Last Updated on September 25, 2024 by Adams
How Graphics Card Work?
When buying a graphics card, one question is bound to play ticktacktoe in your mind? Want to know which one?
“How Graphics Card Really Work?”
This is a very common question that takes place in almost every user’s mind but not all of them get the right answer to it. So, we took it upon ourselves and decided to answer this question for you!
You know the HD images you see on your computer, they are made up of tiny dots known as pixels. Even if you go for the most common display setting and on the HD ones, you will see about a million pixels on your display and that is just the beginning. Your computer is the boss that decides what to do with all of those pixels to show you the picture that you click.
To create a picture, your computer needs a translator, something that will take the binary data from the CPU and turn it into the pictures you see. Well, this process is conducted by the Graphics Card. Even though the latest computers come with integrated graphics cards but they need a separate GPU to perform well for the user.
A graphics card’s job may be a bit complicated but its principles and components are very easy to understand. So, we have provided you with an in-depth look at all the major components of a graphics card and how do they work.
Interface
The first component of a graphics card is its interface. It is a part of the video card that is directly connected to the motherboard to exchange the information between both systems.
There are two main types of interface mainly, one of them is PCI and the other one is known as AGP. A few of the other types of interfaces are known as PCI, ISA, and PCI-X interfaces. Even though all of them are well-recognized however, the last of that we mentioned are used rarely.
Video BIOS
The video BIOS contains the most basic setup interface for the video card and is transferred to the computer BIOS via the graphics card’s ROM or read-only memory.
This interface includes important things like:
- Memory timing
- Voltages
- Operating speeds
- RAM
GPU
GPU is usually known as the graphics processing unit and also the brainchild of the video card. The GPU is responsible for rendering pixels into 2D and 3D graphics through RAM.
The GPU is the most complex part of a video card and it comprises of the following components.
- Graphics and Computer Array
- Graphics Memory Controller
- Bus Interface
- Power Management Unit
- Video Processing Unit
- Display Interface
If we talk about more exclusivity, the graphics card applies specific details to each pixel to bring them to life. All these details include textures, patterns, and colors. This process is completed over and over again until all those rendered pixels form a cohesive image on your screen. The number of pixels that will form the image on your screen entirely depends on the resolution of your screen.
Video Memory
While the GPU is busy rendering all those pictures, it needs a place where it can store and display all the formed images.
This is where Video Memory comes in and it usually ranges from 1Gb to 12GB depending on your requirement.
Graphics cards usually come in different types of video memories and some of them have been mentioned below.
- VRAM: This allows the GPU to render those pixels fast (also known as “reading and writing”)
- WRAM: An even faster version of VRAM
- SDRAM: Runs at superior bandwidth rate
- SGRAM: Known for enhanced graphics performance
All the digital information is stored in Video Memory and it requires a technique through which it can send the data over to the monitor in an analog signal. It’s like commencing a conversation between two people that speak opposite languages and this is where RAMDAC comes in.
RAMDAC
RAMDAC does the job of converting digital data from the Video Memory to analog signal and send it over to the monitor for the user to see.
So, this is basically how the Graphics Card works. Of course, there are other components involved such as coolers, output cables, and so on.
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