I
think that after reading some of my topics on the kingdom of hardware blog, you
have been able to distinguish all parts of the computer from the inside, and
you have a good idea about each piece and how it works. In this post, the idea
will become clearer to you about the so-called "graphic card". Most
of us, especially gaming geeks, know that the graphics card is one of the very
necessary parts to live in the atmosphere of the game as if you are inside it,
but how does this component work? Let's get acquainted with it and its parts in
detail.
What are the parts of the graphics card?
A
modern graphics card consists of several main components:
●-GPU (Graphics Processing Unit): The graphics
processing unit or otherwise known as the GPU is the heart of the graphics
card, and it is the main component of the graphics card where graphics are
processed. Unlike a CPU that has only 2 to 16 cores, a GPU is made up of
hundreds or thousands of small cores or units that run in parallel to perform
complex graphics operations. Nvidia calls these cores or processors Cuda Cores
or Shaders, while AMD/ATI calls them "Stream Processors."
● Memory: Memory is where all the complex
constructs and other graphic information are stored. The GPU fetches material
from memory, processes it, sends it back to RAM, then sends it to RAMDAC and
then to the display. RAMDAC is a Random Access Memory Digital to Analog
Converter that converts the image to the analog signal and sends it to the
display screen through the monitor cable. Graphics cards contain different
types of memory based on the GPU used in the graphics card. The most common
types of memory used in graphics cards are GDDR3 and GDDR5 RAM, where G stands
for Graphics and DDR stands for Double Data Rate. The RAM or Memory Card of a
graphics card is much faster than that used in a desktop or laptop computer.
● Internal interface: The internal interface is the interface through which the
graphics card is connected to the motherboard. Older graphics cards used the
AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) interface to connect to the motherboard, but
now it has been replaced by PCI Express 2.0 x16 for faster and more efficient
performance.
●Heatsink
and fan: The heatsink and fan form the cooling part of the graphics card, which
is used to reduce the temperature of the GPU and RAM (on some cards). A
heatsink is a copper or aluminum passive cooling device whose main purpose is
to take the heat out of the GPU and dissipate it into the surroundings. A fan
is an active cooling device that blows air onto the heatsink to make the
coolant cool faster so it can quickly draw heat from the components. Some
low-end graphics cards are equipped with only a heatsink and a fan, for
adequate and efficient cooling.
●Power
Connectors: Power connectors are only found on mid-to-high-end graphics cards
because these cards need extra power to run. An example of these is 6-pin power
connectors, and in high-range cards, there can be two such connectors. The
low-performance graphics card does not have power connectors as it does not
require a lot of power to run and it draws power only from the PCI Express x16
slot of the motherboard.
●Video
Ports (Output): This is the external interface of the graphics card. It is used
to connect the display device to the graphics card via the appropriate cable.
The low-level graphics card contains only VGA and DVI (Digital Video Interface)
ports, while the advanced interface ports include DVI and HDMI (High-Definition
Multimedia Interface). Both DVI and HDMI are digital interfaces but in HDMI the
audio signal or audio can be transmitted by it. In the past, VGA or SVGA was
the most common connection used with computer monitors, but, today, most flat
panel displays use DVI or HDMI connectors.
How does the graphics card work?
The
image that you see on your computer screen is made of small points called
pixels, and the screen appears with more than a million pixels and the computer
has to describe each point in its place to get the desired image. To do this,
you need a translator that translates the binary output of the processor and
converts it into an image. This in short is the work of the graphics card, as
it converts the binary data output from the CPU to output points on the output
devices (the screen) regardless of whether the graphics card can be It can be
built into the motherboard or externally installed on the motherboard.
I
also mention in all my posts that the computer is a complete and integral part,
meaning that all the parts inside it must work together, so to get the result
that you see in front of you on the screen, the graphics card must work with
the motherboard, whose work at this stage is the same as its work in general
and secure communication between all The parts supply them with power, the
processor decides what to do with each pixel on the screen, and the RAM
temporarily stores information for each pixel until the image is complete, and
the whole image is also temporarily stored, and finally, the screen shows the
final result.
How do you choose the right graphics card for you?
Well,
to choose the right graphics card for you, there are several things you need to
do, the first and most important of which is the search. Yes, as I said,
research and reading. Your reading of this post may be part of your research,
and this is a good thing, but you must search more and read more and more.
What am I looking for in the graphics card?
Well, the most important part, as we talked
about, is the GPU. You have to know the frequency at which the graphics card
works, or as it is known, its speed is measured in GHz in modern cards, and the
rule says that the higher the frequency, the better the card. There is another
thing that you must take into consideration, which is the memory, as we talked
about that you can consider the graphics card as a complete computer that
contains RAM inside, in modern cards the memory used is DDR5 and the work of the
memory in the graphics card requires decorating the results until they are
displayed and storing the inputs until they are processed and of course The
more memory, the better the card.
There
is also information that I do not think that many know, but let’s say, for
example, that you want to run the same game on two similar computers, but each
computer has a screen of a different size from the other, in this case, you
will need a stronger graphics card to run the same game with the same
resolution on the larger screen, this means that Even the screen has a big role
in the evaluation process.
Of
course, cooling is one of the most important factors that must be looked at,
but I will not address this topic because there is a special post about it to
come, God willing. It is also very important, and it is the problem of most
people who update, which is "Do you have enough power to run this
card?" As modern cards have become in need of a strong Power Supply and a
higher ability to operate the modern cards, so make sure of the capacity of the
card and how much energy it needs before buying it to learn whether to buy the
card alone or to buy Power Supply with it.
One
of the important things as well, the last of which is your timing to buy the
card, let's be clear about it. Almost every three months, leading companies
such as Nvidia and AMD launch a new type of card, so it is necessary to know
when to make your decision to buy.