

Systems may require upgraded and/or separately purchased hardware, drivers and/or software to take full advantage of Windows functionality. Not all features are available in all editions or versions of Windows. GPU makers will typically release driver updates from time to time, so it’s important to ensure you have the latest driver version.Īrc, Arria, Celeron, Cyclone, eASIC, Intel Ethernet, Intel,the Intel logo, Intel Agilex, Intel Atom, Intel Core, Intel Evo, Intel Inside, the Intel Inside logo, Intel Optane, Intel vPro, Iris, Killer, MAX, Movidius, Pentium, Intel Select Solutions, Intel Si Photonics, Stratix, the Stratix logo, Tofino, Ultrabook, Xeon are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. If you enjoy high fps games, choose a graphics card with a high enough refresh rate.ĭriver version: Your graphics card needs special software called the display driver to communicate with Windows. The refresh rate is the number of times your display draws an image (measured in Hz). Refresh rate: If you’re a gamer, this is one really important specification to watch out for when purchasing a system. If you’re into Ultra High Definition (UHD) gaming, pick a graphics card that supports 4K resolution. Each graphics card supports a set of resolutions like 4K (3840x2160 pixels) and Full High Definition (FHD, 1920x1080 pixels). Resolution: Graphics cards send a stream of data to your display device via standard ports like HDMI, DVI, and USB Type-C. For two graphics from the same architectural family, the one with a higher clock speed will outperform the other. If you handle a lot of graphics-intensive tasks (think 4K video editing or gaming), prefer graphics cards with more cores over those with fewer ones.Ĭlock speed: Each GPU core performs a certain number of computations every second, which is determined by the clock speed (measured in MHz). While NVIDIA calls them CUDA Cores, AMD refers to them as Stream Processors. Consider getting the largest video memory you can for a superior graphics performance.Ĭore count: Modern GPUs are made of multiple processors called cores. The most common VRAM sizes include 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB. VRAM: The Video RAM (VRAM) is the amount of memory available on your graphics card, measured in GB. NVIDIA and AMD are the two most popular GPU makers. The GPU is, in essence, the brain of the graphics card, which handles complex mathematical calculations to create the stunning visuals we all love. Graphics card refers to the entire expansion chip as a whole of which the GPU is a part. GPU: The terms “graphics card” and “GPU” are often interchangeably used, but they’re not quite the same.

Not all graphics cards are created equal - each has a specific configuration that makes it suitable for a particular task like high frames per second (fps) gaming, 3D modeling, or video editing.
