A graphics card’s job is complex, but its principles and components are easy to understand.

A graphics cards take data from the cpu and turn into pictures The CPU, working in conjunction with software  applications, sends information about the image to the graphics card. The graphics card decides how to use the pixels on the screen to create the image. It then sends that information to the monitor through a cable. ­

Creating an image out of binary data is a demanding process. To make a 3-D image, the graphics card first creates a wire frame out of straight lines. Then, it rasterizes the image (fills in the remaining pixels). It also adds lighting, texture and color. For fast-paced games, the computer has to go through this process about sixty times per second.

Without a graphics card to perform the necessary calculations, the workload would be too much for the computer to handle. The graphics card accomplishes this task using four main components:

A motherboard connection for data and power A processor to decide what to do with each pixel on the screen.  Memory to hold information about each pixel and to temporarily store completed pictures and a monitor connection so you can see the final result.