So what do you do if you don't need a video card? Your other option is to look into integrated graphics. For this you need a compatible motherboard which has a graphics chip built in. Instead of having video memory, it reserves a chunk of your RAM for graphics processing. This significantly slows down your computer when doing photo editing and playing games but for day to day work it should suffice as your RAM must be used for both video processing and normal task handling. Nowadays integrated graphics are becoming more popular as intel has released their HD 3000 graphics, a graphics chip built right in to the processor, while AMD have unveiled their Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) concept (a new component which combines the role fo the CPU and GPU into one).

Both of the Intel and AMD integrated graphics concepts involve fusing the GPU and the CPU into one product instead of having a separate graphics card built into the motherboard as was previously the case. These new GPUs essentially give you the power of a low to medium end dedicated graphics card without the extra cost and is perfect for the majority of users. It can handle most tasks such as video editing, photo editing, watching HD movies, encoding videos and even some games (although not on high settings). It essentially reserves dedicated graphics cards to high-end users and those who need them for very demanding tasks. With the low cost of RAM, installing 8GB or more is no problem when building your own computer and so, the dedicated video card has now become a less essential part of the computer

There are two different manufacturers of GPU's. These are Nvidia and ATI (now owned by AMD). They sell their GPU's to other manufacturers who make video cards with a GPU from either Nvidia or ATI.

A second factor you need to consider when buying a Video card is the RAM. This can change depending on what your needs are. If you just do a bit of browsing and occasional gaming or photo editing then around 256 or 512MB should be enough. For a high-end user, I recommend 2GB of RAM on dual GPU cards or about 1GB of RAM which should be plenty. Something in between such as Nvidia 768MB cards are ideal. Of course, for the low end user, I would recommend just buying a motherboard with integrated graphics and buy extra RAM because with integrated graphics, your computer will use your RAM in space of dedicated video RAM.

The final consideration is what card to buy. Today, In the day of Windows 7, you should probably just get a DirectX 11 card. DirectX 11 is not a whole new system like DirectX 10 was but rather, an evolutionary step. ATI has already released its latest 5xxx and 6xxx series for this and Nvidia has released the GT 5xx series cards which are some of the fastest GPUs on the planet. They are still available in low, medium and high end versions in order to fit every budget but they will be very fast and both medium and high end cards should be able to handle the latest games. You should also take into consideration the fact that some video cards occupy two expansion slots in your case, mainly the high end ones. Usually it's no problem as todays motherboards basically have everything you need, eliminating the need for additional expansion cards but be aware that adding a dual slot video card could take up expansion slots for things like wireless cards. Many motherboards have upto 8 USB ports, built in sound cards, ethernet and some even have wireless. Some of the best cards are incredibly long as well so it is best to search the internet to check if your chosen case will actually fit the video card in it. This is a big problem in the most expensive cars but largish cases should be able to fit the cars with ease.

These are the main things which need consideration when buying a video card. Firstly, whether you need an inbuilt one or a discrete one. Secondly, your price range and thirdly, how much RAM you need.