Computer 101: What is a Video Card?

A video card or video graphics adapter is a computer hardware device that processes all the things that can be seen via the monitor or LCD device. It processes all those binary information and output them through the monitor of LCD which the user can see. Back in the early days of the computer the video cards cannot completely process all those information that need to be seen by the user. The main processing is still done via the CPU or the Central Processing Unit of the computer. All the video could do is to output the data via the monitor and with the help of the bigger memory built in them it can make the output a lot nicer compare to a standard size memory amount of a built in video card.

In those early days most stand alone video card can have a memory capacity of 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 megabytes of memory while the high end video card can have as much as 128 or 256 megabytes of memory. Also early types of video cards do not have a GPU or Graphics Processor Unit. This early GPU comes only with the high end type and since they have GPU, it has its own cooling fan attach on top of it.

The same is still true for today’s latest video card, most of them have those GPU for faster processing and they can also have a large amount of memory installed. This is the standard video of today they can have up to 1 gigabytes of memory. For high end graphics application such CAD/CAM processing and video rendering, CGI rendering and all other professional application the video has evolve in such a manner those they can be compare to a regular desktop computer in terms of pricing and characteristics. Objects that need to be manipulated and edited via software that requires the video card to let the editor see and work on the finer detail of the images, they can response faster and better to the application that uses them. They let the graphics editor or designer to see all the aspect of the image that they are working on.

Image via Wikipedia

High end video card has more power and characteristics to offer compare to conventional video cards that has a standard GPU and amount of memory installed in them. Another application of a high end video card is in gaming. People who plays games that uses heavy graphics processing needs high end video cards or else they would not be able to appreciate the game they are playing. There will be a lot of contortions and graphics folding and drag which would lead to hardware crashes because the hardware cannot handle the needed amount of graphics they the software is trying to feed it. LAN games which would require several computers link together would slow down because the video cards cannot cope up with the intense amount of bits being use by the software.

Image by marklinkphoto via Flickr

Okay which choosing the right video for your need make sure to read the box and information that pertains to that video card. Gone are the days that only large amount of memory and a GPU is the main requirement in buying a Video Card for your system. Remember every hardware in your computer must work together for you to have an enjoyable use of your computer. You may buy the very latest in this video card but if it will not cooperate with the rest of the hardware and software in your computer than that video card is called trash become it wasted money and time. So read and check all the information before your buy one for upgrade or replacement.