3.11.5 Video Cards

Learn the different implementations and features of video cards.

Video Card Components

Video cards contain two main components, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU ) and it's own dedicated video memory. The purpose of the GPU is to process all graphical information and output it to connected displays. Since these operations generate a lot of heat, GPU's have heatsinks to keep them cool. The video memory is used to store graphic info that needs to be accessed extremely fast.

Memory

The amount of memory on a dedicated video card ranges from 1 to 24 GB. GPUs can use DDR Generations 3-5, but they aren't as fast and don't provide the most performance features. Graphics DDR Generations 2-6 (+ 5X and 6X) are DDR memory specifically designed for graphical data. They're more expensive, but they provide greater performance.

Video Card Implementations

Video cards can be implemented in two main ways. The first is called integrated graphics, and it's when the video card is integrated into another component, typically the motherboard or the CPU.

Integrated Graphics

When the GPU is integrated with the motherboard, it's often called an onboard video card. Onboard cards are usually sufficient for most computer needs. Thankfully, they're also the cheapest and most widely-implemented graphics solution. However, onboard video cards are usually allocated a maximum of 512 MB of dedicated RAM.

Dedicated Graphics

Dedicated video cards are installed into expansion slots on the motherboard and contain everything needed for graphics processing. They have a GPU, high speed dedicated graphic memory called SGRAM. SGRAM usually comes in the form of VRAM or the much faster GGDR3, 4 or 5 memory.

High-end dedicated video cards have a large heatsink and multiple fans on the card for cooling. They're the most expensive and robust video solution. They're typically used for gaming computers, or computers that deal with a lot of graphic applications e.g. 3D rendering software (Blender)

Video Card Connectors

Output

• DisplayPort
• High-Definition Multimedia Interface Port
• USB Type C
• Digital Video Interface Port Uncommon among newer monitors

Input

Only come with video cards that also capture video from external devices.

Display Capabilities

Always select a video card that matches or exceeds the capabilities of your display device. When selecting a video card, consider the:

• resolution
• number of pixels that can be displayed
• refresh rate
• memory capacity

Bus Types

Most modern GPUs use a PCIe x16 expansion bus, but not all. Always make sure the motherboard and video cad bus types match.

Multi-GPU Support

The name of this feature changes with manufacturer. NVIDIA calls it SLI, while AMD calls is CrossFire. Multi-GPU configurations can get really expensive and really only benefit high-end PC gaming systems.

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