how to view what graphics card you have
Desire to play the latest games, just aren't certain if your PC can handle them? Graphics are a huge part of the PC gaming experience, but not every computer is built for the best games on the market. You lot'll need to know what graphics card you take installed and compare that to the minimum requirements for the game you want to play. Here'south how to effigy it out.
What's a Graphics Bill of fare?
When yous plough on your computer, the images that appear on screen—whether it's a simple Word document or a complex 4K gaming feel—are generated by a graphics processing unit of measurement (or GPU). These chips can range from simple "integrated graphics," which are part of the motherboard or processor, to larger, more powerful expansion cards.
These expansion cards—frequently chosen "discrete" or "dedicated" graphics cards—can usually perform more powerful tasks than integrated graphics, like ameliorate 3D gaming, accelerated video rendering, or even certain non-graphical jobs similar mining bitcoin. This actress utility comes at the expense of higher power usage, more heat, and more than space in your figurer, which is why you'll rarely discover dedicated graphics cards in ultra-thin laptops.
Just similar any other computer component, graphics cards can become outdated over fourth dimension. The card y'all bought in 2012 is unlikely to play 2022's AAA games at high settings, so if yous're ever unsure whether a game will run on your PC, you'll want to compare its minimum or recommended requirements to the hardware you currently accept.
Knowing what graphics card y'all have tin be confusing, since at that place are two relevant model numbers: the model of the GPU (the actual chip that does the work), and the model of the card itself (which includes other hardware like the cooler, voltage regulation module, and and so on).
There are two main discrete GPU manufacturers today: Nvidia and AMD. At that place are many other manufacturers, notwithstanding, making the cards themselves—Asus, EVGA, MSI, Gigabyte—and other companies can produce graphics cards using chips from Nvidia and AMD, adding their own tweaks to fix themselves apart from each other. Ane manufacturer'due south version may have better fans than some other, may come overclocked from the manufactory, or have a better warranty.
So when you're looking upward what graphics card yous have, y'all'll need to determine whether knowing the chipset is enough (for example, the "Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060") or whether y'all need the actual manufacturer and model of your card (such as the "EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 Superclocked," which uses Nvidia's chipset). The former is very easy to observe in Windows, while the latter is a bit more complicated.
Find Out What GPU You Have in Windows
In your PC's Start card, blazon "Device Managing director," and printing Enter to launch the Control Panel's Device Manager. Click the driblet-down arrow side by side to Display adapters, and information technology should list your GPU right at that place. (In the screenshot beneath, you tin can encounter that I have a Radeon RX 580.)
If you aren't sure which visitor designed that chip, you tin correct-click on it and choose Properties to see the manufacturer—in my case, Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD. (Note that Device Managing director uses your graphics drivers to determine what GPU you have, so if you doubtable the wrong drivers may be installed, you should skip to the side by side section.)
In one case you accept the GPU name, y'all tin Google around to larn more most it, or compare it to the minimum requirements on the game you want to play. Ordinarily, a higher number denotes a better card—so a game that requires an RX 580 may not run on an RX 480, which is less powerful (though there are sometimes ways around that).
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If yous're comparison ii cards that use different naming schemes—like AMD'southward RX 580 and the more powerful RX Vega 56—you may have to do a picayune research to see which card is more powerful, and what the deviation in toll is.
Find the Manufacturer and Model Number
If, for some reason, you need to knowexactly what model video menu you have, you'll have to practise a bit more work. The manufacturer is like shooting fish in a barrel plenty to observe with a third-party app called Speccy. Download the free version, offset information technology upwardly, and click the Graphics option in the sidebar. Scroll downwards and wait for the Subvendor entry, which should tell y'all who made the actual bill of fare in your PC—in my example, Asus made this particular RX 580. (You'll also be able to see how much video RAM your bill of fare has, among other specs.)
Unfortunately, this won't tell you the verbal model number, which you'll need for, say, warranty claims. (Asus makes a few unlike RX 580 cards, and they'll demand the exact model number to provide support.) For that, you'll need to either search your email for the receipt (if yous bought the card online) or open up your PC up.
In this example, find the graphics carte, remove it, and await at the sticker on the side—it should have the model number you demand. Yous may desire to write this information down somewhere so you don't need to crack your PC open next time—y'all never know when you might need it!
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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/what-graphics-card-do-i-have
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