What would be a good Core Clock Speed number for a gaming computer (Video Card/Graphics Card)?

[Riley_Go]

I dont know what Core Clock Speed means and there is Hz next to it. What would be a good number for it for a gaming computer (not a starter gaming computer)

 

[kanewolf]

Your graphics card has a processor on it just like the motherboard. It (graphics processor) has to have a clock signal. That is what the "Core Clock" is on a graphics card. It is independent from the memory clock. Clock speed is only one factor in graphics card choice.

Since Tom's just did a graphics card "Best of" article, it seems like that would be your best place to start choosing a card.

 

[jaguarskx]

The core clock speed is basically like the RPM in a car engine. It is how many times the CPU can process information per second to put it simply. Car engines of different designs can produce more or less power compared to other designs. For example, a V6 engine can produce more power at lower RPMs than a 4 cylinder engine.

However, CPUs are much more complex than that analogy. Intel CPUs can process more information every Hz compared to AMD CPUs. Because of this an Intel CPU with lower clock speed can outperform an AMD CPU with higher clock speed. There is also the number of cores inside a CPU. Intel CPUs have up to 4 cores while AMD has up to 8 cores. The cores are kinda like the cylinders in a car engine, however, more cores does not mean better performance. It is like comparing a 400HP 4 cylinder engine vs. a 300HP V8 engine.

Instead of trying to explain the technical aspects of computers which will take a very long time, it is better if simply state provide some information so that people can provide you with a list of parts so that you can build the PC yourself or recommend a pre-built PC if you are apprehensive about building your own PC. Since this is a hardware enthusiast site people are going to recommend that you build your own PC since it can be cheaper to do so because you can simply buy parts that are on sale. But building your own PC can be intimidating to some people and if you screw something up in the process that can be an expensive mistake.

You should provide information like:

1. Your budget. - The higher your budget, the better performance you can get.

2. Games you want to play. - Game do not all perform the same; some have higher requirements than others. For example, Far Cry 4 is a far more demanding game than BioShock Infinite which means in Far Cry 4 you are going a lot less frames per second.

3. Performance expectations. - If you want to run all or as many games as possible on highest possible graphic settings and get very good performance then be prepared to spend a lot of money. The lower your expectations, the less money you will need to spend.