Computer Video Card Knowledge

There are two types of systems used to create video on your computer; one type is integrated video and the other is a video card. A video card is the part of your computer that is responsible for converting binary code from the CPU into a picture so you can view it on your monitor. Video Cards can also be called Computer Graphics Cards. Computer Video cards plug directly into an expansion slot on the motherboard of a computer using various slots like PCI, AGP, and PCI Express. Integrated video is a chip built into the motherboard used to run the video. Most older systems have integrated video because it is a less expensive alternative to a video card. This usually this gives poor picture quality and slows down the computer because it relies on the systems CPU and memory to run it. Newer video cards come with their own memory, cooling, and a graphics processing unit (GPU). There are four main components to a Video Card; the memory, a processor, a connector to the motherboard and a connector to the monitor. These components are responsible for making a 3-D image out of the binary data, filling in the remaining pixels, and adding light, texture and color. If you were using integrated video and tried to play the most up- to-date video games the load on the computers CPU and Memory would become to much for the computer to handle. If you like good graphics, watch DVD’s, or play computer games a Video Card is definitely the way to go. Some video cards only have one port used for connecting a standard monitor; while some more advanced video cards may have multiple ports for additional monitors or TV’s. There are a variety of video ports offered for video cards; some are VGA (video graphics array), VIVO (video in/video out), and DVI (digital video interface). VGA ports are more commonly used with CRT monitors, while DVI ports are usually used for LCD monitors.