Difference between Graphics Card and Video Card

28 Aug.,2023

 

Graphics Card and Video Card are often used interchangeably, as they are technically the same. Both cards act as an expansion card to generate output images and to transmit them to a display device. They are also called Graphical Processing Unit (GPU). A GPU has its own memory and processing power to fulfill the high processing requirements of visual experience.

Read this article to learn more about graphics cards and video cards and how they are different from each other.

What is a Video Card?

A Video Card is also called a video controller and appears as a circuit board to fit on mother board. It contains electronic circuits having GPU, visual processing units, heat sink, video BIOS, video memory, RAMDAC, video graphics array, digital visual interface, HDMI and display port. A video card is basically an important component of a PC as it enhances the quality of images displayed on a screen.

A video card connects the motherboard of a computer to other computing devices. The primary function of the video card is to control the display characteristics like display colors, speed of rendering images, resolution, etc. Therefore, it is also termed as graphics accelerator. The video card has ability to improve both 2D and 3D graphics.

What is a Graphics Card?

A Graphics card is a printed circuit board housing a processor and a RAM. It enhances the graphical capabilities of the computer. It also has BIOS chip, to store the settings of the card and performs diagnostics during input and output at startup.

A graphics card is a hardware part of the system that is used to display images and graphics on the monitor screen. It is mainly used to display images with a better resolution. Since, the graphics card is a computer hardware component, thus it has own cooling system and RAM. This is because, graphics card is relatively more expensive than video card.

Difference between Graphics Card and Video Card

The following are some of the important differences between Graphics Card and Video Card −

Key

Graphics Card

Video Card

Concept

A Graphics Card controls the quality of pictures, videos and enhances gaming experience.

A Video card controls the colors displayed, resolution, speed of rendering images etc.

Performance

Integrated Graphics Card speed is inferior as compared to dedicated Video Card as video card has its own RAM for superior performance.

Video card speed is quite faster as compared to Graphics Card.

Cost

Integrated Graphics Card is cheaper, more compact and have lower energy requirements.

Video card is costlier as compared to graphics card.

Presence

Graphics Card is optional and may not be present in default installation of a PC System.

Video Card is mandatory part of PC system.

Improvement

Graphics Card improves picture quality, supports high resolution and 3D effects.

Video Card controls the display setting of the PC system.

Usage

Graphics Card are used primarily for gaming consoles.

Video Card are used for video editing, multimedia projects.

Conclusion

The most significant difference between the two is that a graphics card controls the quality of pictures, videos, and enhances gaming experience; whereas a video card controls the colors displayed, resolution, speed of rendering images, etc.

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