Diane, you are sort of comparing apples and oranges.  A video chip sits on the motherboard and shares memory with the system memory. 
A video card fits in a slot in the back of the computer, and it usually has it's own dedicated high-speed memory (that is what the 
1GB refers to) and its own gpu.  Most mass-produced brand name computers use an onboard chipset to save money and keep their prices 
low.  Video cards cost more and require a larger power supply.

Many of us here build our own computers so we do not have to deal with the compromises imposed by a mass-market computer, albeit we 
pay more for a home-built computer because we don't usually cut corners with an onboard video chip.

If you do not want to build your own computer, then look for one of the more high end mass-market computers that includes an actual 
card, not an integrated graphics chip.  It should also have a significantly larger power supply.  Brands like Dell allow you to pick 
and choose your components within a range that they offer, "build your own," so to speak.  If you do that, you may be able to 
compromise a bit.

Tom's has a recommendation for cards within a price range:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2464-8.html


Dean Kukral

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Diane
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 3:22 PM
Subject: [PCBUILD] Video Graphics Cards


*I'm planning on getting a new computer and want to get a good video
graphics card for Flight Simulator X Deluxe.  I found a computer with an
NVIDIA nForce MCP61 Chipset, but I don't know how much memory it has.  It
was recommended that I get one with at least 1 GB of RAM.  It was also
recommended that I get an NVIDIA Geforce 9800 GTX or above.

Does anyone know about graphics cards?

Thanks.

Diane Kroeckel*

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