Dell Precision 420 - Manual (Page 56)

accelerator, to your computer. A VGA feature connector can also be called a VGA pass-through connector.
video adapter
The logical circuitry that provides —in combination with the monitor—your computer's video capabilities. A video adapter may support more or
fewer features than a specific monitor offers. Typically, a video adapter comes with video drivers for displaying popular application programs and
operating systems in a variety of video modes.
On some Dell computers, a video adapter is integrated into the system board. Also available are many video adapter cards that plug into an
expansion-card connector.
Video adapters often include memory separate from RAM on the system board. The amount of video memory, along with the adapter's video
drivers, may affect the number of colors that can be simultaneously displayed. Video adapters can also include their own coprocessor for faster
graphics rendering.
video driver
A program that allows graphics-mode application programs and operating systems to display at a chosen resolution with the desired number of
colors. A software package may include some "generic" video drivers. Any additional video drivers may need to match the video adapter installed
in the computer.
video memory
Most VGA and SVGA video adapters include memory chips in addition to your computer's RAM. The amount of video memory installed primarily
influences the number of colors that a program can display (with the appropriate video drivers and monitor capability).
video mode
Video adapters normally support multiple text and graphics display modes. Character-based software displays in text modes that can be defined
as x columns by y rows of characters. Graphics-based software displays in graphics modes that can be defined as x horizontal by y vertical pixels
by z colors.
video resolution
Video resolution —800 x 600, for example—is expressed as the number of pixels across by the number of pixels up and down. To display a
program at a specific graphics resolution, you must install the appropriate video drivers and your monitor must support the resolution.
virtual memory
A method for increasing addressable RAM by using the hard- disk drive. For example, in a computer with 16 MB of RAM and 16 MB of virtual
memory set up on the hard- disk drive, the operating system would manage the system as though it had 32 MB of physical RAM.
virus
A self-starting program designed to inconvenience you. Virus programs have been known to corrupt the files stored on a hard-disk drive or to
replicate themselves until a system or network runs out of memory.
The most common way that virus programs move from one system to another is via "infected" diskettes, from which they copy themselves to the
hard-disk drive. To guard against virus programs, you should do the following:
l Periodically run a virus-checking utility on your computer's hard-disk drive.
l
Always run a virus-checking utility on any diskettes (including commercially sold software) before using them.
VLSI
very-large-scale integration
Vpp
peak-point voltage
VRAM
video random-access memory. Some video adapters use VRAM chips (or a combination of VRAM and DRAM) to improve video performance.
VRAM is dual-ported, allowing the video adapter to update the screen and receive new image data at the same time.
W
W
watt(s)
WH