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So I guess the next thing to talk about would be graphics cards, now there are literally hundreds out there, different manufacturers, different models and different chipsets but again it’s the numbers game and sadly, as with everything, the more it costs the better it is. Prices start from around £20 and rocket up to around £400 so choosing the right one could be crucial. Spend too little and you’ll be left wanting, spend too much and buyer’s remorse will set in… First of all you need to decide what sort of games you’d like to play, if you just like simple puzzle games like Zuma, Bejeweled or Puzzle Quest then a £20 graphics card will be fine but if you want to get into some hardcore first person shooters like Bioshock, Fallout 3 or Crysis then you have to start around the £150 mark to get anything decent. One of the biggest games ever sold is The Sims franchise of PC games, a lot of parents when buying PC’s for the kids who like to play this game (and believe me LOTS of under 16’s play this game) fall into the trap of thinking just any PC will play it. Sure Sims, the first in the series, was only a 2D game meaning it didn’t really need a lot of power to play it. Then when Sims 2 was released everyone who was playing Sims 1 couldn’t play it due to it needing almost 3 times the graphical power! So if you’re buying a family computer then you all need to sit down and discuss what you’d like to use the PC for. Being able to play the top flight games is what can easily double the cost of a PC.

One of the biggest arguments with graphics cards is ATI or NVidia – the 2 leading GPU (graphics processing unit) manufacturers, there’s really not a huge amount in it, there are arguments for both sides. You just have to do a little research into what’s recommended at the time I’ve had ATI 9800 pro then an NVidia 8800GT and now I have an ATI 4890 so not really any bias I just bought the best at the time. The numbers involved can get quite complicated; take these for example Sparkle NVidia GeForce 8400GS 512MB PCI-E @ £22.94 and this one Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB PCI-E 2.0 @ £103.44, both are 512 Megabyte cards so why the huge price difference? Well as I said it’s the numbers game so I’ll try and break it down for you.

There are key things to look for when buying a graphics card:

1) Interface type

2) Clock speed

3) Ramdac clock speed

4) API support

5) Video memory installed

6) Video output

7) Max resolution details

8 ) Max monitors supported

Without getting too complicated I’d say the above would be the best items to compare as I feel they are the most common denominators in all graphics cards.

1) Interface type: all modern computers use PCI-E (peripheral component interconnect express) this is a motherboard level interconnecting port and is much quicker at handling data then the older AGP (accelerated or advanced graphics port) PCI-E 1 = each ‘lane’ can handle 250 megabytes of data, PCI-E 2.0 = 500 megabytes of data and in turn PCI-3 (when its released) claims to be able to shift a whole gigabyte.

2) Clock speed: basically clock speed refers to rate in cycles per second for the frequency of the clock in any synchronous circuit. For example a graphics card that has a clock speed of 200 MHz will be able to perform 200,000,000 cycles per second, this is the aspect most ‘Overclockers’ will look at, pushing to get more cycles per second will increase performance.

3) Ramdac clock speed: this is how quickly the digital to analogue converter pushes the graphics output from the card, this will govern how many refresh rates are supported and at what resolution. So again the higher the number here will determine how quickly the image gets to the screen and in turn how big that image can be.

4) API support: this basically outlines which Direct X support the card will conform too which handles things like video editing, blending, rendering plus other accelerated processing. Direct X is Microsoft’s unification programme for both gaming and multimedia. Direct X 9.0c is still (probably) the most widespread, Direct X 10 is used by a lot of gamers and now that Direct X 11 was released July this year only the most hardened of ‘hardware chasers’ will currently be using it.

5) Video memory installed: this tells you the amount and type of RAM on the card 128MB, 256MB, 512MB all the way up to 2GIG nowadays for amount and the GDDRx (graphics double data rate) refers to version of RAM, stick with the higher the better again.

6) Video output: simple one this it’s the maximum resolution achievable – how many pixels can be displayed.

7) Max resolution details: I’ve included this as it often differs to the above dependant on connection used. VGA (video graphics array) is the most common connection and will give a standard signal whereas DVI (digital visual interface) and HDMI (high definition multimedia interface) can often give not only a crisper picture but also a higher resolution so check the connections you have to achieve the best picture possible.

8 ) Max monitors supported: no prizes for guessing what this means! Lots of designers will use 2, 3 or even 4 monitors I’ve also know gamers to do the same so its handy to know.

So back to my original graphics card comparison here are the specs for both cards:

Sparkle NVidia GeForce 8400GS 512MB PCI-E @ £22. (approx)

Interface type: PCI-E

Clock speed: 450MHz

Ramdac clock speed: 400MHz

API support: OpenGL 2.0, DirectX 10

Video memory installed: 512MB DDR2

Video output: 2048×1536

Max resolution details: VGA/S-Video /DVI-I all formats = 2048×1536

Max monitors supported: 2

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB PCI-E 2.0 @ £103.00 (approx)

Interface type: PCI-E 2.0

Clock speed: 750MHz

Ramdac clock speed: 400MHz

API support: Direct x 10.1

Video memory installed: 512MB GDDR5

Video output: 2560 x 1600

Max resolution details: DVI: 2560 x 1600/VGA: 2048 x 1536

Max monitors supported: 2

So as you can see from the above specs, you see why the ATI card is so much more expensive. It’s defiantly more of a gaming card than just a display adapter; feel I should re-iterate at this point no bias whatsoever has been implemented in the above guide. Find a great range of different cards here

PCI refers to the Payment Card Industry.

PCI compliance, in this context, refers to complying with the PCI Data Security Standard.

Essentially, the PCI Data Security Standard is a worldwide security standard for information which was assembled by the PCI Security Standards Council. This standard requires a minimum level of security on servers and is designed to assist companies and organisation that deal with debit and/or credit card payments, in an attempt to reduce fraud.

PCI compliance applies to all entities which deal with information of card holders, either via the processing, holding or passing on of cardholder information. The PCI Data Security Standard (or DSS) requires the following of the network(s) and/or server(s) on which the cardholder information is sent through or stored.

• A firewall configuration must be installed and maintained to protect cardholder details.
• Default vendor access codes and passwords must not be used.
• Card holder data must be protected and encrypted when sent over open, public networks.
• Anti-virus software should be used and kept up to date on systems that are commonly vulnerable to malware.
• Developed systems and software should be  secure and ensure said security is maintained.
• Access to cardholder data should be restricted.
• All access to network resources and cardholder data should be tracked and monitored.
• Security systems and processes should be regularly tested.
• A policy that addresses information security should be maintained.

PCI compliance also reference wireless networks and their use, monitoring and security incident responses. Due to the inherent issues of transferring data wirelessly, PCI compliance requires at least quarterly security checks of any wireless networks in use and sets a minimum security standard for said wireless networks.

If you require any advice regarding e-commerce or wish to find out more information about PCI compliance specifically, be sure visit the recommended links below or feel free to contact us.

• VISA Global List of PCI DSS Validated Service Providers
• PCI Security Standards Council
• Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard