CS1 - Computer Systems - Graphics Cards

Graphics cards

Think of a graphics card as a translator, its main job is to translate binary data from the CPU as an image seen on the screen. Your computer screen is made up of millions of pixels, tiny dots that eventually build up an image. Although a graphics cards job is complex, its componants are very easy to understand. To understand the card, we can use a bit of metaphorical examples, think of the PC as an ordinary company, with an art department, when another department needs some artwork done, the art deparment gets a request, and the art department decides how to create the image and puts it on paper. A graphics card is this art department and the CPU sends information about the image or “requests” the graphics card then chooses how to use the pixels to display this image needed. It will then send this information the monitor to display it. The graphics card is placed on a slot in the motherboard, these slots can be:

• PCI-X
• PCI-Express 1.6X
• PCI
• AGP
• PCI-Express 1X

As you can see the AGP is the only brown port.

The main way of knowing which is which is by the indents, make sure the indents are the same in the slot on the graphics card. without looking at this, you will most likely break the card or the port.

It is simple, on the slot, there are two clips, if there is already a graphics card, pull these clips on the end apart and remove the graphics card. Make sure you have an Anti-static band handy, when an electronical piece of equipment is placed in here and sealed, you can be certain it will not be damaged by static electricity. When placing your new card in, all you have to do is carefully place the card in the slot and push down, this will automatically lock the card into place.


Health and Saftey must be thought about when any changes or repairs are made to a PC, Read my post on Health and Saftey