Video Card

Video Card
A video card (also called a display
card, graphics card, display
adapter or graphics adapter) is an
expansion card which generates a
feed of output images to a display
(such as a computer monitor).
• Often, the graphics components
are on a separate card that plugs
into a slot on the motherboard,
which is the main part of the
computer. That's why the graphics
components are commonly called
the graphics card. Sometimes the
graphics card components are
build directly into the motherboard.
Other common names for
graphics components
Other common names for the
graphics components are: video
card, video adapter, display
adapter, and graphic
accelerator.
How Graphics Cards Work
• The images you see on your monitor are made of
tiny dots called pixels.
• Most common resolution settings, a screen displays
over a million pixels, and the computer has to
decide what to do with every one in order to create
an image.
• To do this, it needs a translator -- something to take
binary data from the CPU and turn it into a picture
you can see. Unless a computer has graphics
capability built into the motherboard, that translation
takes place on the graphics card.
 The graphics card accomplishes this
task using four main components:

• A motherboard connection for data and

Graphics cards take data from the CPU and turn it into pictures.
• Like a motherboard, a graphics card is a
printed circuit board that houses a processor
and RAM. It also has an input/output system
(BIOS) chip, which stores the card's settings
and performs diagnostics on the memory,
input and output at startup. A graphics card's
processor, called a graphics processing unit
(GPU), is similar to a computer's CPU. A
GPU, however, is designed specifically for
performing the complex mathematical and
geometric calculations that are necessary
for graphics rendering. Some of the fastest
GPUs have more transistors than the
average CPU. A GPU produces a lot of
heat, so it is usually located under a heat
sink or a fan
 Each company has also developed specific
techniques to help the GPU apply colors, shading,
textures and patterns.
The Evolution of Graphics Cards
•Graphics cards have come a long way since
IBM introduced the first one in 1981. Called a
Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA), the card
provided text-only displays of green or white
text on a black screen.
Now, the minimum standard for new
video cards is Video Graphics Array
(VGA), which allows 256 colors. With
high-performance standards like
Quantum Extended Graphics Array
(QXGA), video cards can display
millions of colors at resolutions of up
to 2040 x 1536 pixels.­
 Input and Output

This Radeon X800XL graphics card has DVI, VGA and ViVo connections.
• Graphics cards connect to the
computer through the motherboard.
• The motherboard supplies power to
the card and lets it communicate
with the CPU. Newer graphics cards
often require more power than the
motherboard can provide, so they
also have a direct connection to the
computer's power supply.
Connections to the motherboard
are usually through one of three
interfaces:
•Peripheral component interconnect (PCI)
•Advanced graphics port (AGP)
•PCI Express (PCIe)
•PCI Express is the newest of the three
and provides the fastest transfer rates
between the graphics card and the
motherboard. PCIe also supports the use
of two graphics cards in the same
computer.
DirectX and Open GL
•DirectX and Open GL are
application programming interfaces,
or APIs. An API helps hardware and
software communicate more
efficiently by providing instructions
for complex tasks, like 3-D
rendering.
• Developers optimize graphics-intensive
games for specific APIs. This is why the
newest games often require updated
versions of DirectX or Open GL to work
correctly.
• APIs are different from drivers, which are
programs that allow hardware to
communicate with a computer's operating
system. But as with updated APIs, updated
device drivers can help programs run
correctly.
• Most graphics cards have two
monitor connections. Often, one
is a DVI connector, which
supports LCD screens, and the
other is a VGA connector, which
supports CRT screens. Some
graphics cards have two DVI
connectors instead. But that
doesn't rule out using a CRT
screen;
CRT screens can
connect to DVI ports
through an adapter.
At one time, Apple
made monitors that
used the proprietary
Apple Display
Connector (ADC).
Although these
monitors are still in
use, new Apple
monitors use a DVI
connection.
Most people use only one of their two monitor
connections. People who need to use two monitors
can purchase a graphics card with dual head
capability, which splits the display between the two
screens. A computer with two dual head, PCIe-
enabled video cards could theoretically support
four monitors.
In addition to connections for the motherboard and
monitor, some graphics cards have connections
for:
TV display: TV-out or S-video
Analog video cameras: ViVo or video
in/video out
Digital cameras: FireWire or USB
Some cards also incorporate TV tuners.
Next, we'll look at how to choose a good
graphics card.
 Choosing a Good Graphics Card
Integrated Graphics
•Many motherboards have integrated
graphics capabilities and function without
a separate graphics card. These
motherboards handle 2-D images easily, so
they are ideal for productivity and Internet
applications. Plugging a separate graphics
card into one of these motherboards
overrides the onboard graphics functions.
• A top-of-the-line graphics card is easy
to spot. It has lots of memory and a fast
processor. Often, it's also more visually
appealing than anything else that's
intended to go inside a computer's
case. Lots of high-performance video
cards are illustrated or have decorative
fans or heat sinks.
• But a high-end card provides more power
than most people really need. People who
use their computers primarily for e-mail,
word processing or Web surfing can find all
the necessary graphics support on a
motherboard with integrated graphics. A
mid-range card is sufficient for most casual
gamers. People who need the power of a
high-end card include gaming enthusiasts
and people who do lots of 3-D graphic
work.
•
A good overall measurement of a card's
performance is its frame rate, measured in
frames per second (FPS).
• The frame rate describes how many complete
images the card can display per second. The
human eye can process about 25 frames every
second, but fast-action games require a frame
rate of at least 60 FPS to provide smooth
animation and scrolling. Components of the
frame rate are:
• Triangles or vertices per second: 3-D
images are made of triangles, or
polygons. This measurement describes
how quickly the GPU can calculate the
whole polygon or the vertices that define
it. In general, it describes how quickly the
card builds a wire frame image.
• Pixel fill rate: This measurement
describes how many pixels the GPU can
process in a second, which translates to
how quickly it can rasterizing the image.
 Overclocking
Some people choose to improve their graphics
card's performance by manually setting their
clock speed to a higher rate, known as
overclockings. People usually overclock their
memory, since overclocking the GPU can lead to
overheating. While overclocking can lead to
better performance, it also voids the
manufacturer's warranty.
The graphics card's hardware directly affects
its speed. These are the hardware
specifications that most affect the card's speed
and the units in which they are measured:
•GPU clock speed (MHz)
•Size of the memory bus (bits)
•Amount of available memory (MB)
•Memory clock rate (MHz)
•Memory bandwidth (GB/s)
• The computer's CPU and motherboard
also play a part, since a very fast
graphics card can't compensate for a
motherboard's inability to deliver data
quickly. Similarly, the card's
connection to the motherboard and the
speed at which it can get instructions
from the CPU affect its performance.