A graphic card is an expansion card that generates the images that we see on our display.
Most laptops and many desktops do not have a graphic card. Instead they have a graphic chip integrated in the mother board that can not upgraded or replaced.
Many desktops have expansion ports available and allow turning the on board graphics off so that you can use the expansion video cards. Higher end desktops come with a graphic card.
The performance of our graphic card will affect the performance of our computer when we see high resolution videos, play games, do graphic design or open many windows on our PC. When a high quality video doesnt play properly it is usually due to the graphics chip.
There are many graphic cards in the market, usually the cheapest cards will not be much faster than then integrated chip so if you are upgrading to have higher performance it is better not to get the cheapest card.
There are also several different graphic ports, it is important to make sure the graphic card works with port on your mother board.
Usually you an find 4 video connectors on graphic cards.
VGA has been the standard for many years, it uses an analog signal which means interference can affect the image quality.
DVI has also been popular for many years. It is a digital connector immune to interference.
HDMI is a new type of high definition digital interface available since 2003. Normally it is used with DVDs and TVs.
DISPLAYPORT Is the newest of the ports. It was released in 2007. And it is expected to replace VGA and DVI for connection between PCs and monitors.
If your monitor and graphic card connectors are different, normally it is possible to use an adapter.
There are so many graphic chips that it is difficult the right one for your application. If you need help to choose a graphic card we will be glad to help. To get the best performance it is also important to upgrade your graphic card firmware and drivers to the latest version. LoreaTec can also help with graphic drivers update graphic drivers upgrade.
