Whether you want to play low-demand games or AAA games, the graphics card is a crucial factor that decides your gaming experience. To know whether your computer can support a game, you should ask a question first: what is my graphics card?
In this blog, we will offer a step-by-step guide on how to check your graphics card. With the six simple guidelines, you will also learn what a graphics card means. Keep reading and understand your graphics card easily.
How to Check Graphics Card on Your Computer?
Method 1: Identify Graphics Card via System Settings
How to see what graphics card you have? The easiest way is to access the settings app on your computer.
To Check Your Graphics Card on Windows:
- Launch your computer and go to “Settings”.
- Select “System” and tap “Display” in the left sidebar.
- Scroll down to tap “Advanced display settings”(Windows 10) or “Advanced display”(Windows 11).
- Under the “Display information” section, you can see all the details about your monitor including your graphics card model.
To Check Your Graphics Card on Mac:
- Tap the Apple icon and click “About This Mac”.
- On the Overview tab, you can view what your graphics card is in the “Graphics” section.
Method 2: Check Graphics Card through the System Information
As the name suggests, you can easily access all the system details in the System Information including your graphics card type.
- Go to the search bar and type “System Information”.
- In the left navigation bar, select “Components”.
- Then tap the “Display” section, and your graphics card will appear in the “Adapter Description”.
Method 3: View Graphics Card in Windows Task Manager
To optimize your PC for gaming, you can open Task Manager and force-close some apps. On the other hand, it can also monitor your computer performance like Memory usage or WiFi network signal strength.
- In the bottom navigation bar, type “Task Manager”. Alternatively, you can tap Ctrl + Alt + Del key simultaneously and select “Task Manager”.
- In the “Performance” tab, press GPU and you can check your graphics card model above. In addition, you can also view other details including GPU utilization or driver version.
Method 4: Find Graphics Card Using the Control Panel
To know what graphics card you have, you can also check your graphics card control panel. It can not only make some adjustments to your display settings but also provide detailed information about your graphics card. Whether you are using a graphics card from NVIDIA or AMD, here is a detailed guide below.
For NVIDIA Users:
- Press the NVIDIA Control Panel in the search bar.
- Tap the “System Information” in the left bottom corner and a new window will show up.
- In the “Display” tab, you will see your graphics card model in the “Items” section.
For AMD Users:
- Right-click the desktop and access the AMD Catalyst Control Center.
- For Standard View mode, you can scroll down to select “Information” and tap Product Summary > Hardware.
- If the software is in Advanced View mode, select the “Information” tab and press “Hardware”. To identify your graphics card, just view the “Graphics Chipset” option.
Method 5: Check Graphics Card with the DirectX Diagnostic Tool
In addition, you can also use the DirectX Diagnostic Tool to view your PC’s system information.
- Enter dxdiag in the search bar to run the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. If you never launched it before, press OK if it asks for permission.
- In the “Display” tab, go to the “Device” section and this will show what your graphics card is.
Method 6: See Graphics Card via Device Manager
To check your GPU easily, just go to the Device Manager.
- You can press the Windows + X key at the same time and select “device manager” in the lists.
- Tap “Display adapters” and you will see what graphics card you have.
What Is a Graphics Card?
A graphics card is responsible for the graphical processing, it can output the graphics into your computer monitor. Make sure you can enjoy smoother gameplay or video editing. GPU is an important part of a graphics card, these two concepts often show up simultaneously.
Discrete graphics card: It has a separate memory and cooling system. A discrete graphics card needs more power consumption to support high-demand tasks like gaming or 3D modeling.
Integrated graphics card: It is built into the computer processors and shares resources with the CPU. Compared to the discrete graphics card, it is more suitable for basic tasks like browsing, file editing, or video playing.
How to Upgrade Graphics Card?
To enhance your gaming experience, you can try to update drivers on your PC. It will boost the FPS and fix some bugs. However, be aware that all the improvements are restricted to the hardware of your graphics card. If you require higher graphical performance and play high-demand games smoothly, you need to upgrade your graphics card.
Before buying a new graphics card and installing it, it’s important to check what is your motherboard and make sure it is compatible with your computer. Apart from that, you should also consider your basic needs and select the most appropriate one.
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FAQs about How to Check Graphics Card
Q: How do I check what CPU and GPU I have?
You can search Windows Task Manager in the search bar and select the “Performance” tab. Here you can view all the detailed information about your CPU and GPU.
Q: Is a GPU my graphics card?
No, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is essentially a chip, it’s a crucial component of a graphics card. To ensure your computer runs smoothly, the GPU will work together with other hardware.
Final Thoughts
After reading this blog, you have learned several ways how to check your graphics card. Now select a game based on your graphics card and enjoy a smooth game.
