What is a graphics card used for?

Nowadays computers are the basis, without which hardly anyone can imagine their life. However, more and more people forget that every computer consists of many parts that work together. It is worth knowing exactly what each component does. One of the most popular of them is the graphics card. What exactly is it and what is it responsible for?

What is the graphics card used for?

You can often meet with views of people who say that they do not need a graphics card, after all, they are not going to deal with designing graphics. Nothing surprising in this, as the name may certainly suggest this. However, as it turns out, a graphics card has much broader duties than operating graphics programs

This device was created to generate and display images. This is the first and most important of the activities for which it is responsible. It is thanks to it that you can see the image on the monitor in higher and higher resolution, allowing not only for the aesthetics of each graphic design, but also better functionality and accuracy

Examples of graphics card applications

One example of what a graphics card is needed for is primarily watching high quality movies. The graphics card takes over the demanding process of decoding a movie from the processor, which results in a smooth or high quality movie.

In addition, the graphics card is used in video games, and in the vast majority of them it is required for proper operation. It is thanks to it that you can play both the older titles and also the more demanding ones, such as The Sims 4 or Minecraft.

In addition, a graphics card will be needed for:

• General, good performance of your computer or laptop,
• For graphic designers and video creators,
• For people who value performance combined with silence (laptop without a graphics card even when browsing the Internet can be noisy)
• For people who own and use more than one monitor at the same time

Of course, the graphics card also has other tasks. It is a way to improve the work of the whole computer, because it supports the work of the main processor, relieving it in some cases

Now that you know what the graphics card in your computer is used for, it is worth taking a look at its basic types.

Graphic cards – what types are they?

On the electronic market you can find various models that invite with their parameters both graphic designers, gamers and average Internet users. However important these parameters are, there is an even more important division of graphic cards. We are talking about the division into integrated and dedicated cards. What is the difference between them?

Integrated graphics cards

Their main feature is that they share the processor and memory with other components. The type is already built into the motherboard. They are most commonly found in laptops and over the years they have been much less powerful options than dedicated versions. Today you can still notice the difference when running the most advanced programs and games. However, it is worth knowing that the integrated options are already much more advanced than they used to be, allowing you to efficiently handle lightweight games, programs and everyday needs.

Dedicated graphics cards

These are models designed to meet the high needs of gamers and graphic designers. Each of these cards has its own separate processor as well as dedicated VRAM. These options allow you to run very advanced programs and games, will be installed as a separate component, not part of the motherboard.

Having already known how the basic division of graphics cards works, it is worth looking at what their parameters mean.

What is the graphics card memory used for?

The capabilities of a graphics card depend largely on its working memory, or so-called VRAM. This is the element that directly affects the performance of the entire design and the fluidity of the displayed image. Looking at it from the perspective of the human analogy, it can be attributed to the visual short-term memory – it is responsible for storing the currently generated image.

The higher the quality of the image and the more elements are generated in real time, the more VRAM is needed. You can imagine this quite simply. A simple written text does not require a huge graphics card memory, but a game that has 3D depth and hundreds of elements does. Therefore, both gamers and graphic designers will look closely at the size of the VRAM.

Graphics card bandwidth

The clocking of this memory is also worth looking at, as it will allow for faster data transfer. Today, the highest standard is GDDR6, which makes the bandwidth high and the transfer extremely efficient

What is the graphics card in a laptop used for? What is it used for in a desktop computer? It is always responsible for generating images, which is sometimes a simple and sometimes an extremely difficult task. Knowing already what it is and how this component is divided, it will be easier to choose the right model.