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How to tell what graphics card you have on your PC?

Explain the types of graphics cards and how to check their type in the Windows system.

By Jeff BSRPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
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The following content was partially taken from the blog How to tell what graphics card you have on your PC. Please refer to it for the complete content.

Understanding the type of graphics card in your system

Graphics cards have two numbers- one model number refers to the GPU number. This refers to the main chip that does the actual work. It is a complex chip consisting of multiple cores and threads. The multi-core feature allows it to handle many streams of data. It can manage the excessive workload leading to faster processing speed. The other model number refers to the physical card itself. This includes components such as the cooler, voltage regulation module, and other components attached within the network.

AMD and Nvidia produce discrete GPUs with a variety of features. The GPUs have high clock speed, memory capacity, and a number of cores. You can use them for plenty of applications. Due to the consistent performance capability, you would find it difficult to get these GPUs. They often go out of stock in the market. As the demand keeps rising, you may experience shortages.

There are few manufacturers that produce the cards themselves and use the chip from AMD or Nvidia. For example, manufacturers like Asus, EVGA, MSI, and Gigabyte make the cards and integrate them with AMD or Nvidia chips. The different manufacturers differ in terms of the individual components. For example, they may offer different fans or cooking systems. The difference can also be in terms of memory or processing capacity. Some graphics cards have the capability of overclocking which means the clock speed can be increased from the base speed to boost speed.

To know what graphics card is in your PC, follow these steps:

A. If you have Windows 10

If you are using Windows 10, you can find the details of the graphics card and GPU from the "Task Manager".

  1. You can open the task manager by right-clicking the taskbar. Then you can select Task Manager. Another option is to press Windows+Es
  2. When you open Task Manager, you would see several tabs on the top row. For example, some of the tabs include Processes, Performance, App History, Startup, Users, Details, and services.
  3. You must click on the Performance tab. If you are not able to see the Performance tab, you can click on ‘More Info’
  4. When you click the performance tab, you will see a list of CPUs, memory, disk, ethernet, and GPU. You can click on GPU. This will open the details of the GPU on the right top corner. You can read the GPU manufacturer and model name. You can also find details like percentage of utilization, GPU memory, dedicated and shared GPU memory.
  5. If you are using multiple GPUs, you will find a list of GPUs with numbers such as GPU 1, GPU 2, and so on. You can click on each individual one to know the details.

B. If you are using an older version of Windows such as Windows 7

  1. While using an older version of Windows, you can use the DirectX diagnostic tool. It provides information about the model name and number of the GPU.
  2. To open it, you can press Windows+R. Then you must type ‘dxdiag’ in the Run dialog that appears.
  3. When you enter the dxdiag, it opens a box with tabs such as System, Display, Sound, and Input. After clicking Display, you can find details of the device. It includes the name of the GPU.
  4. You can also find details such as manufacturer, chip type, DAC type, device type. In terms of memory, you can find total memory, display memory (VRAM), and shared memory.

C. Another way for finding the type of graphics card

  1. In order to start, you should press the ‘Start menu’ on your PC, and then type Device Manager, followed by the Enter key.
  2. You will see an option titled ‘Display Adapters’. When you select it, it will open a drop-down option. Here, you would see the GPU. You can also read details such as manufacturer and location.

More related topics on graphics cards:

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About the Creator

Jeff BSR

Computer Hardware Engineer

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