Are Graphics Cards really that important?

[That Robot is a Spy!]

Don't get me wrong, they're one of the main things you should focus on for a gaming PC, but to be completely honest, I'm a lot more focused on the RAM and CPU. Those are the things that actually run the things on your PC and determine what you can and can't do. With Graphics, you can toggle them to your graphics card needs quite easily.

Personally, I believe Gaming PC's to be focused like this: 40% CPU, 40% RAM, 15% Graphics Card and 5% other stuff such as Power Supply and Motherboard.

What are your thoughts on graphics cards?

[helloface]

Graphics don't make a good game.

[Hydro]

It is my opinion that the graphics should be at least good enough to run one's favorite game on medium settings without lag.

[That Robot is a Spy!]

It is my opinion that the graphics should be at least good enough to run one's favorite game on medium settings without lag.

Unless it's an absolute monster of a game, most graphics cards can do that easily.

[SKBT]

It is my opinion that the graphics should be at least good enough to run one's favorite game on medium settings without lag.

Unless it's an absolute monster of a game, most graphics cards can do that easily.

intel integrated 4xxx

[That Robot is a Spy!]

It is my opinion that the graphics should be at least good enough to run one's favorite game on medium settings without lag.

Unless it's an absolute monster of a game, most graphics cards can do that easily.

intel integrated 4xxx

Most integrated graphics cards suck anyway.

[Naryar]

Graphics don't make a good game.

Spoken truely. Graphics are just like the icing on a cake : it doesn't increase the quality of the game, but it makes the game more enjoyable.

But then again, I must say that Dawn of War is far more enjoyable with high graphics than with low graphics.

[cephalopod]

The amount of times I've said that I don't think graphics are important and been flamed for it, be it IRL or on the net, is insane. I absolutely agree - as long as you can play the games you WANT to play, who cares? My main game is TF2, so why would I need SUPER AWESOME DOG RENDERING for Ghosts?

[playzooki]

In a way, graphics ruin games these days.
This is because people always ask for a better looking game and developers spend so much time for this that there isnt much time left for other things, such as gameplay. However, this gets most people to buy the game, as they can see good graphics on adverts and other things. But for the restof us, its just a boring game with worse gameplay than we would like.

Just my 2 pence 

[Sol Vector]

(I'm not a ghost, I promise...)

Graphics cards are extremely important for normal use computing these days. Modern CPUs have really picked up the slack when combined with today's integrated chips, but there is no substitute for even a basic GPU. When benchmarking a system in non 3d applications on say Windows 7, you can increase performance greatly simply by reducing the strain of Aero and other effects, as well as freeing up the system memory for more important tasks. How important this gain is to you however, is completely objective. Another aspect is the higher range of video decoding capabilities a discrete GPU provides. My old Dell Dimension 2350 (P4 1.8ghz, 1gb DDR400, Dual 3dFx Voodoo2 in SLI) can be pushed to run Modern Warfare 3, but due to the lack of H264 capabilities on that hardware can't render a 720p+ Youtube video at all.