ATI Technologies RADEON X1550 SERIES - Manual (Page 131)

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card. PCI replaced the older ISA and VESA bus standards, and was itself
superseded by the AGP standard for the main graphics card bus.
PCI Express® (PCIe™)
The successor standard to the PCI and AGP bus standards, with a
significantly faster serial communications system, further opening up
bandwidth for more communications between such peripherals as graphics
cards and the computer’s CPU. PCIe cards can come in several physical
configurations, the fastest currently being X16, which is typically used for
graphic cards, and X1, typically used for other peripherals, such as separate
multimedia cards.
Pipeline
In relation to computer graphic processors, refers to the number of separate
arithmetic units available for rendering the output on a display. In general,
more pipelines available on a graphical processor means there are more 3D
rendering capabilities available, increasing overall 3D performance.
Pixel
All computer images are made up of tiny dots. Each individual dot is called
a pixel, a word created from the term “picture element.” A pixel is the
smallest indivisible unit of a digital image and can be only a single color.
The size of the pixel depends on how the display resolution has been set.
The smallest size a pixel can be is determined by the display’s dot pitch,
which is measured in millimeters (mm).
Refresh Rate
Also referred to as “vertical refresh rate.” This is the rate at which a monitor
or television can redraw the screen from top to bottom. NTSC television
systems have a refresh rate of approximately 60 Hz whereas computer
displays typically have refresh rates of 75 Hz or more. At refresh rates of
70 Hz and lower, screen flicker is often noticeable.
Rendering
Rendering refers to the final drawing stages where the 2D image that
appears on a display is derived from its 3D descriptions. What appears on