With the introduction of Intel's processors, new computers really don't need entry-level, $50-to-$70 graphics cards anymore. But what if you have an older system with less-capable integrated graphics? Though the Radeon HD 7750 isn't a barn-burner, it is a good step up from integrated graphics, and it does offer some advantages. At around $109 (as of April 23, 2012), it's inexpensive. The card is physically short and doesn't require any external power, so you can plug it into just about any desktop system. All you need is an empty PCIe slot--no need to check how powerful your power supply is or anything.

The Radeon HD 7750 is the cheap, low-end card in AMD's new Graphics Core Next lineup, which debuted with the impressive . Essentially, this card has all the technology you can find in that one--only much, much slower. The most direct competitor is the Nvidia GeForce GT 550 Ti, which has fallen in price to the same just-over-$100 level.

In our 3D graphics performance tests, the 7750 came up a little short behind the 550 Ti. The cards' relative performance in the synthetic 3DMark 11 benchmark tells the tale.

In most games, the results were about the same, with the 550 Ti being just slightly faster. The difference is not enough to notice. We encountered a few outliers in our tests, though; in Dirt 3, for example, the difference was not quite so minuscule.

On balance, you'll find that the GeForce GT 550 Ti is a bit speedier than the Radeon HD 7750, but usually not so much so that it will have a dramatic effect on the games and 3D applications you run. Where you will notice a huge difference, however, is in the power draw: The 550 Ti and 7750 both sip power when the PC is sitting idle at the desktop, but the 550 Ti draws a lot more power when under load. You'll need a power supply with an available six-pin graphics power plug on it for the 550 Ti, whereas the 7750 can run using just the power that the PCIe slot itself supplies.