Back to Contents PageVideo CardsVideo card is a component that sends video signals or information to a display device such as a monitor or projector.Video cards can be of two types:Integrated video — Often referred to as an on-board video card, it is a chip that is part of the system board. Integrated video cards donot have dedicated memory, and share the system memory and processor to output video. Integrated video cards are suitable for userswho do not require high video performance.Discrete video — Discrete video cards are installed separately on the system board. Discrete video cards have dedicated memory onthe cards and generally provide higher performance than integrated video cards. These video cards are generally installed in a PCI-E x16expansion slots on the system board. Legacy connectors for video cards include PCI and AGP. These cards are best suited for graphic-intensive applications, playing high-definition video games, and so on.NOTE: When a discrete video card is installed on a computer that also has an integrated video card, the integrated video card isdisabled. Use the system setup program to manually enable the integrated video card.Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) — APUs are formed by etching a graphics processing unit (GPU), or any other processing system on the samechip as the CPU. Hence, APUs provide higher data transfer rates while reducing the power consumption which improves the performance of thecomputer when compared to Integrated video.Related InformationSystem BoardBack to Contents Page
