Computer CPU Processors

Buying Guide to Graphics Cards

The graphics card is a vital performance component of your computer, particularly if you play 3D games, or work with graphics and video content. The graphics card sits in an expansion card slot in your PC and it is specifically designed to process image data and output it to your monitor, enabling you to see it. A graphics card works by calculating how images appear, particularly 3D images, and renders them to the screen. 3D images and video images take a lot of processing capacity, and many graphics processors are complex, require fans to cool them and need direct power supply. The graphics card consists of a graphics processor, a memory chip for graphics operations, and a RAMDAC for display output. It may also include video capture, TV output and SLI and other functions. You can find the graphics card that suits you by comparing specification between brands and vendors on Myshopping.com.au

At Myshopping.com.au you can compare a great range of appliances, and assess them according to their specifications, brands, prices and vendors.

Graphics Cards

What are your needs?

The first decision you need to make is whether you need a graphics card for handling 3D images or whether you are simply requiring 2D image rendering. For 2D requirements, you need only a low-cost solution. In many cases, an integrated graphics solution will suffice for 2D applications.

However with 3D graphics, the performance of the graphics card will impact directly on the frame rate and image quality of 3D programs and games. The differences between the low and high-end cards can be substantial, both in cost and performance.

Rendering 3D graphics is like lighting a stage, both the geometry of the shapes in question and the lighting of it need to be taken into account. The geometry of an image calculates the parts of an object that can and can't be seen, the position of the eye and its perspective. The lighting is a calculation of the direction of the light sources, their intensities and the respective shadows that occur. The second part to presenting a 3D image is the rendering of colours and textures to the surfaces of the objects, and modifying them according to light and other factors.

Most modern graphics cards include a small microchip called the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), which are provide the algorithms and memory to process complex images. They reduce the workload of the main CPU, and provide faster processing. Different graphics cards have different capabilities in terms of processing power. They can render and refresh images up to 60 or more times per second, calculate shadows quickly, create image depth by rendering distant objects at low resolution, modify surface textures fluidly and eliminate pixelation.

What Specifications to Consider

Processor clock speed

This impacts on the rendering capability of the GRU. The clock speed itself is not the critical factor. Rather it is the per-clock performance of the graphics processor, which is indicated by the number of pixels it can process per clock cycle.

Memory size

This is the memory capacity that is used exclusively for graphics operations, and can be as much as 512MB. The more demanding your graphics applications are, the better you will be served with more memory on your graphics card.

16-32M
64M
128M
256M
512M
640M and more

Memory bandwidth

One thing that can slow down 3D graphics performance is the speed at which the computer delivers information to the graphics processor. A higher bandwidth means a faster data transfer, resulting in faster rendering speeds.

Shader model

DirectX Shader Models allows developers control over the appearance of an image as it is rendered on screen, introducing visual effects like multi-layered shadows, reflection and fog.

Fill rate

This is the speed at an image can be rendered or "painted". This rate is specified in texels per second, the number of 3D pixels that can be painted per second. A texel is a pixel with depth (3D). The fill rate comes from the combined performance of the clock speed of the processor and the number of pixels it can process per clock cycle, and will tell you how quickly an image can be fully rendered on screen.

Vertices/triangles

Graphics chips don't work on curves, rather they process flat surfaces. A curve is created by multiple flat planes arranged to look like a curve. 3D objects are created with multiple triangular surfaces, sometimes hundreds or even thousands, tessellated to represent the curves and angles of the real world. 3D artists are concerned with the number of polygons required to form a shape. There are two different types of specification: vertices per second (I.e., angles the triangles), and triangles per second. To compare one measure with the other, you have to take into account the fact that adjacent triangles share vertices.

Anti-aliasing

A technique used to smooth images by reducing the jagged stepping effect caused by diagonal lines and square pixels. Different levels of anti-aliasing have different effects on performance.

RAMDAC

The Random Access Memory Digital to Analogue Converter takes the image data and converts it to a format that your screen can use. A faster RAMDAC means that the graphics card can support higher output resolutions. Some cards have multiple RAMDACs allowing that card to support multiple displays.

TV-out

Some graphics cards provide the option to connect a television via either a composite (RCA) or S-Video connector. TV Out

S-video Out
S-video In and S-video Out (VIVO)
YPbPr Connection for HDTV

DVI

Some graphics cards include a connector for DVI monitors, handy because a lot of LCD screens support DVI. DVI offers better image quality than the standard VGA connector.

Dual-head

Dual-head is a term used when two monitors are used side by side, stretching your desktop across both.

SLI (Scalable Link Interface.)

With SLI you can couple two graphics cards in your computer, enabling each card to take half the rendering thereby doubling the performance.

When considering your graphics card, it pays to think about how much you need your computer to process your graphics output. Using a high end graphics card with a high pixels per clock rating, large memory, fast processor and other features means that you can run the latest games efficiently, or work in intensive graphics development.

Different Models

While there are many vendors of graphics cards, there are actually only two major manufacturers of chips for graphics cards. Nearly every graphics card on the market features a chip manufactured by either ATI or Nvidia. Cards using the same graphics chip will perform roughly the same as each other. However, even though they use the same chip, some feature slightly higher clock speeds, as well as manufacturer guaranteed overclocking-an even higher clock speed than that specified. Other factors that will influence your decision should include the amount of memory a card has (128MB, 256MB, 512MB) and its additional features, such as TV-Out and dual-screen support.

Use the search facilities at Myshopping.com.au to compare the features, prices and vendors of graphics cards.

About the Author

Andrew Gates is a writer for comparison online shopping service MyShopping.com.au . MyShopping.com.au helps you compare video cards and buy online from top-rated online stores. You can also read graphics cards reviews and specifications.

Important Facts You Need to Know About Merchant Account Services

More than ever, credit cards are more used than most other ways of payment. It makes a purchase and a sale easier, safer and more convenient for both the business and the consumer. Business to business transactions and e-commerce have made the use of credit cards grow rapidly. Accepting credit cards will increase your customer base and will make funds for you quicker to access through your bank. Selling online requires credit card use so it is a necessity.

In today's busy society, credit card processing equipment is a necessity to any business. With the increased number of credit and debit cards being used, a secure and reliable credit card machine is required. When shopping for a credit card processor you should consider banks, third party credit card processors, independent sales organizations and financial service providers and associations. Make an inquirty about your credit card processing equipment and be well informed when you decide to make a purchase.

Almost every store and restaurant now use credit card machines as they are efficient and secure. There is a wide range of processing equipment avaiable to you therefore the choosing the one for your business can be challenging. There are some simple ways to find the perfect credit card machine that is best suited to you and your business needs. There are many different machines on the market so it may be difficult to choose which one to buy. Here is any easy guide for buying your credit card machine:

1. Ownership Vs Leasing

Credit card machines are a necessity of your business and therefore a good investment. The costs are range from $100 - $1000. Think twice before deciding to lease because this may cost you more than you bargained for by the time you make monthly payments that may add up to more than the original cost of the equipment.

2. Backup POS Equipment

When purchasing a credit card machine, ensure that you buy a back-up battery so you can continue to do business transactions when the electricity has failed.

3. Technology

You've got your new credit card machine now so you can process customers' credit and debit card payments but it won't be fast and it won't be convenient if the modem isn't fast enough to transmit data. This is a must when making your purchase and your customer will appreciate you for it.

4. Visa & Mastercard Standards

The future of credit cards is the Smart Card. They include credit, debit and other information in a microchip instead of a magnetic strip.

5. Back-up software

When choosing a credit card machine, choose one with flash memory to store the operating software. This allows software downloads and installation in a convenient way and also increases the life of the equipment.

6. It's Not all About the Credit Cards - Debit too!

Many customers prefer to pay for their purchases by debit rather than credit. For this reason, you will need to buy a credit card machine with a PIN keypad. Another option is a separate PIN keypad so the equipment stays out of reach.

7. Knuckle Busters

If you are worried about power or telephone line failure, a sure thing to use for back up to keep your business moving is an Imprinter. If you're working outside your location while on the road or at a show or event, an imprinter is the way to go. This is a smart investment and will not hold up any business transactions.

What is this processor/video card good for?

Will this processor: 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2620M processor 2.70 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.40 GHz, and this video card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M 2GB graphics with Optimus run games like Sims 3, the Witcher, and Sacred 2 smoothly (without a lot of pausing and lagging)?

They will run fine. i7 is a quality cpu and Geforce is good too.

You shouldn't experience any lag.

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Institutional Roles in Issuing and Processing Credit Cards