Graphics Performance Dissected

Here is an overview on this article series. Beginners should probably start with part 1, which explains the hardware components on a modern graphics card. Part 2 discusses tech terms, graphics features and technology and the latest visual features. This third part compares several graphics solutions to understand how all of it works together.

Graphics Beginners' Guide, Part 1: Graphics Cards

• Basic parts of a graphics card
• Outputs
• Interfaces
• Cooling devices
• Graphics processor
• Graphics memory

Graphics Beginners' Guide, Part 2: Graphics Technology

• Glossary
• Graphics processor architecture: features Vertex/pixel processors, shaders, fill rate, texture/raster operating units, pipelines
• Graphics processor architecture: technology Manufacturing process, graphics processor speed, local graphics memory (size, bus, type, speed), multi-card solutions
• Visual features DirectX, High Dynamic Range (HDR), anti-aliasing, texture filtering, high definition textures

Part 3 (this article): Graphics Performance Analysis

• Clock speed comparison
• Shader unit comparison
• Memory comparison
• Memory interface comparison
• Interface comparison
• Dual graphics comparison

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