brain of your computer calling all the shots.

RAM

RAM stands for Random Access Memory. Computers use RAM to hold data being generated and used by other programs. RAM is also important because it relieves the processor from doing all of the operational heavy lifting. In essence, the greater the RAM your computer has, the more efficient it is and the faster it operates.

MHz

Short for Megahertz. This measurement gauges the transmission speed of the CPU. In simpler terms, MHz symbolize the heartbeat of the CPU or the rate of raw pulses flowing through the unit's circuits. In regards to a graphic cards, the higher the MHz, the faster it can translate and display information. For example, a card with 50 MHz higher than another will translate to about 1-2 frames per second faster.

Graphic Cards

Graphic cards are essential for producing high quality computer displays. These cards are responsible for rendering an image to your monitor.

CPU

A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor or main processor, is the electronic circuitry within a computer that executes instructions that make up a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions