Tip #2357 - Graphic Card Modes
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Graphic
Card Modes
Do you know what modes
your graphic card is capable of handling? First of all, it’s really
interesting and useful to know what your card can handle.
By modes, I am talking
about those settings you have heard about like, setting your graphic card
resolution to 800x600, etc.
Knowing about your
Video Graphics Adapter (technically known as VGA) and the type of graphic
card you have installed helps determine which resolution is best for the
applications you use, so knowing about the different graphic modes is
one of the most helpful details.
For example, if you
have a 17” monitor and a good graphics card, it’s recommended
that you set your screen resolution to 1024x768, because by using this
resolution on your TV set, you are making the best use of your screen
and monitor’s space. You are also doing it with the optimal usage
of your graphic card, without overloading it.
Now, if we know what
mode our graphic card has been assigned by the manufacturing company,
we can make the best use of it. This is especially true if you do a lot
of gaming, because those experiences heavily depend on the resolutions
we select in our games. You may know that different PC games require different
resolutions, so we can enjoy it the most.
Suppose you have bought
a world famous 3D game or a detailed graphically designed computer software
program. You have installed it on your hard drive, but after the initial
installation, all you can see are choppy screen pictures. So, where’s
the glitch? What's goin on? It has to do with your screen resolutions.
Each modern game allows
you to select different screen resolutions, but you can only make the
best use of this feature if you know what modes your PC graphic card can
handle.
Before we go further
into exploring the VGA modes, let’s take a look at the world of
graphic cards and the world famous types which are sold across the world.
Most of them are well known because of their superior performance and
reliability.
I don’t know
if you’re the gamer type or not, but nowadays you usually cannot
find any PCs sold without a powerful 3D graphic card. The reason for this
is clear though. The enhanced features of the new three dimensional graphic
cards (along with their modest prices, ranging from around $45 to less
than $200 for a perfect and very strong VGA) makes no room for companies
still holding out to make 2D graphic cards that are only capable of limited
graphic accessibilities.
If you intend to upgrade
your computer or even buy a new one, please note that prebuying research
is essential. For example, while buying a VGA, first look at the brand
of it. Today, there are several world famous names such as NVidia GeForce,
ATI RADEON , Matrox MGA and Diamond Multimedia. These cards are multi-purpose
cards; meaning they are both good for gaming and heavy 3D applications.
They are also excellent and in fact, more than enough for household light
uses.
So, the first thing
in learning about a nice VGA is its name and type. The above names I mentioned
(especially the first two) are inner parts of thousands of today’s
newly built PCs all over the world. They are ordered by such big names
as IBM, DELL, HP and many more PC manufacturing companies. My best guess
is that you too have a graphic card on your computer from among those
three brands.
Graphic cards are
now found on the market with memory sizes ranging from 32 MB to 512 MB
of RAM. The more RAM it has means the more professional uses are required.
For a perfect personal computer, a VGA with memory of around 128 MB of
RAM is perfect and will be your nice graphical partner for several years
to come.
The second and very
important point is about the memory, RAM and the power of the graphic
card (measure in MB). For example, you might have an Nvidia graphic card
installed on your PC with 3D capabilities and 64 MB of RAM, but the VGA
RAM is the key to smooth graphical processing tasks and PC gaming experiences.
Fortunately, there are so many inexpensive, but powerful graphic cards
on the market today, so you shouldn't have any problem finding one that
will fit your needs. At present, you can get a perfect graphic card for
your computer for less than $100.
Graphic cards are
now equipped with one, or more, fans, which help them to stay cool during
heavy graphic usages. It also helps the cards to live longer for your
uses. Temperatures can be harmful to your graphic card, so the cooler
your VGA operates, the better graphical results you will receive. Checking
of the fan's health is recommended, because they need to be replaced by
new ones every several months, depending on the hours and levels of usage.
Now, let’s take
a look at the following images to learn a little more about your graphic
card, its name and model, its RAM amount and the modes it is capable of
handling.
First, right click
on your desktop and select Properties.
Next, select the Settings
tab. Now, you can see some information about your monitor’s name
and model and also your graphic card name and type, but since we want
to learn more our VGA, we'll continue.
Now, click on Advanced.
Click on Adapter
from the top page tabs.
By pressing the Adapter
tab, you have in fact entered your graphic card realm. This page gives
you nice information about the overall graphics card hardware installed
on your computer.
The last step is opening
the modes, so click on the List All Modes button.
The modes listed show
the different resolutions your graphic card is accustomed to run in different
applications that you may use.
I was not able to
find a listing on VGA modes for older versions of Windows, but if you
follow the same basic steps as above, you can at least view some information
about your graphic card type.
~ Hamid Reza
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