Skjákort

Skjákort (graphics card) is a computer component dedicated to rendering images for a display. It houses a graphics processing unit (GPU), which handles shading, texturing, and rasterization, and it includes dedicated video memory (VRAM) to store textures, frame buffers, and other graphical data. The card draws power from the system power supply and connects to the motherboard via PCI Express (PCIe). Modern skjákort are designed to operate at high clock speeds and with substantial cooling, reflecting their demanding workload.

Key components and interfaces include the GPU cores, VRAM, cooling solution, power regulation circuitry, and display outputs. VRAM types vary, with common options such as GDDR6, GDDR6X, and HBM. Memory bandwidth and GPU clock speeds are major determinants of performance. Interfaces typically include PCIe (4.0 or 5.0) for motherboard communication, and video outputs such as HDMI and DisplayPort; some models also offer DVI or USB-C displays. Form factors range from full-size add-in cards to low-profile designs, and many cards support air cooling or liquid cooling solutions.

Usage and performance: graphics cards are essential for gaming, professional 3D rendering, and compute workloads like simulations and machine learning. They support advanced features such as real-time ray tracing and upscaling technologies (NVIDIA DLSS and AMD FSR) to improve image quality and frame rates. The market is dominated by two major vendors, NVIDIA and AMD, each with its current architectures (for example NVIDIA’s Ada Lovelace and RTX series, AMD’s RDNA 2/3). Driver software (NVIDIA GeForce Experience, AMD Radeon Software) provides optimization tools, diagnostics, and compatibility updates.

Trends include increasing memory bandwidth, energy efficiency improvements, and ongoing efforts to balance price, performance, and availability amid supply variations.