Compatible Graphic Cards example essay topic

A good graphic card is one the most important things to consider while building a gaming computer. 3 Dfx Voodoo 3 is one of the best performing graphic cards available on the market (Vederman 204). Its impressive test results in Glide interface based games are unbeatable by any other graphic card, just because 3 Dfx is the only manufacturer using Glide interfacing. Using other interfaces such as Open GL or Direct 3 D the Voodoo 3 3500 looses speed compare to TNT 2 Ultra based accelerators.

One of the features of the high priced Voodoo 3 3500 is a TV tuner that allows user to watch television on computers monitor (Case 49). Voodoo 3 supports all three interfaces- Open GL, Glide, and Direct 3 D, which makes it one of the fastest, and most compatible graphic cards available. Only sixteen megabytes of graphic memory does not allow Voodoo 3 to run true color, three-dimensional scenes in high resolutions, and that is what Nvidia TNT 2 Ultra does (Case 204). Several graphic card manufacturers use TNT 2 Ultra chip set.

Well known, and one of the largest is Diamond Multimedia producing Viper 770 Ultra, using previously mentioned TNT 2 Ultra chip set. Viper 770 is a very fast graphic accelerator with implemented thirty-two megabytes of graphic memory, allowing true coloring in high resolutions. Graphic card is actually a device what enables visualizing of data on the monitors screen, which for computer games is the most important thing, since they carry huge amounts of graphic information. A sound card is one the devices that has been overlooked in early systems, besides a simple speaker the early PCs were mute. Due to the increasing popularity of computer games, designers developed a soundboard, which was able to read and reproduce sound data recorded in separate files. Modern soundboards allow users to enjoy realistic three-dimensional sound surrounding a person while playing computer games (Stephen 1187).

To have PC providing maximal gaming performance, one of the most important things to consider is choosing a CPU. There are several choices meeting individual needs, and purposes. Traditionally the speed of the processor is defined by it clock speed, but that is often not very certain because different developers can pack more performance into fewer clock cycles (Stephen 289). However to reach good gaming performance especially with today's newest and most attractive games that are popular throughout the world (Counter Strike, Quake 3, Warcraft etc.) CPU needs a clock speed of 800 MHz or more, which eliminates selection below that point. The Internet gaming is basically a way of linking players around the world over a massive network of computers, and the revolution is continuing to alter the software and hardware industry radically. The choice of software products for online gaming is now enormous, with an equally wide range of quality.

The software industry now has a problem of oversupply, there is too many products for the market to absorb. Through the development of alternative systems such as consoles, and of downloading applications software from the Internet, due to the growing trend towards working at home and the demand for accessibility of gaming information there is certainly a challenge to the software industry. Most online gambling sites use software that is generally housed on the servers computer (the computer where the games originate), so a capable operating system and an Internet browser are all you need. Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator are equally capable and both are free.

Online gambling sites are generally AOL-friendly too. For optimal compatibility, you should have version 3.0 or higher. Sites that offer casino games often require that you download software and install it onto your computer. These programs are only operable on Microsoft operating system, not Macintosh computers. They typically require that you have Windows 95/NT or Windows 98. Online casinos always provide downloadable software for free.

In many cases, they may even mail a free CD. PCI sound cards have been overtaking the sound card industry in the past year. So what makes PCI sound card superior to the older ISA standard sound cards? PCI sound cards can offload the CPU for other more intense processing like 3 D graphics. An ISA card currently runs at 8 MHz and can transfer 8 MB / 's, but the more advance PCI cards run at 33 MHz and can transfer up to 133 MB / 's, which means more speed and better sound quality. The card has a microphone, line-in, line-out and a MIDI / game port.

The game port is one of the better features. Using the special game port driver, games will get an extra boost of performance due to the card's PCI design. On the board itself, there are CD AUDIO (connects with CD-ROM), TAD (connects with modem) and AUX (for radio card) connectors, plus a Wavetable connector which can be attached to a compatible Wavetable Daughter Card..