If you have ever shopped around for a laptop before then you would have seen the term “Discrete Graphics card inside,” but what exactly does this mean? Read on in case if you plan to sell your used laptop and buy a new one.
In the simplest form, a discrete graphics card is also known as “dedicated graphics card,” “discrete GPU,” or a “separate graphics card.” A discrete graphics card is any stand-alone unit that solely performs the function of a graphics processor. A discrete graphics card is usually inserted into a motherboard on a Desktop computer, and in the case of a laptop, it is installed as a separate graphics processing unit on the mother board. In contrast, an integrated graphics processor is a part of the Central Processing unit and is not as powerful as a discrete processing unit.
A discrete graphics card has its own processing unit, as well as its own memory that is installed on the graphics card itself. This separate memory and processing unit makes it possible for a discrete graphics card to deliver incredible performance relative to its integrated counterpart.
How a Discrete graphics processor works
A discrete graphics card comes with its own Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) and memory unit too. The Graphics processing unit is designed specifically to calculate and process calculations regarding graphics. The Central processing Unit (CPU) of your computer is designed to carry out calculations in a way that is slightly different from that of a Graphics processor. The Graphics Processing unit of a discrete graphics card can process graphics more effectively than the standard CPU.
A discrete GPU therefore, ensures that you run graphics-intensive processes faster, and it also frees up the CPU and allows it to perform other processes not relating to graphics.
The memory unit that comes with a discrete processing unit allows it to effectively free up the main memory known as the system Random Access Memory (RAM). The memory unit of a discrete graphics card allows it to store information that it needs for graphics processing without causing a bottle neck on the system RAM.
Function of a Discrete graphics processor
Discrete graphics cards make it possible to run high-performance applications like graphics intensive 3-D games, graphics editors, 3-D modeling software and the likes on a laptop or a desktop equipped with it. if your computer comes equipped with integrated graphics, then it will be able to perform everyday tasks like browsing, playing videos and creating word documents. However, integrated graphics are bad at handling graphic-intensive tasks like playing 3-D games.
Modern day integrated graphics are now better at handling 3-D graphics but they still have a long way to go before they can achieve the performance of discrete graphics cards.
