What Is The Difference Between A Graphics Card And A Video Card

What Is The Difference Between A Graphics Card And A Video Card

There are so many new things released every day that it is becoming harder for a person that isn’t tech savvy to name them let alone identify their purposes.

If you are one of those individuals, the dilemma of desiring new technology while having an ample lack of knowledge may be quite irking, to say the very least.

However, I am not blaming you, as not only are these jargons and terminologies like video card vs graphics card becoming confusing but also now have aliases, let’s take Graphics cards, for instance, did you know they are also called Display cards or even video cards?

That’s right, if you were wondering what is the difference between a graphics card and a video card, let me inform you that they are virtually the same thing, and you might be confusing something else altogether.

What Sort Of Confusion Are We Talking About?

Arguably, they are both same, as nowadays there are only graphics cards used that perform the same tasks as a “Video Card” would such as emulating graphics, generation of colors and resolution, and creating and displaying an image or video.

The confusion I am referring to dates back to the time where PC or desktop only had a video card which was integrated into the Processor and worked as video processing by working in conjunction with codecs etc.

Video Cards, in General, were made for the sole purpose to handle video processing and displaying tasks, just like a sound card handles all sorts of sound-related operations.

So What Exactly Is A Graphics Card Then?

It is a dedicated piece of hardware that is bought separately that is used in video rendering, 3D design, or emulating the graphics of the game you play.

Moreover, they have special technologies that enhance images and videos such as DLSS 2.0 and ray tracing or AMD FSR 2.0.

They can be removed from a desktop and are not integrated into your processor and have their own VRAM and cooling system as well as their own dedicated power input that is connected to the power supply.

There is another term used a lot more than these ones which are GPU, and that is explained here.

So What Is The Difference Between A Graphics Card And A Video Card

Well, here are those differences explained between video cards vs graphics cards below:

Video Card

Even though both are quite the same thing, what you may be referring to as a video card is known as GPU or Integrated Graphics card which you don’t have to buy separately.

Graphics Card

On the other hand, a Graphics card is a small chip that has a size of 3x3cm and is soldered onto a Printed circuit board, otherwise known as a PCB.

Since it is separate hardware, it needs to be connected through a special PCI-e interface that hooks up to the motherboard to send and receive signals onto the screen.

In order to power a dedicated graphics card, a 4+4 or 8-pin connector is used,

Dedicated also has many ports such as DVI, VGA, HDMI, and a display port that you can connect external projectors or monitors to.

Bottom Line

After reading this article I solemnly hope that your confusion regarding what is the difference between a graphics card and a video card has subsided. But guess what, just like this article there are plenty of other articles curated on this site and ready to lay your glance on as they provide plenty of knowledge so that you stay up to date.

As always, have a lovely day, and bookmark this article just in case you want to get back to it in the future.

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