Expansion cards still have their PC uses, despite alternatives

By Peter Zschunke Nov 13, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Berlin - There was a time when, if you wanted a PC to have better sound quality or just an internet connection, your only option was an expansion card.

But most of those functions are now built directly into computers or handled by external USB solutions. Does this mean the end of cards? Not quite, especially when it comes to special needs, such as boosting a computer's graphics quality.

Gamers have high expectations when it comes to graphics and sound. Meeting those expectations is easiest with an expansion card. 'The pre-packaged graphics capabilities aren't enough anymore for halfway demanding games,' says Hendrik Weins, a hardware expert with the German computer magazine Gamestar.

The threshold starts with games such as World of Warcraft or the real-time strategy game Starcraft II. If you're using the standard graphics chip that came with your motherboard, you have to do without a lot of detail.

Demands on graphics cards have also increased with the growing popularity of large monitors with higher resolutions. 'If you've got a full HD resolution of 1,920 X 1,080 pixels, then standard graphics chips are generally overwhelmed,' says Weins.

Efforts to include graphics chips in external USB devices haven't gained traction since there is no single industry standard. That usually means the only way to boost graphics is to insert a special card into the PCI slot. 'You can also consider installing a new graphics card in the PC, if the computer isn't too old,' says Christof Windck, a hardware expert with German computer magazine c't.

AMD and Nvidia dominate this market, which is hard for laymen to penetrate because it's so difficult to compare products and get an overview. Also, the working memory of a graphics card is no longer a reliable indicator of its quality.

'Most have 1 gigabyte, which is usually enough,' says Weins. It's more important to look at the chip's frequency or the number of shading possibilities, key to providing various graphics effects. Before buying, go online or check out a trade magazine to get some user reviews, he suggests.

Special solutions are also key to sound for gamers and audiophiles. But, here, there are both a variety of special cards as well as USB solutions. All of these tend to be more expensive than pre-installed options, Weins notes. Labs and Asus are some of the leading providers of sound cards.

Expansion cards that can be built into a computer have the advantage that they're tucked away, making it unnecessary to have a lot of extra peripheral devices.

But expansion cards still have their niches, such as for people who use a stationary PC to watch TV in their living room. 'Built-in cards have not been adequate for a long time,' says Sasche Winkels, head of German operations for Hauppage, the market leader for TV cards in the United States.

'This is especially true of ready-to-use systems or for people putting together a multimedia computer. Along with supporting all major TV formats, TV cards work optimally and can easily disappear behind a decorative housing in places like a living room,' says Winkels.

Meanwhile, the trend for watching TV on a PC is going towards USB solutions, says Winkels. 'After all, the computer no longer has to be screwed open for the operation and a simple twist of the wrist means the TV stick can be transferred to a notebook.'