The type of Video Card you'll want to use with your PC depends on what type of computing you'll be doing. For most business applications, surfing the web and other common tasks, a mid-range 2D dedicated Video Card will give you great on-screen performance. For games, graphic design, image editing, etc., you'll want to invest in a Video Card that can handle advanced 3D power.

Accelerator Cards are still used in many systems, newer and more capable video cards have been developed, which contain a co-processor or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). A GPU performs the same basic task as a CPU, but is dedicated strictly to processing graphics. The GPU will handle the majority of video-related calculations, with very little assistance from the CPU. GPUs are very complex, with advanced calculation processing technology, and are more expensive than an average CPU.

When shopping for a video card, you'll notice that some cards are dedicated 2D cards and others are 2D/3D combination cards. 3D cards are also 2D capable, and referred to as 2D/3D combination cards. Combination cards are available in acclerator and co-processor varieties. Dedicated 2D cards are acclelerators, and are useful for boosting performance in an on-screen window's performance (lines, curves, etc., will draw faster). If you have a dedicated 2D card, you'll still be able to view 3D graphics (since all graphics are in reality, 2D based), however 3D graphics will not appear with the same quality in 2D, and performance will be affected.

Some chipmakers have incorporated multimedia enhancement technology onto their processors. AMD has developed 3DNow!, while Intel utilizes its SIMD2 technology. Both chipmakers offer MMX technology. It is important to understand that these technologies will not allow you to view graphics if your system doesn't include any graphics circuitry, but they will enhance the image quality if your system is equipped with graphics capabilities.

Today's monitors normally support a different fixed resolutions (i.e.: 800 x 600 dots per inch (or pixeles per inch), 1924 x 768 dpi or 1280 x 1024 dpi. These numbers refer to the horizontal and vertical pixel arrangement. In 800 x 600 dpi, the 800 is the number of pixels horizontally and 600 is the number of pixels vertically. In most cases the size of your monitor determines the recommended resolution.

When selecting a video card, be certain that it will support the resolution you want to display.

Here are a few rules of thumb:

• Professional 2D graphics users should consider 1600 x 1200 dpi (or higher), which can be displayed on a 19-inch monitor.
• Professional 3D graphics work can be handled well with slightly lesser resolution, we
  suggest 1280 x 1024. We also recommend a 17-inch monitor, however you can display this resolution on a 15-inch monitor.
• For 2D standard applications, utilizing a 17-inch or 19-inch monitors (and 32-bit color), we recommend 1024 x 768 dpi or 1280 x 1024 dpi.

Here's a comparison of the available color quality...

Flat panel monitors are equipped to display digital information.

RAMDAC works by translating the digital signals into analog signals then sends it via the video cable to the monitor. RAMDAC is important because its performance will affect image quality and "refresh rate." RAMDAC performance is based on its speed, normally ranging from 200MHz to 350MHz. Faster is better, and RAMDAC speed should be considered when selecting a video card.

The most advanced interface available is AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port). Many motherboards made today are equipped with an AGP slot (1X, 2X or 4X), while others do not have an AGP slot. If your motherboard does not feature an AGP slot, you cannot use an AGP video card, and you'll have to use a PCI video card. AGP delivers a higher bandwidth than the older PCI technology. For graphics intensive work, AGP with its higher speed (thanks to the increased bandwidth) will yield much better performance. For the vast majority of Windows business applications, PCI delivers acceptable performance.

If you opt for AGP, you'll enjoy better performance. However, AGP requires support from the operating system (along with the graphics card and drivers) to operate. NOTE: Windows 98 (and higher) supports AGP, but Windows 95 (and lower) does not.

Here's a comparison of interface types...

• For professional graphics work, we recommend at least 32MB and up to 96MB RAM.
  For sophicated imaging work, more than 86MB may be required.
• 2D image work, you'll want to select a video card with at least 16MB of video memory.
  However, in the 2D environment, RAMDAC is a more important consideration than video
  memory, since it must handle refresh rates at higher resolutions.
• 3D graphics requires as much video memory as possible. We suggest 32MB minimum.

Another very important factor is bandwidth. Be certain that the memory on your video card has a hih enough bandwidth. The bandwidth refers to the rate at which data cand flow, and is measured in megabytes per second (MB/sec).

Bandwidth, Video Memory And How An Image Is Displayed...
To display an image on your monitor, the data that's needed to display it must be moved through the video memory. Therefore, when you command your PC to display an image that contains extensive color, texture and effects (like a photograph), an enormous amout of data must be moved through video memory. Larger bandwidth allows more data to move through the video memory per second. The memory bandwidth is the speed of the memory. Today's video cards employ SDRAM or SGRAM, two types of memory. The speed (or width) of these memory types will be 32, 64, 128 or 256 bits. Many of today's video cards clearly state this memory allotment on the box or in the name. It is critical.

High-end video cards are equipped with a new type of memory, called DDR or Double Data Rate SDRAM or SGRAM. This type of memory utilizes both "sides" of the system's clock cycle to transfer data, thus increasing speed. Recent industry publications have reported that another new memory type, called RDRAM may be ued on video cards in the near future.

The answer is the use of APIs. Here's how it works: The software developer writes standardized code---for the API---rather than code specifically for the chip itself. The graphics chip maker provides driver software that translates this code to a form that their chip will "understand."

Two types of APIs are predominant in the PC market today. OpenGL and Microsoft Direct3D. We recommend that if you love games, you select a video card that supports both of these popular APIs, which will allow you to play just about any PC game that is on the market.

NOTE: If there is a version of the game you'd like to play on your PC that is specifically written for your video card's chip, you will experience better performance than a version written for OpenGL or Direct3D. However, that game will not play with any other chip.

Be certain to use the most recent driver available. Check the manufacturer's web site for the latest available drivers, offerd typically at no cost or a minimal charge.

Transform & Lighting
When you command your PC to display a 3D image, the system begins by defining where the lines should be, along with the verticies. These groups of lines and verticies are called polygons or triangles. An ordinary 3D card has a throughput of approximately 20 million triangles per second. The higher the triangle count, the smoother the images will appear.

Once the triangles have been established, the system turns its attention to the image's lighting. The shading, reflection and shadows, and other lighting effects within the image are sent to the screen. When, for example, a character moves in a 3D game, the T&L engine must recalculate the position of all objects in the image.

Rendering
During the rendering stage of the process, the video card will handle the work, filling the "wire-frame" image with color and texture.

Because of the complexity of the rendering process, many different techniques are used. Each technique an added dimension of realism to the image, and depending on the image, any number of rendering techniques may be used in a single image. Obviously, as more of these techniques are used, the more work your video card (and CPU) must perform---and this may negatively affect performance. If your system begins to fall behind, it may cause the frame rate to decrease. (The Frame Rate is the number of frames that can be displayed in a given amount of time.)` This reduction in frame rate may cause the movement to appear choppy, which is referred to as dropped frame rate. Many video cards deal with this problem by selecting only certain 3D techniques to use, which eliminates dropped frame rate.

3D Rendering Techniques Include...

GOURAD SHADING
This technique helps define the shape of 3D objects, which gives them the appearance of depth.
CLIPPING
This determines which parts of the objects will not be visible on the screen (things that the user will not see), so they don't have to be processed.
TRANSPARENCY
Makes objects transparent, so layers beneath are visible.
TEXTURE MAPPING
Creates textures, like metal, wood, stone, chrome, etc.
DITHERING
A technique that makes objects appear to have more colors than are actually present. This optical illusion means the system has to use fewer colors and therefor has to perform fewer computations.
FOGGING
This is a technique that "blurs" objects in a scene's background, so they look more realistic. This technique creates depth and since the blurred or fogged images are less detailed, they take less time to compute and draw.
FILTERING
A series of filters are used to clean up and smooth images that may appear jagged or blocky.
ANTI-ALIASING
This technique eliminates the "blotching" or "speckling" in an image, referred to as "noise."
BUMP MAPPING
Creates mounds in a surface, a textural effect.
Z-BUFFERING
This technique keeps the system's ability to process running smoothly by calculating the number of pixels that will be loaded into the frame buffer.
ALPHA-BENDING
This technique takes two bitmap images and "blends" them together, with one appearing transparent.
INTERPOLATION
This technique takes an image and recaluculates its properties, making it appear smoother, even when enlarged over its original size.
MIP-MAPPING
This technique actually stores several versions of a bitmap image, in anticipation that the image will be used at different sizes. This eliminates the need to completely re-calculate the image when the size is changed.
PERSPECTIVE CORRECT
Calculates the surfaces of a textured 3D image so that it appears realistic from any angle.
TEXTURE MAPPING
Applies a bitmap image onto a 3D surface, to increase realism.

DVD Acceleration A great feature if your system includes a DVD player. This video card feature smooths the playback of DVDs by using special hardware to process the highly compressed DVD information.

TV Out This feature allows the video card to display a signal on a TV or VCR. For example, if your PC has a DVD drive, you can use the video card's TV Out feature to transfer the signal to a TV. This feature is especially important for giving presentations, and of course, for big-screen gaming.
Multiple Monitors A great feature, becoming very popular in video cards. It enables you to connect a second monitor and work on different tasks at the same time---while keeping BOTH in view.

NOTE: Video cards may refer to their chipsets by various names. They may be referred to as its:

• Chipset
• Engine
• Accelerator
• Co-processor
• Graphics processor
• GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)

The major names in the business today are nVidia, ATi and Matrox (all available from TigerDirect.com). nVidia both manufactures chipsets for third-party companies that manufacture video cards, and markets their chipsets in their line of 3Dfx and Voodoo video cards.

ATI and Matrox design, build and sell video cards under their own names.

Here's a quick rundown of the latest generation of video cards, by manufacturer...

ATi

RADEON ATi's most powerful chip. ATi's best performance video card lineup
* Radeon VE
* All-In-Wonder Radeon (with TV on-demand)
* Radeon 32MB DDR Version
* Radeon 32MB SDRAM Version

RAGE 128 PRO Mainstream 2D/3D graphics and multimedia accelaration
* All-In-Wonder 128 Pro
* Rage Fury Pro
* XPert 2000 Pro

RAGE 128 Ideal for 3D, 2D And Video
* XPert 2000
* All-In-Wonder 128
* XPert 128

MATROX

MILLENNIUM G450 High-end 2D performance, but limited 3D features. Features Matrox's Dual-Head technolgy for two-display support. Ideal for business, home use.
* Millennium G450 with 16MB DDR SDRAM
* Millennium G450 with 32MB DDR SDRAM

MARVEL G450 eTV Matrox's "Total Entertainment Solution"
* G400 chip
* G200 chip

nVidia

GeForce3 Recognized as the best GPU in the industry. In our tests, it outperforms all others. cards with this ultra-powered chip will drive any graphic intensive application. Expensive---but welll worth it.

GeForce2 The forerunner to the GeForce 3.
* GeForce2 Ultra: The most powerful, feature-packed GeForce2
* GeForce2 Pro: High-performance for graphics, games, HDTV. Pixel-shading.
High-bandwidth
* GeForce2 GTS: Same as the GeForce2 Pro, with smaller bandwidth
* GeForce2 MX: Mainstream GPU performance, Series includes:
GeForce2 MX 200
GeForce2 MX
GeForce2 MX 400
GeForce2 Go Mobile computing GPU. High-performance graphics for notebook PCs

Riva TNT2

3Dfx

Voodoo 5
Voodoo 4
Voodoo 3