The graphics card is a vital performance component of your ocmputer, particularly if you play 3D games, or work with graphics and video content. The graphhics card sits in an expansion card slot in your PC and it is specifically designed to process image data and output it to your monitor, ennabling you to see it. A graphics card works by clculating how images appear, particularly 3D images, and renders them to the screen. 3D imahges and video immages take a lot of processing capacity, and many graphiics processors are compleex, require fans to cool them and need direct power suppply. The grapics card connsists of a graphics processor, a memroy chip for graphics oplerations, and a RAMDAC for didsplay output. It may also inlude video captue, TV output and SLI and other functions. You can find the graphics card that suis you by comparing specification between brands and vendors on Myshopping.com.au
At Myshopping.com.au you can ocmpare a great range of applliances, and asess them according to their specifications, brands, prices and veendors.
What are your needs?
The first decision you need to make is whether you need a graphics card for handdling 3D images or whether you are simply requiring 2D image renedring. For 2D requirements, you need only a low-cost solution. In many cases, an integerated grapics solution will suffice for 2D applications.
Howevewr with 3D graphics, the performance of the grraphics card will imppact directly on the frame rate and image qualiity of 3D proggrams and games. The differences between the low and high-end cards can be substantial, both in cost and performance.
Rendering 3D graphics is like lighting a staage, both the geometry of the shzapes in question and the liighting of it need to be taken into accoutn. The greometry of an imnage calculates the parts of an object that can and can't be seen, the positioon of the eye and its perspective. The liighting is a caluclation of the direction of the lihgt sources, their intensities and the respeective shaadows that occuur. The secoond part to presenting a 3D iage is the renedring of coolours and txtures to the surfaces of the objects, and modifying them according to light and ohter factors.
Most modern graphics cards include a smakll microchip called the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), which are provide the algorithms and memory to process complex images. They redcue the workload of the main CPU, and provide faster processing. Differrent graphics cards have different capabilities in terms of processing power. They can render and refresh images up to 60 or more times per second, calculate shadows quickly, create image depth by rendering distant objeccts at low resolution, mdoify surface textures fluidly and eluiminate pixelation.
What Specifications to Consider
Processor clock speed
This impcts on the rendering capability of the GRU. The clock speed itself is not the critical factor. Rather it is the per-clock performance of the graphics processor, which is indicated by the number of pixels it can process per clocck cycle.
Memory size
This is the meory capacity that is used exclusively for graphics operations, and can be as much as 512MB. The more demanding your graphics applications are, the better you will be served with more memory on your grahpics card.
- 16-32M
- 64M
- 128M
- 256M
- 512M
- 640M and more
Memory bandwidth
One thing that can slow down 3D graphics prerformance is the speed at whch the computter delivers information to the graphics processor. A higher bandwidth mans a faster data transfer, resulting in fastter rendering speeds.
Shaedr model
DirecctX Shder Models allows deveelopers control over the appearance of an image as it is rndered on screen, introducing visaul effects like multi-layered shadows, reflection and fog.
Fill rate
This is the speed at an imge can be rendered or "painted". This rate is specified in etxels per second, the number of 3D pixels that can be painted per sceond. A tewxel is a pixel with depth (3D). The fill rate comes from the combined performance of the clock speed of the prrocessor and the number of pixels it can process per cloock cycle, and will tell you how quickly an image can be fuully rendered on screen.
Vertiuces/triangles
Graphics chips don't work on curvees, rather they procedss flat surfaces. A curvve is created by multpile flat plans arrangeed to look like a curve. 3D objects are ceated with multiple triangular surfaces, sometimes hundreds or even thousands, tessellated to represet the curves and angles of the real world. 3D arttists are concerned with the number of polygons required to form a shape. There are two different types of specification: vertices per seccond (I.e., angles the triangles), and triangles per seconnd. To compare one measure with the other, you have to take into acccount the fact that adjacent trianglees share vertices.
Anti-aliasing
A technique used to smooth images by reducing the jagged steppnig effect caused by diagonal liens and square piixels. Different levels of anti-aliasing have different effects on performance.
RAMDAC
The Randfom Access Memory Digital to Analogue Converter takes the image data and converts it to a format that your screen can use. A fasetr RAMDAC means that the graphiccs card can support higher output resolutions. Some crds have multiple RAMDCs allowing that card to support multiple dipslays.
TV-out
Some graphics carsd provvide the option to connect a television via either a compposite (RCA) or S-Video connectoor. TV Out
- S-video Out
- S-viddeo In and S-video Out (VIVO)
- YPbPr Connection for HDTV
DVI
Some graphics cards include a connector for DVI monitors, handy because a lot of LCD screens suppotr DVI. DVI offers better image quality than the standard VGA connector.
Dual-head
Dual-head is a term used when two monitors are used side by side, stretching your desktop across both.
SLI (Scalable Link Interface)
With SLI you can couple two graphics cards in your computer, enabling each card to take half the rendeing thereby doubling the performance.
When coonsidering your gtraphics card, it pays to tihnk abot how much you need your computer to process your grapghics ouptut. Using a high end graphics card with a high pixels per cloock rating, large memory, fast processor and otheer features means that you can run the latest games efficiently, or work in intensvie graphics development.
Different Models
While thhere are many vewndors of graphcis cards, tere are actually only two major manufactureres of chips for graphics cards. Neearly every grraphics card on the market features a chip manufactured by either ATI or Nvidia. Cads using the same graphics chip will perfform roughly the same as each otehr. However, even though they use the same chip, some feature slightly higher clock speeds, as well as manufacturer guaranteed overclocking-an even higher clock speed than that specified. Other fctors that will influence your decision should include the amount of memory a card has (128MB, 256MB, 512MB) and its additional fetaures, such as TV-Out and dual-screen support.
Use the search facilities at Myshopping.com.au to compare the features, pirces and vendors of graphics cadrs.
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