Graphics Slot Types
Gpu Slot Types
Gpu Slot Types

The GPU model generally determines the kind of RAM present in a graphics card, so once again, as you choose the right GPU for your needs, you’ll likely get the right RAM to go with it. Interface Today, almost all discrete GPUs plug into PCIe slots, and most make use of 16x PCIe.

A video card slot is the spot inside a computer that is specifically designed to hold a video card. There are three common types of video card slots available: peripheral component interconnect (PCI); accelerated graphics port (AGP); and peripheral component interconnect express (PCI-E). In order for a video card to fit inside the computer, the video card slot and video card need to be of the same type. This slot connects directly to the northbridge section of the computer’s chipset, allowing fast communication between the graphics card and the rest of the computer.

Inside a computer, there are several expansion slots on a motherboard. These slots allow new hardware to interface with preexisting hardware, increasing the capabilities of the computer. Most motherboards have a single slot in the highest position on the board that is specifically for a video card. Unlike the other slots, where you can plug a card into any compatible slot, this one is for video cards only.

Okay, right now the RTX 3080 is rare as pigeon eyelashes, but there is no doubt Nvidia's new RTX 3080 is the best graphics card today. It represents a huge generational performance boost over the.
The GPU is operating at a frequency of 1500 MHz, which can be boosted up to 1770 MHz, memory is running at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). Being a dual-slot card, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti draws power from 1x 8-pin power connector, with power draw rated at 120 W maximum. Display outputs include: 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort.

There have been several different video card slot types over the years. On a modern computer there are only three common types, from least to most common they are PCI, AGP and PCI-E slots. Older computers have other kinds, such as industry standard architecture (ISA) or video electronics standards association (VESA), but these types are nearly unheard of today.

Graphics Slot Types

The PCI interface was the standard video card slot type until the mid-90s. While it is nearly gone today, this slot type may still be found on some older office computers and on very low budget parts. Even though it is rarely used for video cards, this slot design is still the standard for many types of expansion cards, such as sound or network cards. As a result, PCI slots are still on most modern motherboards, they are just not used for video cards.

AGP video card slots took over from PCI as the most common style. They were on nearly every computer from the mid-90s until the mid-00s. AGP cards slots commonly have multipliers associated with them, such as x2, x4 or x8, that indicate the speed of the port. In order to utilize the slot to its fullest, it needs an AGP card with the same multiplier.

Gpu Slot Types

The most common style of video card slot today is PCI-E. This slot type took over from AGP in the mid-00s as the default type. While APG cards are far from gone, PCI-E has taken over the market in the late-00s. These slots are very fast, which allows for more powerful video cards.

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Graphics Card is one of the most important components of a gaming PC or a professional high-performance PC. It packs a huge amount of power and has different components that work altogether for graphics processing. Also, the graphics cards come with different types of connectors for different purposes. Some are for power and some are for connecting display cables and so on. Many of the users are not aware of the various components and parts of a graphics card, so for them, I am going to explain all the major components and connectors of a graphics card.

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Major Components of Graphics Card

Here are the major components that are present in all graphics cards.

GPU

GPU or Graphics Processing Unit is the main component and heart of the graphics card. It is also known as Graphics Processor and does all the processing in your graphics card. Generally, most of the graphics card comes with only one GPU but there are few dual GPU graphics cards also. The working of GPU is governed by its architecture which is known as GPU architecture. Different GPU series have different GPU architecture. Also, different GPU manufacturers have their own GPU architecture and layout.

For example, currently, the latest GPU architecture from Nvidia is Pascal and from AMD it is Polaris. Online 50th birthday cards. There are hundreds and thousands of cores in GPU for parallel processing and multi-tasking. The functionality of these processor cores is governed by GPU architecture. Nvidia calls them CUDA Cores and AMD calls them Stream Processors but technically they are different from each other because of different GPU architectures involved. Generally newer the GPU architecture, the better is the performance of the graphics card, and also it has lower power consumption compared to the older architectures.

VRAM

This is the second most important component of a graphics card. VRAM or Video RAM or Video Memory is the place where all the graphics data and game textures are stored for processing by the GPU. Faster memory can really increase the graphics card performance to a certain level. It is to be noted that memory alone cannot increase the performance in games because if your GPU is weak then you will never have greater performance no matter how fast the RAM is.

There are various types of Video RAM available for graphics card depending on the speed and bandwidth they offer. Graphics card memory includes DDR3, GDDR5, GDDR5X, HBM, and HBM2 RAM. DDR3 is the oldest and slowest of all and is used mainly in entry-level graphics cards. GDDR5 is the most popular and commonly used VRAM that is used in the budget, mid-range, and high-end graphics cards. GDDR5X is almost twice as fast as GDDR5 and is used in a few top-end graphics cards from Nvidia. Nvidia Titan X, GeForce GTX 1080 and GeForce GTX 1080 Ti uses GDDR5X memory. HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) and HBM2 are the most advanced graphics card memories for gaming and VR (Virtual Reality) and are used in high-end graphics cards only. Radeon R9 Fury X and Radeon Pro use HBM memory. HBM memory is faster, requires lesser space on PCB and has lower power consumption compared to GDDR5 memory. You can read the complete comparison of all these graphics card video memories by going through the link given below.

VRM

VRM or Voltage Regulator Module is the main circuitry that powers the GPU. VRM converts higher voltage from power supply to lower voltage levels for use in GPU. Generally, it converts 12V to around 1V to 1.5V (approx) which is normally the voltage level at which GPU operates. Along with GPU and VRAM, VRM is also one of the most important components of a graphics card. VRM is also called a Processor Power Module (PPM) or simply Voltage Regulator.

The number of Voltage Regulators on a graphics card varies from card to card. Some graphics cards have a higher number of VRMs compared to others. VRMs can get very hot and sometimes even hotter than GPU and they require good cooling to keep the graphics card from shutting down.

Note: As explained above, VRAM and VRM are completely different components and they should not be confused with each other.

Cooler

Every graphics card comes with Cooler to keep the temperature of GPU, VRAM, and VRM down to safer levels. Graphics Card coolers can be either active or passive. In active cooling, the cooler has both heatsink and fan (HSF) whereas in passive cooling the cooler has the only heatsink. Most of the graphics cards employ active cooling solution because generally it requires lesser space and provides better cooling especially during overclocking, whereas passive cooling is generally used in entry-level and less powerful GPUs and is totally silent in operation. But there are few good mid-range graphics cards that also come with passive cooler or only heatsink. Also, it is not advisable to overclock your graphics card on a passive