Beefing Up Your PC’s Video
When engineers sat down at their poker table many years ago to design
computers, they decided on a quick and easy way to add and upgrade
them. Upgrades would come on cards, they decreed. To upgrade the computer,
owners simply slide the card into one of several standard-sized slots
built into every computer. Simple.
And today, that’s still how you upgrade your PC’s video: You slide a card into
a slot inside your PC. This chapter covers that specific task in minute detail:
Dig in.
Understanding Video Buzzwords
Few parts inside your PC generate as many buzzwords as its video — the circuits
that create the visuals you see on your monitor. Here’s the rundown on
the fine print you’ll see living on computer sales sheets, requirement lists,
and boxes lining the store shelves.
Video card: The most powerful (and expensive) video circuitry lives on a
little card. Cards are small replaceable circuit boards that slip into slots
inside your PC. By adding or replacing a card inside your PC, you can
upgrade its video fairly easily.
Video slot: One of three specially designed slots built to accept a video
card. Video cards come in three types, and each fits into a slightly different
video slot.
Video memory: This memory is dedicated entirely to your PC’s video
circuits — nothing else inside your PC can borrow any of it. The more detail
the video card can display, the more memory it needs to create the images.
Vista runs best with at least 256MB of video memory.
Don’t confuse video memory with your computer’s memory. Video memory
comes with the video card to help it generate and display pictures. Your PC’s
regular memory is filled with your programs and files.
Driver: A piece of software that lets Windows talk to your hardware — in this
case, your video card. Without the right driver, your part won’t work properly.
Chapter 19 covers drivers in excruciating detail.
Port: A computer buzzword for connector, this is one of many little stubs on
your PC where you plug in cables. The plug on the end of your monitor’s
cable must match your PC’s video port.
TV Out Port: This sends a signal not to your PC monitor, but to a regular
TV set.
VGA (Video Graphics Array) port: Created in the mid-’80s, this early standard
for displaying graphics lives on today. Most PCs come with a VGA port,
and most monitors still plug into them. (VGA ports are almost always blue.)
Digital video port: A newer type of video port, this sends numbers to a flatpanel
monitor, which displays them as pictures. (To keep things simple, many
flat-panel monitors also plug into VGA ports.)
DirectX: Software that programmers use to create advanced visual tricks
with video circuitry. Many games use DirectX to display three-dimensional
fire-breathing dragons and other spectacular effects. Vista requires video that
can handle DirectX version 9, known as DirectX 9c.
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