Fans
The number of individual fans provided in the graphics card cooling system (if any, see "Cooling").
In general, the more powerful the video adapter, the more efficient cooling it needs. So
one fan is typical mainly for devices of the initial and inexpensive middle class,
two — from medium to advanced, and
three or
more are almost an unambiguous sign of a premium-level solution. At the same time, there is no strict dependence here, and models with similar characteristics may have a different number of fans (especially since the cooling efficiency is determined not only by the number of fans, but also by their diameter). But what this parameter unambiguously affects is the length of the graphics card and, accordingly, the amount of space required to install it.
Lighting sync
Backlight synchronization technology provided in a graphics card with an associated design.
By itself, synchronization allows you to "match" the backlight of the graphics card with the backlight of other system components — the motherboard, case, keyboard, mouse, etc. Thanks to this matching, all components can change colour synchronously, turn on / off at the same time, etc. Specific features the operation of such backlighting depends on the synchronization technology used, and, usually, each manufacturer has its own (Mystic Light Sync for MSI, RGB Fusion for Gigabyte, etc.). The compatibility of the components also depends on this: they must all support the same technology. So the easiest way to achieve backlight compatibility is to collect components from the same manufacturer.
Power consumption
Maximum power consumed by the graphics card during operation. This parameter is important for calculating the total power consumed by the entire system and selecting a power supply that provides the appropriate power.
Number of slots
The number of slots occupied by the graphics card on the back of the system unit.
This indicator allows you to estimate the amount of space required to install a video adapter. It is relevant in the light of the fact that modern video cards can have a fairly extensive set of connectors, and for this set there has long been little standard lanyard for 1 slot. This is especially true for powerful performant models. Thus, many solutions, especially mid-range and top-end ones, occupy
two or even
three slots at once.
Separately, it is worth touching on models for which the characteristics indicate a fractional number of slots — usually 2.5 or 2.7. This detail is provided by the manufacturer for promotional purposes — as confirmation that the graphics card is smaller than a full-fledged 3-slot solution. However, in fact there is no difference between these options: adapters for 2.5 or 2.7 slots still block the third slot (albeit partially), making it unusable.
Length
The total length of the graphics card.
In this case, the length means the size of the device from the plate with connectors (which is attached to the back wall of the system unit) to the opposite side. The plate itself and the outwardly protruding connectors are usually not taken into account.
Data on the length of the graphics card is needed primarily in order to assess whether there is enough space for it in a particular case. In addition, longer boards, usually, have more advanced characteristics (although there is no hard dependence here, and video adapters of similar class may have different lengths). As for specific values, the most compact solutions nowadays have a size of
150 – 200 mm or
less ; an indicator of
200 – 250 mm can still be considered relatively small,
250 – 290 mm — medium, and many models (mostly advanced) have a length
of more than 290 mm.
