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Difference between revisions of "Glossary:Graphics card"

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Revision as of 16:16, 1 March 2012

The GPU (Graphics Processing Unit, also known as a graphics card) is the processor that renders and outputs video from your computer to your screen.

GPU Manufacturers

The three main consumer GPU makers are Nvidia, AMD, and Intel.

Nvidia and AMD both market a full range of GPUs from very basic, to cutting edge. Nvidia's consumer line is marketed under the GeForce brand, and AMD's under the Radeon brand.

Intel's initial offerings in the consumer GPU space were under the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (Intel GMA) brand, and served only to provide basic video functionality to PCs. Very near the end-of-life for the GMA brand, Intel's chipset integrated chips began to compete with older, very basic GPUs from Nvidia and AMD; they are able to play old games at reduced settings. Recently Intel began moving away from chipset integrated graphics, and with the Core i3/5/7 line of chips began offering GPUs built into the CPU die. The current best offering is their HD3000 graphics core, found in some Sandy Bridge chips; it is capable of competing with basic cards in the current generation.

Identifying your Graphics Card

Using dxdiag (Windows Vista/7)

  1. Type 'dxdiag' into the Start search and hit enter
  2. On the 'Display' tab it should list your Device.

For Windows XP users open the 'Run' tool from the Start menu, then type 'dxdiag' there.

Checking the physical card

Desktop users can sometimes check the model number on the card itself. This is usually on a printed sticker. Type the model number into Google and hopefully it should tell you which GPU you have.

Using GPU-Z

  1. Go to TechPowerUp's website
  2. Download the latest GPU-Z and install.
  3. Open GPU-Z

GPU-Z can give you a lot more information than dxdiag could give you. Also great for monitoring voltages and temperatures.

Multi-GPU

Some GPUs can be used in tandem with another GPU to boost the overall output of the cards. With Nvidia cards this technique is called SLI, with ATi cards it is called Crossfire.

Beginner Subpages

Beginner