understanding video cards & monitors

Understanding Video Cards & Monitors

John Curl, Joe Hetherington, Brad Lewis, and Michael Hsing Wu

Agenda

History of Video Cards ATI vs. Nvidia How Video Cards Work Outputs and Inputs Dual Graphics Card HD Graphics Cards Monitors Review Questions

Video Cards

To generate a graphic and video interface.

Transmits Images to a Display Video cards connect to the

motherboard usually through PCI or PCI Express interface.

They output the signals through composite video, S-video, VGA, and DVI.

History of Video CardsBrad Lewis

History of Video Cards

The first video card was the MDA(Monochrome Display Adapter) released in 1981 by IBM. Could only show 80 columns and 25

lines of text in one color. Had 4KB of memory.

History of Video Cards

MDA(Monochrome Display Adapter Did not have any graphics mode Only displayed monochrome text mode Used a printer port output

History of Video Cards

VGA(Video Graphics Array) Released in 1987 Improved resolution and colors used by

many corporations Memory improved from 4KB(MDA) to

256KB(MDA)

History of Video Cards

VGA led to the SVGA(Super VGA) Developed in 1989 Reached 2MB of memory and resolution

of 1024X768 at 256 color mode Set the tone for 2D/3D cards

History of Video Cards

2D/3D cards In 1997 3dfx introduced the Voodoo

graphics card which had new 3D effects such as▪ Mip mapping-pre-calculated collection of images that

increase speed▪ Z-buffering-the management of image depth

coordinates▪ Anti-aliasing-the technique of minimizing the distortion

artifacts known as aliasing when representing a high-resolution signal at a lower resolution

Voodoo 2 followed from 3dfx, and TNT and TNT2 from NVIDIA

ATI vs. NvidiaMichael Wu

ATI

ATI Technologies Inc. founded in 1985

Acquired by AMD in 2006 and renamed AMD Graphics Product Group

ATI brand still on graphics cards Developed the first integrated

graphics chip with TV tuner card First combination of 2D and 3D

accelerator known as 3D Rage

ATI Main Product

Radeon started up in 2000 Successor to Rage Brand for their consumer 3D

accelerator add-in cards

Nvidia

Founded in 1993 Company of the Year for 2007 by

Forbes Developed the RSX ‘Reality

Synthesizer’ GPU used for Playstation 3

Nvidia Main Product

GeForce first produced in 1999 As of 2009, there are 11 iterations of

the design Intended for PC gaming market

How Video Cards WorkJoe Hetherington

How Video Cards Work

• This setup only works with Analog Video Cards and Monitors

How Video Cards Work

The images you see on your monitor are made up of tiny dots called pixels. Most screens will display over 1 million pixels, so the computer needs to decide what to do with every one of them

This is where a translator comes in- something that takes binary data from the CPU and turns it into the images you see.

How Video Cards Work

Think of a computer as a company with an art department. The company wants a piece of artwork The art department decides of to create

the picture and then puts it on paper The end result is an idea turns into a

viewable picture

How Video Cards Work Creating an image out of binary data is a complicated

process. To make a 3-D image, the graphics card first creates a wire frame out of straight lines. Then, it restripes 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 A monitor connection so you can see the final result

How Video Cards Work

Types of Output• DVI• VGA• S-Video • Composite• HDMI

Types of Input PCI AGP(Accelerated Graphics Port) PCI-X PCI-Express

AGP vs. PCI Video Cards

http://www.ehow.com/video_5112695_difference-agp-pci-video-cards_.html

Graphics Processor Unit

• Similar to CPU• Requires most

cooling• Most specifications

refer to GPU

Graphics Processor Unit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLLI0vKYM4o

Video Memory Memory chips (2-4) Close proximity to GPU for better

performance Commonly use 128, 256, 512 MB

locally DDR2 + GDDR3

Video Memory Image from GPU sent to memory

(frame buffer) – bit map More video memory = less burden on

computer RAM Memory bus – typically 128-256 bit

wide Determines how much data can be

transferred per cycle

Cooling Devices Applied to GPU/GPU + memory Passive vs. Active Cooling Passive

Heatsinks Heat pipes

Cooling Devices - Active Fans Single-slot vs. Dual-slot Coolers

Expansion slots in case Cover both GPU + memory Dual – designed to push hot air out of

the back of the case

Dual Graphics CardsMichael Wu

Dual Video Cards

Increases performance Performance increase of 30-50% Primarily for 3D applications

Generally used when running 2 or more monitors

Splits the graphic load between the two cards

Improves frame rates

Dual Video Cards

Shared duties will cause Improved rendering 3D images Higher frame rates Higher resolutions Additional filters Improve quality of the graphics

Disadvantages Running dual video cards is costly Not all applications benefit from multiple

graphics cards Some applications may show a slight decrease

in performance Low end processor can only throttle the

amount of data the system can provide to the graphics cards

Dual video cards is recommended for higher end systems

Dual Video Cards

For average consumer, dual video cards are not necessary

Costs are too high for: Capable motherboard video cards Core hardware

Installing Dual Video Cards Ensure all parts are SLI (Scalable

Link Interface) or Crossfire capable ATI’s graphic solution is CrossFire NVIDIA graphic solution is SLI Ensure that motherboard has

appropriate chipset. 2 PCIe x16 slots allow users to install

2 video cards

Installing Dual Video Cards Install updated video card drivers User may need to enable in BIOS

HD Video CardsMichael Wu

HD Video Card

• With the introduction of Aero and DirectX 10, a new generation of video cards have been developed

• Higher end graphics cards support onboard decoding of the H.264 spec– Required to display high def DVDs

• Some video cards have HDCP– High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection– Required to display Blu-ray DVD playback

HD Video Cards

Allows for video display in 720p, 1080p, or 1080i

Higher quality video display When used to display on a HDTV, the

HDMI cable will carry over audio and video at the same time

MonitorsJohn Curl

Monitors

Also called the Visual Display Unit Displays information from the

computer to the user Two main types are CRT(Cathode Ray

Tube) and TFT-LCD(Thin Film Transitory Liquid Crystal Display)

CRT Monitors

Vacuum tube with an electron gun Three electron guns(Red, Green, and

Blue) A florescent screen Internal ways to reflect or deflect the

electron beams in order to create a picture.

CRT Monitors

CRT Monitors

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnl1vuwjHto

LCD Monitors Holds millions of pixels Each pixel is a layer of molecules

between two electrodes. Electricity is applied and the liquid

crystals twist to let more or less light out.

LCD Monitors

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAZKICHWGnA&feature=fvw

CRT vs. LCD CRT

Pros:▪ High dynamic range (up to around 15,000:1 [1],) excellent

color, wide gamut and low black level. ▪ Can display natively in almost any resolution and refresh rate ▪ No input lag ▪ Sub-millisecond response times ▪ Near zero color, saturation, contrast or brightness distortion.

Excellent viewing angle. Cons:▪ Large size and weight, especially for bigger screens (a 20"

unit weighs about 50lbs or 22kg) ▪ High power consumption ▪ Geometric distortion in non-flat CRTs ▪ Older CRTs are prone to screen burn-in ▪ Produces noticeable flicker at low refresh rates

CRT vs. LCD LCD

Pros:▪ Very compact and light ▪ Low power consumption ▪ No geometric distortion ▪ Rugged ▪ Little or no flicker depending on backlight technology

Cons:▪ Limited viewing angle, causing color, saturation, contrast and brightness to

vary, even within the intended viewing angle, by variations in posture. ▪ Bleeding and uneven backlighting in some monitors, causing brightness

distortion, especially toward the edges. ▪ Slow response times, which cause smearing and ghosting artifacts. Modern

LCDs have response times of 8ms or less. ▪ Only one native resolution. Displaying other resolutions requires a video

scaler, which degrades image quality at lower resolutions. ▪ Fixed bit depth, many cheaper LCDs are incapable of true color. ▪ Input lag ▪ Dead pixels are possible during manufacturing

QuestionsJohn Curl & Brad Lewis

1. You switch on your PC and get no display. You are sure the monitor is ok. Which order would you follow for troubleshooting this problem?a) Replace the video card, replace the monitor, replace

the power supply, replace the system board, try a different monitor.

b) Check that PC and monitor are plugged in, check that monitor brightness is turned up, check that PC fan is running.

c) Check PC supply voltages, replace video card, replace CPU.

d) Check that everything is plugged in, replace system board.

2. Your monitor screen is a light green color, what could be the problem?a. A pin is bent on the video cable

connectorb. The cable has been attached upside

downc. The cable is reversedd. The cable is missing

3. Which of the following does not output signals?a. VGAb. MDAc. DVId. S-video

4. Which order is how a video card works?a. PCI interface-CPU-Video Chip-RAM-

RAMDACb. CPU-PCI interface-Video Chip-RAM-

RAMDACc. CPU-RAM-RAMDAC-PCI interface-Video

Chipd. PCI interface-Video Chip-CPU-RAM-

RAMDAC

5. A graphics card uses 4 main components to translate binary data. Which one of these does not?a. A motherboard connection for data and power b. A processor to decide what to do with each

pixel on the screen c. RAM to hold information about each pixel and

to temporarily store completed pictures d. A monitor connection so you can see the final

result e. All of these are used

6. Of the three 3-D effects _____________ is the technique of minimizing the distortion artifacts known as aliasing when representing a high-resolution signal at a lower resolution.a. Mip-mappingb. Anti-aliasingc. Z-buffering

7. A graphics card serves as a translator that takes binary data from the CPU and turns it into the images you see on the monitor.a. Trueb. False

8. Dead pixels are possible during manufacturing of ____________ monitors.a. Plasmab. LCDc. CRT

9. Refresh rate is the time a pixel in a monitor takes to go from active (black) to inactive (white) and back to active (black) again, measured in milliseconds. Lower numbers mean faster transitions and therefore fewer visible image artifacts. a. Trueb. False

10.Which of these is not an advantage when using an LCD monitor?a. Very compact and lightb. No input lagc. No geometric distortiond. Low power consumptione. Rugged

11.Contrast ratio is the ratio of the _______________ of the brightest color (white) to that of the darkest color (black) that the monitor is capable of producing. a. Liquidityb. Luminosityc. Pixels

12.The display device in modern monitors is _______ while ________ was used in older monitors.a. HD, Projectorsb. TFT-LCD, CRTc. Plasma, CRT

13.Which one does not belong?a. PCIb. PCI-Expressc. PCI-Xd. PCI-e

14.What is the key difference between a computer monitor and a Television?

a. Dot Pitchb. HD- Capacityc. Luminosityd. Refresh Rate

15.The following picture depicts what type of port?a. HDMIb. VGAc. DVId. S-Video

16.What series is the first combination of 2D and 3D accelerator?

a. Mach Seriesb. Radeon Seriesc. Rage Seriesd. GeForce Series

17.With Dual Video Cards, the shared duties would:

a. Keep constant filtersb. Improve rendering of only 2D imagesc. Higher frame ratesd. Improve performance by 100%

18.HDMI cable will carry video not audio; an addition audio cable is requireda. Trueb. False

19.HDCP is required to display:a. HD DVDsb. Blu-Ray Discsc. LCD TVd. Plasma TV

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_cards http://www.tomshardware.com/us/#redir http://www.ehow.com/

video_5112695_difference-agp-pci-video-cards_.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLLI0vKYM4o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnl1vuwjHto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAZKICHWGnA&feature=fvw