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| Graphic Cards |
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| Every computer needs a graphics card, this is what generates all the pictures on your screen. Depending on your requirements only some cards will do the job. This is a basic guide to the types of card available and some links for further information. The amount of different cards on the market is almost endless, ever since the creation of AGP the developments of all aspects of computers has exploded with leading manufactures racing their new products out faster than we can keep up. |
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| Here are the types of graphic cards |
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- Onboard Igp
- Onboard Dedicated
- PCI
- AGP
- PCIe
- PCIe SLI
- PCIe Crossfire
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| Onboard IGP (integrated graphic processor) common in laptops and cheap motherboards. It is a chip on your motherboard which uses shared system RAM. This of course makes it cheaper to manufacture but its performance very low and you every day computer performance will be lower as some of its memory is been used. This type is effective for basic computer use and not games, graphic design or video editing. |
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Onboard Dedicated these are found in the higher quality laptops, normally ATI / NVIDIA they have their own processor and their own memory. The difference over the entire computer will be easily noticed. The amount or extra applications which will run smoothly makes this the choice for anyone who takes their computing serious. |
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| PCI these are the white slots on your motherboard not very common now since the invention of AGP. The selection available are few and the cost is high with performance low. In short these are almost redundant now. If you are looking for an upgrade for one of these it may be better to change your mother for PCIe. |
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| AGP (Accelerated Graphic Port) this is the brown slot on your motherboard just above the white ones. It has ruled the market for 10 years, only recently been replaced by PCIe. If you have one of these on your board then your options are still many and most applications will run smoothly with the exception of the latest games which are all been developed now for PCIe cards. |
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| PCIe (PCI express) the latest and definitely the greatest with twice the bandwidth of AGP this is the future. All card manufactures spending their time developing for this slot, and all new major motherboards coming with them as standard, time is running out for AGP, so if your buying a new computer make sure it has a PCIe slot on it. PCIe SLI & PCIe Crossfire are essentially the same but made by two different manufactures. SLI is by NVIDIA. Crossfire by ATI they are not compatible with each other. It is a system running two of the same cards in tandem giving you much more power for your games. You will need a motherboard with two PCIe slots and support for either SLI or Crossfire, only people who play a lot of 3D games need worry about this system as it is very expensive, however it is the ultimate! for more information read some of the links provided below. |
For independent benchmarks on most graphic cards go to /www.guru3d.com/
For a break down on SLI vs Crossfire
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| Professional Video editing and Graphic Design. |
NVIDIA Quadro FX family features high-end graphics boards, designed for professional 3D applications such as:
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Mechanical Computer-Aided Design (MCAD)
Digital Content Creation (DCC)
Non-Linear Video Editing (NLE)
Visualization Applications
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FireGL™ 3D Graphics Accelerators
Whether you’re an engineer designing mechanical subassemblies or an animator creating eye-popping visual effects, FireGL workstation graphics accelerators deliver the performance, quality, and stability required for your most demanding projects. The FireGL family of certified workstation 3D graphics accelerators, with solutions for PCI Express and AGP based systems, offers industry leading performance and quality at prices to match any budget. |
