<s>
Graphics	B-General_Concept
hardware	I-General_Concept
is	O
computer	O
hardware	O
that	O
generates	O
computer	O
graphics	O
and	O
allows	O
them	O
to	O
be	O
shown	O
on	O
a	O
display	O
,	O
usually	O
using	O
a	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
(	O
video	B-Device
card	I-Device
)	O
in	O
combination	O
with	O
a	O
device	B-Application
driver	I-Application
to	O
create	O
the	O
images	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
important	O
piece	O
of	O
graphics	B-General_Concept
hardware	I-General_Concept
is	O
the	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
,	O
which	O
is	O
the	O
piece	O
of	O
equipment	O
that	O
renders	O
out	O
all	O
images	O
and	O
sends	O
them	O
to	O
a	O
display	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
two	O
types	O
of	O
graphics	B-Device
cards	I-Device
:	O
integrated	O
and	O
dedicated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
integrated	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
,	O
usually	O
by	O
Intel	O
to	O
use	O
in	O
their	O
computers	O
,	O
is	O
bound	O
to	O
the	O
motherboard	B-Device
and	O
shares	O
RAM(Random Access Memory )	O
with	O
the	O
CPU	B-Device
,	O
reducing	O
the	O
total	O
amount	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
dedicated	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
has	O
its	O
own	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
Processor	O
for	O
generating	O
its	O
images	O
,	O
and	O
does	O
not	O
slow	O
down	O
the	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dedicated	O
graphics	B-Device
cards	I-Device
also	O
have	O
higher	O
performance	O
than	O
integrated	O
graphics	B-Device
cards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
possible	O
to	O
have	O
both	O
dedicated	O
and	O
integrated	O
graphics	O
,	O
however	O
once	O
a	O
dedicated	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
is	O
installed	O
,	O
the	O
integrated	O
card	O
will	O
no	O
longer	O
function	O
until	O
the	O
dedicated	O
card	O
is	O
removed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
GPU	B-Architecture
,	O
or	O
graphics	B-Architecture
processing	I-Architecture
unit	I-Architecture
,	O
is	O
the	O
unit	O
that	O
allows	O
the	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
to	O
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
majority	O
of	O
video	O
playback	O
on	O
a	O
computer	O
is	O
controlled	O
by	O
the	O
GPU	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
again	O
,	O
a	O
GPU	B-Architecture
can	O
be	O
either	O
integrated	O
or	O
dedicated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Video	O
Memory	O
is	O
built-in	O
RAM	B-Architecture
on	O
the	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
,	O
which	O
provides	O
it	O
with	O
its	O
own	O
memory	O
,	O
allowing	O
it	O
to	O
run	O
smoothly	O
without	O
taking	O
resources	O
intended	O
for	O
general	O
use	O
by	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Integrated	O
graphics	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
which	O
lack	O
this	O
built-in	O
memory	O
,	O
the	O
main	O
memory	O
available	O
for	O
general	O
computation	O
is	O
used	O
instead	O
,	O
which	O
means	O
less	O
memory	O
for	O
other	O
functions	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
display	O
driver	O
is	O
a	O
piece	O
of	O
software	O
which	O
allows	O
your	O
graphics	B-General_Concept
hardware	I-General_Concept
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
your	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dedicated	O
graphics	B-Device
cards	I-Device
are	O
not	O
bound	O
to	O
the	O
motherboard	B-Device
,	O
and	O
therefore	O
most	O
are	O
removable	O
,	O
replaceable	O
,	O
or	O
upgradable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
installed	O
in	O
an	O
expansion	O
slot	O
and	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
motherboard	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
an	O
integrated	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
cannot	O
be	O
changed	O
without	O
buying	O
a	O
new	O
motherboard	B-Device
with	O
a	O
better	O
chip	O
,	O
as	O
they	O
are	O
bound	O
to	O
the	O
motherboard	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
if	O
an	O
integrated	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
gets	O
damaged	O
or	O
ceases	O
to	O
function	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
motherboard	B-Device
must	O
be	O
purchased	O
to	O
replace	O
it	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
is	O
bound	O
to	O
the	O
motherboard	B-Device
and	O
cannot	O
be	O
removed	O
or	O
replaced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
if	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
problem	O
with	O
a	O
dedicated	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
,	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
replaced	O
by	O
installing	O
another	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
brand	O
of	O
graphics	B-General_Concept
hardware	I-General_Concept
has	O
its	O
own	O
drivers	O
that	O
are	O
required	O
for	O
the	O
hardware	O
to	O
run	O
appropriately	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
major	O
competing	O
brands	O
in	O
graphics	B-General_Concept
hardware	I-General_Concept
are	O
NVidia	O
and	O
AMD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NVidia	O
is	O
known	O
largely	O
in	O
the	O
computer	O
graphics	O
department	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
GeForce	B-Application
brand	O
,	O
whereas	O
AMD	O
is	O
known	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
Radeon	B-Device
brand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
two	O
brands	O
account	O
for	O
largely	O
100	O
percent	O
of	O
the	O
graphics	B-General_Concept
hardware	I-General_Concept
market	O
,	O
with	O
NVidia	O
making	O
4	O
billion	O
dollars	O
in	O
revenue	O
and	O
AMD	O
generating	O
6.5	O
billion	O
in	O
revenue	O
(	O
through	O
all	O
sales	O
,	O
not	O
specifically	O
graphics	B-Device
cards	I-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Prices	O
of	O
different	O
pieces	O
of	O
graphics	B-General_Concept
hardware	I-General_Concept
vary	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
power	O
and	O
speed	O
of	O
the	O
piece	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
high	O
end	O
gaming	O
pieces	O
of	O
hardware	O
are	O
dedicated	O
graphics	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
and	O
cost	O
over	O
$200	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
go	O
as	O
high	O
as	O
the	O
price	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
computer	O
,	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
quality	O
desired	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
graphics	B-Device
cards	I-Device
department	O
,	O
using	O
integrated	O
chips	O
is	O
much	O
cheaper	O
than	O
buying	O
a	O
dedicated	O
card	O
,	O
however	O
the	O
performance	O
conforms	O
to	O
the	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
computer	O
graphics	B-General_Concept
hardware	I-General_Concept
usually	O
generates	O
a	O
larger	O
amount	O
of	O
heat	O
,	O
especially	O
high	O
end	O
gaming	O
pieces	O
,	O
and	O
requires	O
additional	O
cooling	O
systems	O
to	O
prevent	O
overheating	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
may	O
further	O
raise	O
the	O
cost	O
,	O
although	O
some	O
dedicated	O
graphics	B-Device
cards	I-Device
come	O
with	O
built-in	O
fans	O
.	O
</s>
