The video card is the most important, and for some users - the defining characteristic when buying a laptop. If you do not want to break your eyes and contemplate a bunch of pixels instead of the characters of your favorite games, pay attention to choosing the optimal solution.
Basic information about video cards
The quality of a video card (graphics accelerator) of a laptop is in a sense a relative concept, since in this matter it is important how a particular video card meets the requirements. If you choose a laptop exclusively for work and are going to use the computer only for Internet access and as a "typewriter", you can limit yourself to the simplest option. But gamers, designers, artists need the highest image quality for correct work of fresh games or drawing in graphic editors.
The GPU market is today divided between three American giants - NVIDIA, AMD and Intel. NVIDIA manufactures video cards of two types: GeForce - for the general consumer and Quadro - for professionals. AMD is the oldest company, founded in 1969 and has won respect for the most powerful graphics accelerators of the Radeon and ATI FirePro families. Finally, Intel specializes in providing basic integrated graphics for low-cost laptops and does not focus on discrete graphics.
The lineup of each of the leading manufacturers is extremely wide, so it can be easy to get confused in the assortment. Before buying, you can view the ratings of the highest quality and most productive video cards and consult with experts.
Classification of video adapters
There are three categories of GPUs on the market: integrated (that is, built directly into the computer's motherboard), discrete, and hybrid. The first type is typical for budget notebooks. These cards use RAM to process graphics. Their power is enough for watching movies, viewing image editing, playing old games.
Discrete graphics cards are equipped with their own GPU and memory. These are the cards that are built into gaming and the best multimedia laptops. They are distinguished by the highest performance, but they also require a lot of resources. Of course, the presence of discrete graphics always affects the cost - it is, frankly, expensive.
Finally, the hybrid type is a combination of integrated and discrete video adapters in one laptop model. This option is convenient because you can automatically switch from one to another depending on what you are doing: printing a document or playing a game.
