Graphics Cards and Graphic Processor Units

Unlike the computers of until a few years ago, today users look for extreme action in their desktop systems. Resources-hungry action games, high-definition movies and videos and real-life like role-playing games are the routine requirements for today’s users. Graphics Card makes its’ presence felt in these areas.

The onboard graphics-handling process is enough for most of the day to day computing activities. These integrated graphics card handles most of the requirements for entertainment too. But it is when the users want high-end graphics like 3D etc that the GPU comes into play. These cards have separate memories and a fast clock-speed processor.

Today’s peripherals come with built in TV tuner cards, high quality Sound cards and the full works. These cards provide dedicated video and gaming memory, to the tune of a minimum of one GB. A high-end Card alone cannot guarantee top performance. The PC in which the card is installed should have a fast processor and sufficient memory to enable the card to perform effectively.

This device is a printed circuit board that has a fast processor and sufficient RAM. The GPU is a separate CPU complete with processor, RAM and also has many transistors to handle the intense demands on the system.

GPU is much more in demand with professional gaming on the increase. GPU is power hungry and demands really powerful processors, inbuilt BIOS, dedicated RAM and millions of transistors. NVIDIA and ATI are the leading manufacturers of GPUs and graphics cards.

Research and development in these companies are ongoing processes and have thrown up several exciting inventions. CUDA or Compute Unified Device Architecture is one such innovation. It relies on parallel computing methodology and helps run complex, demanding resource-hungry softwares and applications on the PC.

The GPUs are connected to the motherboard of the PC. These connections work through what is known as PCI interface. PCI stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect. Today through PCI Express, fast transfer rates between PC and the GPU. GPUs need what is known as Application Programming Interfaces or APIs like OpenGL or DirectX.

It is important to choose the right card or GPU. Basically one has to assess the exact requirements and usage before going in for a graphics card. A mid-range card is enough for most users. Such cards can handle almost all the graphics demands quite satisfactorily. Graphics card need a motherboard connection for power, a fast processor for converting data into pictures and videos, RAM to store information about the data and a high-resolution monitor for handling output.

If you are a gaming fanatic, then go for the high-end GPUs from NVIDIA which combine the CUDA concept for high performance and stunning graphics.

Happy viewing!