GRAPHICS CARDS

A video card, also known as a graphics accelerator card or graphics card, is a hardware component whose function is to generate and output images to a display unit

The term is usually used to refer to a separate, dedicated expansion card that is plugged into a slot on the computer's motherboard, as opposed to a graphics controller integrated into the motherboard chipset.

Some video cards offer added functions, such as video capture, TV tuner adapter, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 decoding or even FireWire, mouse, light pen, joystick connectors, or even the ability to connect multiple monitors.

A common misconception regarding video cards is that they are strictly used for Video games; Video cards instead have a much broader range of capability. Being specialized for video output Video Cards improve what a computer monitor displays. As well, they play a very important role for Graphic Designers and 3D Animators, who tend to require optimum displays for their work as well as faster rendering in order to efficiently tone up their work.

A modern video card consists of a printed circuit board on which the components are mounted. These include:
->Graphics processing unit (GPU)
->Video BIOS
->Video memory
->RAMDAC (Random Access Memory Digital-to-Analog Converter)

As per the slots the cards are categorized into many types:
ISA XT, ISA AT, MCA, EISA, VESA, PCI, AGP 1x -8 x, PCIe (x1, x4, x8, x16)