The video card is the component in a computer that transforms the data received from the operating system into a format that can be displayed on a monitor. Video displayed on a monitor has these characteristics:

• Resolution. The amount of video information in width and height that can be displayed by your video card. This is measured by the number of pixels horizontal and verticle which can be displayed on your monitor. Modern video cards and monitors can display at least 640x480. The higher the resolution, the smaller objects on the screen appear. Higher resolutions allow crisper images. A 14" monitor displays 800x600 resolution confortably. For higher resolutions a larger monitor is preferred; otherwise objects appear too small.

• Colour Depth. Video cards can display from 2 colours to millions of colours, depending on the quality of the video card. Today, most video cards are at least capable of displaying 256 colours. The colour depth is determined by how many bits per pixel the video card is capable of displaying. A card that can display 8 bits per pixel can display 2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2 = 256 colours. Video cards sold today should be capable of displaying at least 24-bit colour (16 million colours). Many new cards can display 32-bit colour (4 billion 294 million colours). For most practical applications, so many colours are not really necessary.

The amount of memory a video card has often determines how much data it can process to send to the screen. Cards with little memory can sometimes display high resolutions, but do not allow great colour depths at high resolutions. They can also display many colours, but only at low resolutions. Cards with much memory allow high resolutions and many colours to be displayed at the same time.

Another important factor to keep in mind is the actual speed of a video card. The video card's performance must be good for today's modern games and graphics applications. For 3-D gaming, some video cards have a special mechanism called 3-D acceleration. This is an important feature for those who intend on playing games on their computer.

Our Video Cards

Genesis sells only the most dependable hardware. Our preferred choice in video manufacturers is ATI Technologies. ATI video cards are high-performance, high-quality cards which will not break your budget. These have a well-established reputation and are supported by all software applications. A range of models are available to best suit your computing needs.

• ATI Mach 64: A good standard video card for general all-purpose use. This card is compatible with all hardware and software. For dependability, this is the ideal choice.

  

  This card has 2 megabytes of memory and is capable of the following:
  

  resolution	colour depth
  640x480	32-bit colour
  800x600	24-bit colour
  1024x768	16-bit colour
  1152x864	16-bit colour
  1280x1024	8-bit colour
  1600x1200	8-bit colour

• ATI 3D Expression: A more powerful card designed for games.

  

  This card is 3-D accelerated, and has 4 megabytes of memory. It is capable of the following:
  

  resolution	colour depth
  640x480	32-bit colour
  800x600	32-bit colour
  1024x768	32-bit colour
  1152x864	32-bit colour
  1280x1024	24-bit colour
  1600x1200	16-bit colour
  2048x1536	8-bit colour

Genesis also sells ATI's other models, such as the ATI Expert @ Play 8MB and the ATI All-in-wonder Pro 8MB AGP.

Prices

The above prices change frequently. Call or send an email to us for the most up-to-date prices.

Genesis Computer Systems
494 Adelaide (Middle Unit)
Woodstock, Ontario

Tel. 519-539-5607
Fax. 519-539-2528
Email. genesis@oxford.net