Lesson Summary

The following points summarize the main elements of this lesson:

Display adapters have gone through significant changes since the first PCs entered the marketplace.
SVGA is considered the standard for applications today. The increasing use of graphical operating systems fueled the need for bigger monitors, higher resolution, and more colors.
The coprocessor is a key factor in graphics-adapter performance.
24-bit cards are required to offer photorealistic color displays.
Memory is a limiting factor in resolution and color depth.
Drivers are the link between the display hardware and the operating system.
The type and amount of memory have direct impact on video performance. Less memory means fewer colors, and slower memory types mean poorer performance.