Member Avatar for degarb

I am not sure what a video card is. Yes, I know it is a pci or agp thing that can share or have own memory. More mem the better. I know some have svideo or composite. But isn't a video card just some way of seeing what the computer is doing? Couldn't two video cards be done at once. What is need for on board memory or advantages.


Moreover, if I have one onboard, what are steps to disable old one and put a new one in. Do I need to disable old one? What are risks? How does one "see" to control a computer if all are disabled?

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In response to : a video card (graphics card) is the hardware that turns rendered image data into a signal the monitor can use. It normally contains a GPU and its own video RAM (VRAM) and exposes outputs such as VGA, DVI, HDMI, or DisplayPort (older boards may also include S‑Video/composite). A discrete (dedicated) card keeps most rendering work and textures in VRAM so the CPU and system RAM are less taxed; integrated (onboard) graphics share system RAM and CPU cycles. More VRAM helps at higher resolutions, many monitors, or heavy textures, but GPU architecture and memory bandwidth often matter more than raw megabytes.

Two or more graphics devices can coexist for different reasons: driving additional monitors (no SLI/CrossFire required) or combining GPUs for gaming/workload acceleration (SLI for NVIDIA, CrossFire for AMD), which needs compatible cards, motherboard support, and driver support. Mixing onboard + discrete outputs is possible on many boards but can require BIOS or driver configuration.

A safe, practical install workflow: power the system off and unplug it, discharge static, seat the card in the correct slot (PCI Express on most systems), attach any supplemental PCIe power leads the card requires, and connect the monitor to the new card before powering up. BIOS typically auto-selects the primary adapter, but many motherboards expose a "primary display" or "init display" setting to force PCIe/AGP or onboard. On first boot the appropriate vendor driver should be placed; when changing vendor families (for example Intel -> NVIDIA/AMD), old drivers are best removed or cleaned to avoid conflicts.

Common failure causes are insufficient PSU capacity or missing PCIe power leads, an improperly seated card, wrong BIOS display selection, or using an incompatible slot (AGP vs PCIe). If no video appears, move the monitor to the onboard output, boot to Safe Mode to install/clean drivers, adjust the BIOS primary-adapter setting, or clear CMOS as a last resort. was right that modern installs are often plug-and-play, and correctly pointed to the BIOS display-init option—those steps plus the power/driver checks prevent most problems.

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Member Avatar for Xlphos

If your after installing a new graphics card it is simple. Put the new one in plug the display into the new card and boot it up.

The computer detects the new card and uses that one.

Then install the drivers for it. No need to disable or remove the drivers for the onboard one.

Member Avatar for Xlphos

As far as having two graphics cards you must ensure they are the same and you have two free slots. The graphics card in question must support SLI(Nvidia) or Crossfire(ATI) in order to use both (you can buy sets of two).

All graphics cards need adequate power supply are they may not work.

Member Avatar for Xlphos

Onboard vs Dedicated...

Dedicated is better as in it has its own memory and can produce better graphics and that will take care of all the graphical parts lessening the strain on the CPU. But Dedicated may only be needed for things like gaming or 3D applications.

Onboard can be better in that it is cheaper and may be enough for the user; they may just be interested in web browsing and word processing.

Hope these few points help clarify.

Member Avatar for server.i.am.

Right, a video card shows what the computer is doing, and also your inputs, yes you can have 2 even 3 graphics cars installed including the onboard one, if you wish to install a PCI/AGP graphics card, go ahead and plug the monitor in to it and then boot it in the guts. then press the ( delete ) just after the beep, or the screen lights up then go into advanced bois features then select ( display init ) and select AGP/PCI depending on which one youv'e got, also you can plug another monitor in and have a dual screen display if you wish... the risks, well the worst that can happen is you see no picture or anything, but as long as you have the screen plugged into the graphics card you are installing you shouldn't have a problem cheers....

P.S. if you have any doubt, you know where to find me

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