User's Manual
Glossary 239
the number of colors that a program can display depends on the capabilities of
the monitor, the video driver, and the amount of video memory installed for the
video adapter.
VGA feature connector
On some systems with a built-in VGA video adapter, a VGA feature connector
allows you to add an enhancement adapter, such as a video 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 capabilities).
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.