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Computer Video Cards: Reviews, Capture Card, Low Profile PCI, ATI
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Published: November 16, 2006
Video cards are a crucial part of any computer. They can be the difference between barely running three year old games and running current games at normal frame rates. Without them we would not even be able to see or know what is happening inside the computer. Video cards are circuit boards attached to the motherboard of a computer and connected to the monitor.
All video cards have certain standards they can meet, which set the limit on what the cards can do. As computer gaming became big, there was much need for video cards with 3D accelerators. These video cards were meant to support 3D graphics but originally did not support 2D graphics, which meant a 2D card was also needed. Currently video cards are made to support both 2D and 3D.
Any image displayed on a computer screen is made up of miniature dots known as pixels. Most monitors display over one million pixels, and it is the video card's duty to translate the binary information from the motherboard to those pixels. Video cards are constantly translating data in this way, refreshing the screen every time they do. A high quality card should be refreshing the screen sixty times per second, even when working hard to display videos or high quality games. Any video cards that cannot work at this rate will produce a noticeably slow performance. This means that movies and games might seem to pause or skip and the images on the screen might not sync up with the accompanying sound.
Video capture is an interesting aspect of video cards. Some video cards have video capture built in, but a separate video capture card will be required if they don't. Video capture is a way of taking video from an outside source, such as a TV, VCR or camcorder, and recording it on the computer into a video file. This is a nice feature that will allow you to preserve home videos in a data format.
Always be sure to research a video card before purchasing one. Cards vary depending on manufacturer and model. Each one will provide a different experience. Figuring out which is the right card for you may take time, but it's important that it is compatible with your computer and can properly process the programs. It would be smart to access some video card reviews in order to learn more about any cards that take your interest. A video card is not cheap; you don't want to hastily blow a lot of money on one to find out it won't do what you expected. There are several quality brands of video and graphics cards on the market such as ATI and VooDoo video cards. Each company supplies many different types of cards as well, like the ATI video cards sapphire series, so be very specific when researching each one.
Believe it or not, video cards can actually affect your health as well. Low quality video cards will have a low refresh rate for the monitor, which can lead to eyestrain and even cause fatigue. Video cards are not always the most important aspect of the computer though. A high quality card is needed to properly play movies and games, but if the computer is only used for more simple tasks like word processing or creating charts and graphs, it does not have to be of the highest standard. In this case, a low profile pci video card would be fine.
Computer Hardware. 2006. Computer Hope. 15 November 2006. http://www.computerhope.com/help/video.htm
Wilson, Tracy V. & Tyson, Jeff. How Graphics Cards Work. 2006. HowStuffWorks, Inc. 15 November 2006. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/graphics-card.ht m
Any image displayed on a computer screen is made up of miniature dots known as pixels. Most monitors display over one million pixels, and it is the video card's duty to translate the binary information from the motherboard to those pixels. Video cards are constantly translating data in this way, refreshing the screen every time they do. A high quality card should be refreshing the screen sixty times per second, even when working hard to display videos or high quality games. Any video cards that cannot work at this rate will produce a noticeably slow performance. This means that movies and games might seem to pause or skip and the images on the screen might not sync up with the accompanying sound.
Video capture is an interesting aspect of video cards. Some video cards have video capture built in, but a separate video capture card will be required if they don't. Video capture is a way of taking video from an outside source, such as a TV, VCR or camcorder, and recording it on the computer into a video file. This is a nice feature that will allow you to preserve home videos in a data format.
Always be sure to research a video card before purchasing one. Cards vary depending on manufacturer and model. Each one will provide a different experience. Figuring out which is the right card for you may take time, but it's important that it is compatible with your computer and can properly process the programs. It would be smart to access some video card reviews in order to learn more about any cards that take your interest. A video card is not cheap; you don't want to hastily blow a lot of money on one to find out it won't do what you expected. There are several quality brands of video and graphics cards on the market such as ATI and VooDoo video cards. Each company supplies many different types of cards as well, like the ATI video cards sapphire series, so be very specific when researching each one.
Believe it or not, video cards can actually affect your health as well. Low quality video cards will have a low refresh rate for the monitor, which can lead to eyestrain and even cause fatigue. Video cards are not always the most important aspect of the computer though. A high quality card is needed to properly play movies and games, but if the computer is only used for more simple tasks like word processing or creating charts and graphs, it does not have to be of the highest standard. In this case, a low profile pci video card would be fine.
Computer Hardware. 2006. Computer Hope. 15 November 2006. http://www.computerhope.com/help/video.htm
Wilson, Tracy V. & Tyson, Jeff. How Graphics Cards Work. 2006. HowStuffWorks, Inc. 15 November 2006. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/graphics-card.ht m
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