Graphics card

The graphics card is the device that lets you play all those 3D accelerated games and run graphically intensive applications. It handles functions relating to the display and video and its primary task is to drive your monitor and display images and information on it. All cards today also feature some form of 3D acceleration, which is a specialised functionality that speeds up the display of 3D images and objects–the kind that are found in games and other applications. With this card, special effects like fog, mist and other environmental and lighting effects can also be recreated. The basic components of a graphics card are the processor, the video RAM and the interface. Graphics cards are identified by the graphics processors they use, their interface and the amount of video RAM they feature.