How to Check Your GPU and Why It Matters
The human brain is divided into two hemispheres. The right side of the brain is more creative and artsy, while the left side is more analytical and rational. Where a computer is concerned, the CPU, or central processing unit, is the analytical part, and the GPU, or graphics processing unit, is the creative part. Learn more about the beauty of your device’s GPU does and how to check for it on Windows 11.
What is a GPU?
Your computer’s GPU helps your PC or laptop handle visuals like graphics and videos. There are two different types of GPUs, and the type you have in your computer may vary due to the type of device and your specific computing needs.
Discrete GPU
These are standalone chips that are mounted on their own circuit board and are embedded alongside the CPU on a computer’s motherboard. They are larger and use more power than integrated GPUs, but they are an excellent choice for tasks that involve a lot of processing like video editing, design, and gaming. Due to their larger size, discrete GPUs can require a dedicated cooling apparatus, like a fan, to ensure that the chip won’t overheat and will continue to perform as it should.
Integrated GPU
These GPUs are built into your PCs motherboard. They’re smaller and lighter, but they also use less power. So while they’re great for portability and frequently appear in laptops, they aren’t always as powerful as discrete GPUs. They still do the job for gaming and video or photo editing, and they tend to be less expensive.
Why do I need to know my GPU?
Simply put, the more powerful your GPU, the better your graphics will be. This can affect your video and photo editing, content creation, gaming, and watching TV shows, and movies. Better graphics performance means that your video games can be played at a higher resolution and with faster frame rates, improving your overall experience.
How to check GPU in Windows
If you’re curious about what type of GPU you have in your device, Windows 11 makes it easy to find out.
This information can come in handy if you use a lot of graphics-heavy applications like gaming and photo editing. Knowing what kind of GPU you’re working with can help you determine if you have enough power to make a program work as well as it could. These two simple ways will help you identify the GPU in your device:
Check GPU from Settings
- Select Settings > System.
- Select Display and scroll down to Related settings.
- Select Advanced display. Your GPU’s make and model should be shown under Display information.
Check GPU from Task Manager
- In Windows 11, right-click on the Start button.
- Select Task Manager from the menu.
- Select Performance.
- In the last pane of the tab, choose GPU. If this option is available, it will likely be at the bottom of the list.
- In the top right corner of the GPU selection, information about your computer’s GPU will be visible.
When you recognize the value of GPU, you can make smart choices about how much you need. If you need a better GPU, let us help you find the Windows device to meet your needs. If you’re using that powerful GPU for the best gaming experience possible, don’t forget that Windows 11 is designed with gaming in mind.
3 Quick Ways to Check Your Graphics Card Model on Windows 11
By
M.
Fahad Khawaja
Knowing your GPU model is important for checking system requirements or getting driver updates. Here’s how to find out on Windows 11.
The graphics processing unit (GPU) plays an integral part in your overall Windows experience, all the way from gaming to video editing. A high-performing graphic card can be a key deciding factor in your user experience.
You may know all of the significant graphic card manufacturers, such as AMD, Nvidia, Intel, and ASUS… but what model is your GPU, exactly? Here’s how to check your graphics card model on a Windows 11 PC.
1. How to Check Your Graphics Card Model via Windows 11’s Task Manager
The Task Manager was redesigned in Windows 11 and now boasts a sleek interface that complements its functionality. While users typically use the Task Manager to keep track of running applications and services, you can also use it to figure out your graphic card model name and specs.
To check the installed graphics card or GPU of your Windows 11 PC:
- Right-click the Start menu and select Task Manager.
- From the side menu, choose Performance and then GPU 0. If you have more than one GPU installed, you’ll see them labeled GPU 1, GPU 2, etc. Alternatively, if you don’t know any GPU option, it’s possible you may not have a graphics card on your system, or you may not have configured it correctly.
- The Task Manager window will list the name of your graphics card in the top right corner. You can also find the Driver and DirectX versions in the bottom right corner.
Check out how to use the Windows Task Manager for more in-depth instructions on this tool.
2. How to Find Your GPU Model Using DirectX on Windows 11
You can use the DirectX Diagnostics Tool to get detailed specs of your PC.
You can find system details such as the processor, total available RAM, BIOS version, GPU, sound, and even the details of input devices configured to your PC.
To find the details of your Windows 11 GPU using the DirectX Diagnostics Tool:
- Launch the Start menu, search for dxdiag, and select the Best match.
- Select the Display tab to view details of your GPU, including the GPU manufacturer, chip type, dedicated display memory, etc. If you have more than one GPU on your PC, you will see multiple Display tabs with details of each GPU.
3. How to Confirm Your Graphics Card Model via the Windows 11 Settings App
While you may have used the Settings app to configure different aspects of your PC, you can also use it to view the specs of the graphic card installed in your system. You can also view other display settings, such as the screen resolution and display type.
To check the advanced display settings of your Windows 11 PC, including GPU specs:
- Launch the Settings app through the Start menu.
- From the side menu, select System and then Display.
- Under Related settings, select Advanced display.
- You can see your GPU make and model under the Display information tab.
- For more details, select Display adapter properties for Display.
Get to Know Your GPU Model Better on Windows 11
Whether you want to double-check your system requirements for a new game, or you want to update your GPU’s drivers properly, knowing your graphics card’s model is essential. Now you know how to quickly find out which card you have on Windows 11.
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Related Topics
- Windows
- Windows 11
- Graphics Card
- Windows Tricks
About The Author
Fahad holds a Bachelors in Computer Science and his passion for all things Windows is reflected in his writing.
Having worked in the tech space for over four years, he deftly blends his technical knowledge with his skills as an author, making his work both informative and accessible to his audience.
GPU | it’s… What is a GPU?
Graphic processor (eng. graphics processing unit , GPU ) — a separate device of a personal computer or game console that performs graphics rendering. Modern GPUs are very efficient at processing and displaying computer graphics. Thanks to their specialized pipeline architecture, they are much more efficient in processing graphics information than a typical CPU. The graphics processor in modern video adapters is used as a 3D graphics accelerator.
It can be used both as part of a discrete video card and in integrated solutions (embedded in the northbridge or hybrid processor).
Contents
|
1 Software Description
Features compared to the CPU are:
- architecture, maximally aimed at increasing the speed of calculating textures and complex graphic objects;
- limited command set.
The high computing power of the GPU is due to the peculiarities of the architecture. While modern CPUs contain multiple cores (most modern systems have between 2 and 6, as of 2012), the GPU was originally designed as a multi-core structure that could have hundreds of cores. The difference in architecture determines the difference in the principles of operation. If the architecture of the CPU assumes sequential processing of information, then the GPU was historically intended for processing computer graphics, therefore it is designed for massively parallel computing [1] .
Each of these two architectures has its own merits.
The CPU works better with sequential tasks. With a large amount of information being processed, the GPU has an obvious advantage. There is only one condition — the task must have parallelism.
| GPUs have already reached the point where many real-world applications can run on them with ease, and faster than on multi-core systems. Future computing architectures will be hybrid systems with GPUs consisting of parallel cores and working in conjunction with multi-core CPUs [2]
Original text GPUs have evolved to the point where many real-world applications are easily implemented on them and run significantly faster than on multi-core systems. Future computing architectures will be hybrid systems with parallel-core GPUs working in tandem with multi-core CPUs [3] . Professor Jack Dongarra |
Some models of graphic processors (as part of the video adapter) can also be used, in some cases, for general computing (see GPGPU).
HD6990 (from AMD) or GTX590 (from nVidia) can serve as examples of these.
History
Software
At the software level, the video processor uses one or another application programming interface (API) for its organization of calculations (calculations of three-dimensional graphics).
The earliest accelerators used Glide, a 3D graphics API developed by 3dfx Interactive for graphics cards based on Voodoo Graphics’ proprietary GPUs.
Generations of accelerators in video cards can be counted according to the versions of DirectX and OpenGL they support.
See also
- AMD
- Comparison of NVIDIA
GPU Comparison
GPUs
Notes
- ↑ NVIDIA Tesla GPU-based hybrid computing systems
- ↑ GPU computing. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2011. .
- ↑ What is GPU Computing? (English). Archived from the original on 31 May 2012.
Retrieved 13 September 2011.
References
- AMD Radeon Graphics Products of the Day Desktop
- Official website of NVIDIA
- Marginal notes. Which is faster, CPU or GPU?
| This is a computer stub. You can help the project by correcting and supplementing it. This note should be replaced with a more precise one if possible. |
Find out what a GPU is and what it does on your PC | Technology
Computer graphics are an integral part of any modern computer system, even light laptops. But what is a GPU? let’s find out
When you’re thinking about buying a gaming PC or gaming laptop, you want your PC to run the best games with the best graphics possible. You need the best games, the best resolution and everything you want to get the most out of your game. And that requires a good motherboard, a good processor, and a good GPU.
GPU stands for Graphic Processing Unit (“central processing unit”) and is the part of the PC responsible for the images displayed on the screen.
In short: it’s your graphics card!
If you’re just using your computer for basic purposes — surfing the Internet or using office software and desktop applications — you don’t need to know much about what a GPU is. This is the part of the PC that is responsible for what you see on the monitor, and that’s it. It does not require a graphics card to project it onto a screen.
Minecraft can’t be played this way on any GPU
However, for gamers or those doing work that can be accelerated by the GPU, such as 3D rendering, video encoding, etc., the GPU does a lot more work. These people need to get more out of their GPU. But to better understand how it works and what it does, let’s take a quick look at this technology, which is becoming more and more important for modern games and with more and more advanced graphics.
What is a GPU?
Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Image via Steam)
If we think of the central processing unit (CPU or processor) as the «silicon brain thinking» of a computer, then the GPU (graphic processing unit or graphics card) is its creative side, helping to transform the graphics user. interfaces in visually appealing icons and designs, not in packs of black and white lines like in this matrix code.
While many processors come with some form of integrated GPU to ensure that Windows can be displayed on the connected screen, there are many more resource-intensive tasks such as video rendering and computer-aided design (CAD) that often require a dedicated or discrete GPU, mostly in the form of a video card.
For the latter, Nvidia and AMD are the top two manufacturers of dedicated hardware, while Intel’s own integrated Iris Plus and UHD GPUs tend to limit light work on laptops without dedicated graphics. In terms of mobile devices, companies such as Qualcomm and MediaTek provide lightweight GPUs for mobile devices, although they often come as a system-on-a-chip (SoC) where the GPU is on the same chip as the CPU and other core chipsets of mobile components.
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It’s easy to think of the GPU as something only for people interested in PC gaming or heavy video work, but the GPU offers a lot more than just pretty graphics.
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Graphics Card Components
Here are the most important graphics card components.
GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)
The GPU, or commonly known as the GPU, is the heart of the video card. This is the main component of the video card, on which all graphics processing takes place. Unlike a CPU, which has only 2 to 16 cores, a GPU processor is made up of hundreds or thousands of small cores or blocks that work in parallel to perform complex graphics operations.
Memory
Memory is where all complex textures and other graphics information is stored. The GPU fetches the textures from memory, processes them, sends them back to RAM and then sends them to the RAMDAC and then to the LCD screen or monitor.
RAMDAC is a random access memory digital to analog converter that converts an image to an analog signal and sends it to your monitor or LCD screen via a video cable.
Internal interface
The internal interface is the one through which your graphics card connects to the motherboard. Older video cards used the AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) interface to connect to the motherboard, but this has now been replaced by the much faster and more efficient PCI Express 2.0 x16 interface. The motherboard must also have a PCI Express x16 slot or you won’t be able to use the card. Some motherboards have two PCI Express x16 slots side by side, so you can use graphics cards connected in SLI or Crossfire mode to improve performance.
Heatsink and fan
The heatsink and fan form the cooling part of the graphics card, which is used to cool down the temperature of the GPU and RAM (on some cards). A heatsink is a passive cooling device made of either copper or aluminum and its main purpose is to remove heat from the GPU and dissipate it into the environment.
A fan is an active cooling device that blows air through the heatsink to keep the heatsink cool faster so it can quickly dissipate heat from the components.
DVI / HDMI / VGA ports
These form the external interface of the video card. They are used to connect a monitor or LCD screen to a graphics card using the appropriate cable. Low-end graphics cards only have VGA and DVI (digital video interface) ports, while high-end graphics cards have DVI and HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface). Both DVI and HDMI are digital interfaces, but HDMI can carry audio or audio through it.
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What GPU does
The easiest way to understand what a GPU is and what it does is to talk about video games. a computer image of a person, a landscape, or an incomprehensibly detailed model of a three-dimensional object.
Whatever we see, it’s all thanks to the graphics processor.0009
Video games are complex devices that require many mathematical calculations to be performed in parallel to display images on the screen. The GPU is designed to process graphic information, including the geometry, color, hues, and textures of an image. Its RAM is also specialized in handling the large amount of information going to the GPU and video data, known as the framebuffer, that is coming to your screen.
The GPU receives all instructions for drawing images on the CPU screen and then executes them. This process of moving from instructions to a finished image is called the rendering pipeline or graphics pipeline. The basic unit to start creating 3D graphics is the polygon. More specifically, triangles. Almost everything you see in a typical video game starts with a huge array of triangles. Other shapes may be used, but the vast majority are triangles.
NVIDIA’s Tom Petersen explaining (enable subtitles)
While GPUs are commonly associated with realistic graphics in high-end video games, they are also used in other industries.
For example, in business applications such as AutoCAD, GPUs provide the ability to render 3D models. Since this type of software requires constant changes in a very short time, the PC on which the model is rendered must support the editing process. In this example, the GPU makes it easy to render 3D models.
Another popular use for GPUs is video editing. This is very important when working with large volumes of high resolution files such as 360° or 4K video. It can sometimes be problematic to edit these types of files on most standard GPUs, which is why a high performance GPU is very useful due to its ability to transcode video files at a reasonable speed.
In addition, GPUs are extremely useful when it comes to building neural networks and processing machine learning functions. This is another task that can be overwhelming for the CPU due to the large amount of data involved in the process.
What is ray tracing?
Ray tracing is a rendering technique that allows you to create incredibly realistic lighting effects.
Essentially, the algorithm can track the path of the light and then simulate how the light interacts with virtual objects that it finally enters the computer-generated world. We’ve seen the lighting effects in the game become more and more realistic over the years, but the benefits of ray tracing have less to do with light than with how it interacts with the world.
Ray tracing produces more realistic shadows and reflections, and greatly improves translucency and dispersion. The algorithm takes into account where the light hits and calculates interactions and interactions in the same way that the human eye, for example, processes real light, shadows, and reflections. The way light hits objects in the world also affects the colors you see.
With enough computing power, you can create incredibly realistic computer images that are almost indistinguishable from real life. But here’s the problem: Even a well-equipped gaming PC has a limited number of GPUs to work with, let alone a modern gaming console.
Who are the major GPU manufacturers?
Nvidia
Nvidia is a California based technology company founded in the USA in 1993. It develops GPUs for the gaming and professional markets, as well as system blocks on a chip (SoC) for the mobile computing and automotive markets. Its main line of GPUs is GeForce, which is a direct competitor to AMD’s Radeon.
Some of their most popular GPUs include the GeForce RTX 3080, Nvidia Titan V, and Nvidia RTX A6000. Currently, due to the shortage of graphics cards worldwide and the high demand for bitcoin mining cards, it can be difficult to get one of your GPUs, especially GeForce RTX 3070 cards.0009
In July 2021, Nvidia activated what it claimed was the UK’s fastest supercomputer.
Cambridge-1, which contained several NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPUs.
AMD
Advanced Micro Devices, also known as AMD, was founded in 1969 and is another American technology company based in California. It develops computer processors and other products for the commercial and consumer markets. It originally made semiconductors before splitting that division in 2008, which then became GlobalFoundries.
AMD’s main products include motherboard chipsets, microprocessors, graphics processors, and integrated processors. Some of their products include the AMD Radeon graphics series and the Ryzen processor line.
In March, the company announced the launch of the Ryzen 5000 Pro series of mobile processors for thin and light business notebooks. It consists of three chips: Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U, Ryzen 5 Pro 5650U and Ryzen 3 5450U. The 5850 is the highest spec of the three, with an octa-core, 16-thread design, 20MB cache, and a base clock and 1.9x boost.GHz and 4.4 GHz respectively.
AMD said the chip is the only high-performance octa-core processor designed for thin and light laptops.
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Dedicated and integrated GPUs
Uma AMD Radeon Dedicated GPU (Image credit: AMD)
There are two main types of GPUs you can use for a modern PC: integrated e dedicated . Video cards are usually large and bulky desktop docking components with one, two, or sometimes three fans. These cards contain the actual GPU chip as well as RAM to handle higher graphics loads like video games. The fans provide cooling to the components. In short: it’s like a computer inside your computer.
Desktop graphics cards are one of the easiest components to upgrade (if you have the money to buy them anytime).
Simply place the card in a PCIe x16 slot, connect the cable to a power source (if needed) and install the drivers.
Core i7-8700 processor with Intel UHD 630 graphics (Image credit: Intel)
Laptops can also have dedicated GPUs, but instead of a big board, a dedicated laptop GPU is just a chip soldered to the motherboard. Unlike desktop, they are not so easy to update. Only more expensive gaming computers usually have the option to upgrade the graphics card or any other component.
Next comes the integrated graphics chips that are built into the processor. Not all processors have this. For example, AMD Ryzen desktop processors are notorious for their lack of integrated graphics. However, the company makes desktop processors with integrated graphics called Accelerated Processing Units (APUs). Intel Core desktop chips with model numbers ending in «F» also have no graphics, as do Core X-Series processors with model numbers ending in «X». Since these processors do not have a GPU, they are sold at a lower price.
CPU without graphics is just a problem for desktop computers. Again, laptops are sold as a bundle, so they require either a dedicated GPU or a graphics card built into the processor.
Modern processors with integrated graphics can be surprisingly powerful. Some of them can play old selected AAA titles at a reasonable frame rate with reduced graphics settings. In other words, you will be able to play games, but not with high or ultra high quality graphics, but you will be able to enjoy the game with peace of mind.
These models are the economical choice for those who still can’t afford the graphics card of their dreams. However, anyone who wants to do serious work needs to know what a GPU is, and therefore a separate GPU.
Which GPU do you need?
(Image via Alienware)
Now you know the basics of what a GPU is, what it does, and what types there are. So how do you know which one you need? If you’re playing on desktop, you need a graphics card, and there’s a world of reviews out there to help you pick the best one. As a general rule, make sure you get it. the correct graphics card for your monitor resolution, such as 1080p, 1440p, or 4K.
Game features are constantly evolving and require new hardware. This means that graphics cards age faster than other components. Desktop owners should buy something released within the last two to three years. When playing on a laptop, be very, very careful. Many gaming laptops have up to two generations of dedicated GPUs and cost the same (or nearly the same) as a laptop with a new GPU.
If your focus is on enthusiast video editing, a powerful processor is more important, but a dedicated graphics card is also needed (even if older than several generations).