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Do I need a discrete graphics card? |
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General purpose
If you tend to only use applications that aren't graphic intensive, such as: web surfing, word processing, and picture viewing, integrated graphics or a lower end discrete graphics card should be enough for you as an average user.
Gaming
As games become more advanced, new generations of graphics cards are continuing to evolve. To play these games as they were designed to be played, you'll need to invest in a discrete graphics card. These cards are designed for better performance and are equipped with advanced features to meet the demands of the new generation of 3D gaming.
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What do I need to consider before purchasing a video card? |
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First, determine the primary role of your computer. Will you be using it for school, work, gaming or a combination of all three? Are you running Windows Vista?
If your primary uses are restricted to school and work, an integrated graphics card or lower end discrete graphics cards will be sufficient. However, if you decide that you will be running games and/or Windows Vista, it is highly recommended that you invest in a solid graphics card for your needs.
This section is designed to help guide you in learning about key video card specifications and should make finding the right card for you an easier process.
GPU
The GPU (Graphic Processing Unit) is the core of the video card - it determines what the video card can do and how well the card will perform. At present, there are two GPU manufacturers: NVIDIA and ATI.
Both ATI and NVIDIA have developed their own lineup of GPU products designed for applications covering general purpose 2D, 3D gaming and video playback. The nVidia GeForce series and ATI Radeon series for example are represented by the nVidia GeForce 7900 GTX and ATI Radeon X1900 XTX respectively in this domain.
Memory
A graphics cards memory works closely with the GPU. It is an important factor determining the performance of a video card. Memory is used to store graphics data temporarily and in general the faster and larger it is, the better the maximum performance of the video card.
Memory clock, type (e.g. DDR, GDDR2, GDDR3 and GDDR4), and the width of the memory interface are all key factors that affect each other.
The type of memory installed correlates directly to a certain memory clock range - for example, the maximum clock of DDR memory is around 700MHz, while GDDR2 memory can support around 800MHz, GDDR3 will easily exceed 1GHz (1000 MHz), and GDDR4 can reach or even exceed 2 GHz. A higher clock usually means better performance given a memory interface of equal width.
The memory interface actually refers to the width of the memory interface, for which currently there are several common standards: 32-bit, 64-bit, 128-bit and 256-bit for video cards. Some current flagship video cards support much wider memory interfaces. For example, the latest GeForce 8800 GTX and GeForce 8800 GTS are equipped with 384-bit and 320-bit memory interfaces respectively.
The width of the memory interface can be understood in the same way as the width of a length of highway - the wider the highway is, the greater the traffic that can pass through at any one time. In the same sense, the wider the memory interface is, the greater the amount of data that can be transferred between the GPU and memory at a given clock speed.
Interface
Interfaces, also known as the bus connector, act as the bridge between the video card and the motherboard. Currently, video card interfaces include the PCI, AGP and PCI Express standards.
PCI has been used for a very long time but can still be found on a handful of video cards. The AGP interface replaced PCI and has been developed over the years to encompass the AGP 1X, AGP 2X, AGP 4X, and AGP 8X interfaces. AGP 8X is the fastest and is downwards compatible with AGP 4X; while AGP 4X is downwards compatible with AGP 2X, and so on. Currently, AGP is being replaced by PCI Express as the latter provides higher bandwidth for future requirements.
The PCI Express standard can be broken down into the PCI Express x1, x2, x4, x8, and x16 standards. PCI Express x16 is used mainly for video cards. If you are considering building a computer from the ground up, you should purchase a motherboard that supports PCI-E, as it's the newest interface available. However, if you are only upgrading your existing video card it becomes important to select the interface based on the interface sported by your motherboard as installation of your new video card becomes impossible without matching
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I/O ports |
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The I/O ports are used to link your computer up with your display device. On a video card, you may find a combination of D-Sub, DVI, TV-out, VIVO, or CATV ports. Generally, the D-Sub, DVI and TV-out are the most typically-used ports on contemporary video cards.
D-Sub
The D-Sub port is for connections to analog CRT and LCD monitors
DVI
DVI is used for display devices utilizing the DVI connector, such as LCD monitors and projectors.
S-Video/Composite/Component
The S-Video, composite, and component ports are all classified as TV-out ports.
VIVO
VIVO stands for Video-In and Video-out, and is a multi-purpose port.
CATV
The CATV port connects to a CATV cable to receive TV signals, and is provided only by video cards equipped with a TV tuner.
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What is ATI Crossfire? |
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Crossfire is a brand name for ATI Technologies multi-GPU. The system requires a Crossfire-compliant motherboard with a pair of PCI Express (PCIe) graphics cards, which can be enabled via either hardware or software. Radeon x800s, x850s, x1800s and x1900s come in a 'Crossfire Edition' that has 'master' capability built into the hardware. One must buy a Master card, and pair it with a normal card from the same series. Radeon x1300s, x1600s and 1650s Pro have no 'Crossfire Edition' but are enabled via software.
The slave card (left) and master card (right). Note the master card's high-density connector (top).
The Crossfire dongle cable links the cards and sends output to the monitor
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Will a conventional PCI device work in a PCI Express slot? |
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PCI Express is a SERIAL interconnect technology, providing increased bandwidth for newer, high performance graphics boards
The older conventional PCI standard is a PARALLET interconnect technology. These devices, including PCI based graphics board, will not fit a PCI Express slot. They are NOT compatible
Two Flavors of Desktop PCI-Express: X1 and X16
Comparing PCI, AGP, and PCI-Express Throughput
Bus Type |
Specifications |
Throughput |
PCI |
33MHz, 32-bit |
133MBps |
PCI-Express |
x1 |
250MBps |
AGP |
2x |
533MBps |
PCI-Express |
x4 |
1,000MBps |
AGP |
4x |
1,066MBps |
AGP |
8x |
2,133MBps |
PCI-Express |
x16 |
4,000MBps |
Because PCI-Express uses a difference signaling technology than PCI, chipset made for PCI can't support PCI-Express slots or internal buses. As a consequence, you'll need a new motherboard with PCI-Express expansion slots if you want to try PCI Express Device
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Installing a Graphics Card |
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installing a graphics card in your computer is extremely easy to do. It will take you a matter of minutes before you're all done and ready to experience your new graphics card.
Turn off your computer and unplug all power cords. Remove the side panel to gain access to the inside of your computer. Don't touch any of the components inside.
- With the side panel off, lay your computer on its side. Locate either the AGP or PCI-Express slot on your motherboard, depending on which your motherboard has.
- Now you're ready to plug your card into the AGP or PCI-Express slot. Do this gently, but make sure it's firmly slotted in. When your graphic card is in place, you need to secure your card to the case. This is usually done with a screw, but yours may have another method.
- Once the graphics card has been secured to the case, you can re-install the side panel of your case, connect your monitor to your graphics card, and turn your computer back on!
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Install the latest motherboard chipset drivers |
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Your motherboard contains a CPU, some RAM, expansion slots, and various devices. But it also contains some chips which make all those parts work together. The most important of these chips are called the chipset. You need to install the chipset drivers to make sure that everything on your motherboard is working reliably and running at full speed. The chipset makers from time to time put out new chipset drivers to improve compatibility and solve stability problems. Chipset driver problems are often responsible for crashes of AGP video cards and can affect stability of expansion slots. So if you are having any kind of problems with your display card, you should always update your chipset drivers because bad or missing chipset drivers can cause problems which have all kinds of symptoms
The chipset is usually made up of two chips: the Northbridge, and the Southbridge. The Northbridge is the main chip and the Southbridge is a support chip
To install your chipset drivers, the first thing you have to do is figure out which chipset is used by your motherboard
Please verify with your motherboard's documentation or the manufacture directly to find out what type chipset you have on your motherboard
Common manufacturers of motherboard chipsets include
Intel, VIA, NVIDIA, ATI, SIS, and AMD.
Once you have determined the chipset manufacturer for your motherboard, obtain and then install the latest AGP drivers from:
ATI – www.ati.amd.com
AMD - www.amd.com
Intel - www.intel.com
NVIDIA - www.nvidia.com (for enforce Platform Processor only)
Sis - www.sis.com
Via - www.viaarena.com
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DVI Interfacing |
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DVI stands for digital video interface.
DVI is a popular form of video interface technology made to maximize the quality of flat panel LCD monitors and modern video graphics cards and most cards nowadays include both a VGA and a DVI output port.
DVI-D is a digital ONLY connector
DVI-I can support digital and analog (RGB) cable is wired for both analog and digital video and can work in either mode. There are two different kinds of DVI-D and DVI-I cables: single link and dual link
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What are Single and DUAL Link ? |
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The Digital formats are available in DVI-D Single Link and Dual Link as well as DVI-I Single Link and Dual Link format connectors. These DVI cables send information using a digital information format called TMDS (transition minimized differential signaling).
Single link cables use one TMDS 165 MHz transmitter, while dual links use two. The dual link DVI pins effectively double the power of transmission and provide an increase of speed and signal quality; i.e. A DVI single link 60-Hz LCD can display a resolution of 1920 x 1080,
While a DVI dual link can display a resolution of 2048 x 1536.
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