Installing an Accelerator Card

Consider adding an accelerator card to your computer, especially a node that is processing lots of graphics. An accelerator card typically has 1 MB of special video memory. Your computer's performance may be enhanced because this memory will hold a screen image and allow the computer's main memory to be allocated for other processing tasks. If your computer is displaying very high resolution graphics, animations, or pictures containing many colors, you may want to upgrade to a card with 2 or more MB of video memory. Many of the available graphics accelerators contain at least 2 MB of video memory in their video cards.

Video Bit Count

The number of data channels the video card can load at one time is called the data bit count. The more data channels your card has, the faster it will be able to display an image on your screen. More data channels also translates into higher resolution images and better picture quality. Most VESA accelerator cards use 24 or 32 data channels. These are also referred to as 24-bit or 32-bit cards. PCI accelerator cards are 64-bit and the high-end AGP cards are 128-bit accelerators. Essentially, you want a card with the most bits.

NOTE: If you decide to use an accelerator card, be sure to match your video card to your bus type.