Asus GeForce GT 710 2GB GDDR5 HDMI VGA DVI Graphics Card Graphic Cards GT710-SL-2GD5-CSM

Although my desktop computer is a workhorse business-grade workstation, the way I bought it was in its basic configuration. I did that purposely so I could add my own preference of upgrades. I do have a work computer dedicated to high-end video, photo and graphics editing and another dedicated to gaming, but I wanted to be able to do both from time-to-time on my home PC where I usually work of projects.That being said, no one including me will ever say this card is a high-end gaming/graphics card. It isn’t. But don’t believe that anything low-end is without merit, or as I saw one claim that the onboard video that comes with a basic computer is better than any low-end graphics card. Logic says that shared memory vs. dedicated memory and a card optimized for graphics can be a useful and valuable upgrade. Note that the company classifies this as a Corporate Stable Model. What does that mean? I asked and the answer was simply that products with that designation are designed for business to be compatible with a wide range of operating systems and hardware and to have enhanced product support not usually available with consumer-grade products. Maybe the most intriguing is what they call advance-swap – if you’re having trouble with your card they let you keep it in service until they send you a replacement, so you’re not left with a non-working computer for days or weeks. Owning a business I know that can mean running task-intensive software, the need for stable graphic performance, and the expectation that the components in a business computer likely will be powered on and often in use 24/7.But which one to choose? There are so many brands with so many specs that sound similar but fall down when it comes to the quality of the components, which can result in intermittent performance, not actually achieving expected performance or early failure. So for me the place to start is with the ASUS brand name. The people who really know about graphics cards rarely disagree about the fact that this company is fanatical about quality.After that decision I found that reading what others have to say doesn’t mean much, there are so many variables when it comes to every other component in their computer system, what apps they are using, how bogged down with apps their computer is, the list goes on … this is one product that I believe the only way to know if it is going to work for you is to get it and try it in your systems for your unique purposes.So the first hint I think can be useful if you are in a daze and simply don’t know which one to choose is to look at the fine print above. Every item here has a date of first sale (you can actually do a sort by several parameters and one of them is to list the most recently added products in any category). You’ll find that some of the video graphics cards still being sold here can go back as far as Windows XP or even earlier. Not coincidentally, it seems the number one reason people say they aren’t satisfied with a graphics card is that it isn’t compatible with newer operating systems like WIN10. By buying a card like this that was designed and manufactured after WIN10 was introduced and has drivers included written for WIN10 you’ve upped your chances of 100% compatibility a lot and took a big step toward future compatibility as well.So, after several weeks of research and saving at least a dozen semi-finalists to my cart, this is the one I chose. And I think I did good, it works extremely well, it’s such a breath of fresh air for something to just work like it’s supposed to.Two final words of caution: I don’t have any problems with the most popular search engine that starts with G—, it’s always been my preferred search engine. But if you don’t want their chrome or their search bar option please note that both are set to install by default unless you catch it and opt out. You have to uncheck them if you don’t want them. The other heads-up is just my duh mistake – the card ships with a plastic protective piece over the contacts. I didn’t see it and tried to insert it into the motherboard. Hmm, it wouldn’t go into the slot. Hey, don’t laugh at me, at least I caught it before trying to force it in.