Featured:
Allergies
Tech Know
Grilling Guide
eHow Now Blog

Definition of a Graphics Card

A graphics card is a device installed in a computer that consists of a graphics processing unit designed to help process and display images, especially 3D graphics. Graphics cards help take the processing strain off the main processor, and can contain their own memory to take the strain off the system RAM.

  1. Onboard Cards

    • Onboard or integrated graphics cards are built into a computer's motherboard and are typically less powerful than cards installed in an expansion bay.

    Dedicated Cards

    • Dedicated cards are graphics cards that are installed in PCI express, AGP, PCI, or other expansion bays, and have their own video memory separate from the system's main RAM.

    Power Draw

    • High-end dedicated video cards tend to draw a lot of power from the power supply and may even require an extra power cable to hook up directly to the card.

    Cooling

    • Most dedicated graphics cards have their own heat sink and fan right on top of the graphics processing unit to keep it cool. Proper case cooling is helpful to keep a graphics card from getting too hot.

    Multiple Cards

    • Some computers can be installed with more than one graphics card. These computers can link two graphics cards to increase graphics processing power.

Related Searches:

Comments

You May Also Like

  • What Is the Definition of a Graphics Card?

    A graphics card is a mechanical device built into a computer that enables the user to see graphics and video faster and...

  • The Definition of a Graphic Card

    Graphics cards, also known as video cards, graphics accelerators or display cards are computer hardware that takes binary data--that is, data compressed...

  • Definition of a Video Card

    A video card is an important device inside a computer or gaming console. This card displays graphics to your monitor or TV....

  • Definition of Graphic Software

    Graphic software is a form of application software for the use of editing, creating, manipulating and viewing graphic files. These programs allow...

  • What Is the Best Video Card for High Definition?

    With the ever-increasing demands placed on our computers by video games and media formats like Blu-ray, having a capable graphics card is...

  • What is a Workstation Graphics Card?

    Workstations are well-equipped PCs and Macs meant for professional operation rather than home use. Both their hardware and software are tailored to...

  • Definition of Graphic Designer

    Graphic designers combines text and images to create an effective piece of visual communication such as a poster, book, advertisement, billboard or...

  • Presentation Graphics Definition

    Business professionals often rely on visual displays when conducting a presentation. These visual displays can range from hand-drawn to computer-generated images ...

  • What Is a Graphic Card?

    A graphic card is a display adaptor that is installed inside of a computer and works to display images on the monitor....

  • What Is the Difference Between AGP & PCI Graphics Cards?

    Upgrading your computers graphics card may seem like an easy process, but you must consider what type of graphics card suits your...

  • Definition of an AGP Video Card

    An AGP video card is a graphics component that connects to a high-speed port on a computer's motherboard. AGP stands for advanced...

  • Definition of a Graphic Organizer

    Graphic organizers are a visual representation of the material a student is learning. The organizer assists the student in brainstorming and/or organizing...

  • Notebook Graphic Cards Comparison

    Computers users who play video games or edit high-definition images or videos may benefit from upgrading their notebook's graphics card. An improved...

  • VGA Card Information

    VGA, or video graphics adapter, cards are add-in components for computers. The primary function of the VGA card is to take over...

  • Graphic Card Specifications

    Graphic Card Specifications. Graphics cards use a multitude of specifications to differentiate themselves from the competition. They will report the speed of...

  • What Do Stream Processors Mean on a Graphics Card?

    Stream processing is a concept that allows graphics cards to have optimized dedicated CPU power to render graphics. This concept allows graphics...

  • Definition of Multimedia Card

    A multimedia card (also called an MMC, flash card, media card, compact flash card, memory stick and memory card), is a memory...

  • Definitions of Graphic Design

    Graphic design is the process of combining text and visual images to communicate. Books, magazines, websites, advertisements and movies all use graphic...

  • Definition of a Video Capture Card

    Many electronic devices offer video applications. Computers provide many such applications, and can communicate with other video devices via a number of...

  • What Is an AGP Graphic Card?

    An AGP graphics card uses an Accelerated Graphics Port that was once widely used on many computer systems. AGP is a faster...

Related Ads

thumbnail
Featured