What are Computer
Video Cards?

Computer video cards (graphics cards/graphics adapters) create pictures which are shown on your computer monitors.

It is computer hardware which is responsible for the displaying of all the graphics on computer monitors.

These cards control the quality of the graphics which are shown on your PC and can either be built into the motherboard or be a separate PCI card.

Without a computer video card, you would not be able to see anything on your monitor screen!

There are three types of video cards:

1. PCI slot type: - This card is installed in the PCI slot on the motherboard and is fast becoming obsolute due to its substandard performance for today's computing needs.

2. AGP slot type: - This card is installed in the AGP slot on the motherboard and is now the accepted standard due to its high speed which is excellent for gaming and multimedia.

3. PCI-Express 16X: - This card is an advancement in the video card technology. It is much faster than AGP 8X. It is referred to as PCI-E 16X and can only be used with motherboards having PCI-Express slots.

Today's computer video cards (graphic cards) have their CPU, memory and bus. Your computer's main processor (CPU) controls operations but the video card's graphics processor also performs plenty of the work.

Graphics cards (video cards) are built with one or both of two different types of CPUs. One type is referred to as a graphics processor unit (GPU) which works along with the PC's main processor. These two processors together perform all the rendering and memory management.

The GPU is an independent processor that rapidly performs all the different calculations required for rendering high quality 3D video images. It doesn't need to be controlled by your PC's CPU. It automatically processes all video on its own and sends the result to the video memory and the display (monitor).

The other type of graphics card processor is called a graphics accelerator and it waits for your computer's processor to instruct it to perform specific operations. Your PC's processor isn't required to perform the operation itself but it has to supervise and give instructions to the graphics accelerator.

After reading this, you will wonder which type is better. This depends on your requirements. The GPU's maximum performance can only be achieved if you run the appropriate software for 3D rendering and animation. Failing this, it would not be prudent to purchase a high-powered GPU if you are not going to use all of its features.

The performance of video cards are controlled by the chipset, memory and the RAM DAC as well as the bus speed and size. One way of improving this performance is to allow both the video chipset and RAM DAC to access video memory simultaneously. This process is called dual-porting and requires special video RAM.

Another way to increase performance, is by giving video cards their own processor (GPU). This type of graphics card has its own processor to boost performance.

Due to the demands of today's graphics applications and high multimedia requirements, graphics processor units (GPUs) are not just enhancements; they are a necessity.

The processor on these cards are designed specifically for handling video and graphics.

The features of a graphics processor unit (GPU) are:

• MPEG decoding.
• 3D graphics.
• Color space conversion.
• Dual porting.
• Interpolating scaling.
• Digital output to flat panel monitors.

These are design features to reduce the load on the system CPU which allows for faster system CPU performance.

If the computer motherboard has a built-in (integrated) graphics card, you should ensure that it also has an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot so as to allow you to be able to upgrade your graphics card if you so desire. PCI video cards are also available but one should choose the AGP 8X graphics card for enhanced performance.

Original computer video cards never had memory but, because of the large volume of data caused by increased resolution and color, video memory became necessary.

Older computer video cards used up to 128MB of DDR memory while the newer cards use between 256MB to 320MB of DDR memory. High end cards now use from 512MB to 768MB DDR RAM.

If you intend to go 'all out', you can opt for the PCI-Express (X16) video cards.

The higher the memory of your video card, the better the speed of your computer resulting in images being shown faster, thereby resulting in better CPU performance.

If the video cards are of poor quality, then the image quality shown on the monitor will also be of poor quality.

Computer Video Cards (Graphics Cards) are Important

Video cards are extremely important for gamers. If you will be using your computer for intensive graphics such as gaming, video editing and watching DVD movies, you should get a good card such as a PCI-Express (X16) with at least 512MB DDR of onboard RAM.

Nvidia introduced the Scaler Link Interface (SLI) for its video cards. This technology incorporated the use of dual, identical PCI-E X16 video cards used in tandem; the downside being you had to have a motherboard with dual PCI-Express X16 slots.

ATI technologies Inc. also produced its version of dual PCI-Express cards used in tandem which it referred to as Crossfire.

These two technologies produced stunning realistic 3D graphics.

If you want to spend a little extra money, you can purchase a computer video card with TV-Out to be able to watch TV.

BFG GeForce 7600 GS OC/512MB GDDR2/AGP 8x/DVI/VGA/TV Out/Video Card

Experience extreme HD gaming and video on your PC with a BFG GeForce 7600 GS OC graphics card.

Click here to learn to install a video card.

Click here to look at some cheap computer video cards.

Final Thoughts

When buying video cards, ensure that they are 3D capable and are compatible with your computer.