What exactly is a Graphics Card and what purpose does it serve?
The graphics card is one of the most important hardware of the computer. Nowadays, with the developing technologies, there are also important competitions in their hardware. This is enough to explain the importance of this issue, as the programs used in different branches, especially in the growing gaming industry, require high graphics. You can find the answers to all your questions about the graphics card in our article.
What is a Graphics Card?
This card, also called a graphics card, is hardware that uses a certain memory and processor capacity to transfer graphics operations, that is, information received from interfaces such as RAM and hard disk, to the monitor via the motherboard. It is the part of the computer that acts between the processor and the monitor.
What is a Graphics Card Used for?
This card, which is standard in all computers, performs multiple tasks and operations. Its main operation is to process the graphic data for itself and present it to the screen, that is, the monitor, as an image. It is the computer hardware that performs the main functions in our games and graphics programs. We achieve higher graphics and higher performance thanks to the data processed in proportion to its power. Whatever we see on our monitor, everything related to the work we do, is processed thanks to this card and then transferred to our screen.
There are many models that are very different from each other. The main reason for this is that the purposes for which computers are used differ. As our purposes for using computers change, card models also change. Different models are used in business computers, different models in gaming computers and different models in office computers. This difference brings technological differences.
Graphics Card Types
Internal and External Graphics Cards
The internal card comes embedded in the motherboard or processor. As for an external graphics card, when you want to update your additional card, you can buy it and plug it into your graphics card system.
Graphics Card Models
As in all other technological races, there is a race in the production of this product. Manufacturers use graphics chipsets from Nvidia or AMD in most of their graphics cards. The largest companies with the largest share and availability in the market in production are Nvidia and AMD. Models vary according to their places of use and the nature of their operations.
Nvidia uses series in different segments such as GeForce, Quardo, Volta and RTX in its models. AMD graphics card models use models such as Radeon 7000, Radeon 9000, Radeon X, Radeon HD and FireGL, FireMV, FirePro. We have mentioned above that the reason for such diversity is to appeal to different users for their usage purposes. In addition to these companies, Asus and MSI graphics cards are also among the important brands.
Asus is mostly known for its models that aim for high performance in three-dimensional drawing and modeling, video processing and games. The MSI brand is trying to improve performance and design together in its models. It is appreciated by many users with its cooling systems. For example, liquid-cooled graphics card models have been produced to cool these cards. In addition to these, there are also price-performance focused graphics card manufacturers in various segments. Hp, INTEL, Dell, Samsung etc.
This technological race in cards has caused graphics card performance to reach higher levels in a short time. The new generation has made it possible to play high-quality games or use programs.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) How to Choose?
The answer to be given here actually depends on what you want to do with your computer. That is, using simple programs and reading news on the internet, surfing, etc. If you're going to do some work, entry-level graphics cards will do the trick. If you are going to spend time with high-processing work and high-quality new generation games, you should turn to high-end graphics cards. It is very difficult to make a recommendation as the best graphics card.
2) What is the reason for the price difference in models?
From the cooling systems used in graphics cards, to memory capacities, chips used and brands and models, prices vary.
3) How to Install?
This process differs between laptop and desktop computers. This process is easier on desktop computers. There are latches in the slots where the graphics card is installed. These latches ensure that the graphics card remains stable, and by opening these latches, you can easily remove the old card and install the new one. In laptops, the graphics card may be integrated with the motherboard or may have an external socket part. Considering these, it may be necessary to be careful and get help from an expert.
4) How to Look at Its Features?
Click the Windows icon in the bottom left. Type Dxdiag in the search bar and press start. On the screen that opens, go to the 'screen' section. You can access all the features of your graphics card.
5) How to Update?
Graphics cards need to be kept up to date as they significantly affect the performance of the computer. There are various methods for graphics card updates. The best of these methods is to download and use the updated versions published on official websites according to the brand and model type of your card.
Another way is to go to My Computer>Manage>Device Manager options, go to 'Display Adapters', right-click on the video card and click the Update Driver Software tab.
6) What is a Shared Graphics Card?
Those who perform graphic operations are divided into two: shared and non-shared. It has its own system memory, which is not shared. Since onboard graphics cards do not have their own RAM memory, they meet their memory needs with the RAM in the processor. It has advantages in power consumption. If you are going to deal with high-graphics work, discrete graphics cards are better.