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nick388 > Intel > Video Cards - The "Eyes" of your Computer

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Video Cards - The "Eyes" of your Computer

By Nicholas Turner of Video Card Emporium

Computers have always used video cards and display adapters ever since the first computer was invented which used a screen. There were plenty of computers before that didn't use screens (imagine that!), but these were used mainly for calculations and diagnostics. When you think about these old computers, think about the old "Super Computer" that was really big and had buttons on it -- something you would see in an old horror-type film or some sort, maybe Frankenstein.

But, enough about the past, lets talk video cards! For generations now, video cards have been one of the most important parts of any computer system. Without one, your computer will still run, but you won't have a picture on your screen since you wouldn't be able to plug your monitor into your computer. For those that don't know, when you plug your monitor into the back of your computer, it goes directly into the video card or video display port. From here, the computer processors everything you "see" through your video card and it gets sent up to your monitor where you interact with the computer, whether it's a game, word processor, internet browser or email.

What's the difference between a video card and a video display adapter? Nothing! They're technically the same thing, but may look differently. A video card is something that you can actually pull out of your computer and hold in your hands physically whereas a video display adapter may be built into your motherboard (another computer component) and you can physically pull it off or hold it. Usually a video card is much more powerful than a video adapter (also called a display adapter). A video card has it's own GPU, which is basically a CPU (also known as a processor) for your video card. Your video card also has its own RAM (also known as memory) built right on it, much like your motherboard has RAM slots and you put RAM into them. However, video card RAM is different as it can not be removed, replaced or upgraded on a video card but you have to upgrade the entire video card.

Many gamers are highly concerned about video cards because they're so important to their games. Without a very fast and powerful video card, you might see "delays" in your game, which some people refer to as "lag" but in reality it is the inability of your video card to display frames as fast as it should. But it's okay, that doesn't mean there's something wrong with your video card, it just means it's not powerful enough to handle the graphics of your game. The "lag" you experience is actually a low "frame rate". When a game is played on your screen, it displays in "frames" which you, the user, interact with. To find out exactly what frames are and why they're important, check out this article on "What is FPS?", it'll give you a brief understanding of what it stands for and what it is.

The more graphically intense a game is, the harder it is for a video card to display sicne it has to finely tune all the details, physics (if any), textures, colors and a million other things that are being sent to your monitor. Chances are, if your game is running slow, a video card upgrade could definitly help you out! With as cheap as video cards are getting today, it's really a good idea to get a new video card regardless. A lot of new video cards come with new technology to help your computer run better all around and not just in games. They help refresh images on a screen more quickly and even have the technology to display HD images from movies. Who doesn't like to see their movie displayed in top notch quality? With some video cards as low as under $100, it's an easy upgrade to give you a whole new visual performance on your computer.

If you're feeling like you need a new video card or a video card upgrade, I'd highly recommend checking out Video Card Emporium for some of the cheapest video cards you can find. They sell a bunch of value cards that are great additions to any computer, whether it's for gaming or just an overall upgrade, a cheap video card doesn't mean it's bad! It may simply be slightly outdated or a value model. Much like how cars have different models, such as standard or luxory, so do video cards!

In conclusion, give your eyes something better to look at! See clean, crisp, vivid color displayed on your screen with a brand new video card and give your eyes a break. Who knows, it might even save you some eye strain!

This intel first appeared on: http://www.squidoo.com/video_cards_eyes_of_your_computer

Contributed by nick388 on October 9, 2008, at 11:02 PM UTC.

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