Unless you bought a motherboard with a built
in Video (sometimes called graphics) Card you are going to need a
video card. The most common today is an AGP card, AGP arrived
after the PCI slot so there are still a few PCI video cards
around. AGP slots are only for video cards and look like PCI slots
except they sit a bit
further back than a PCI slot and are generally nearer to the
keyboard socket. new motherboards will only have one AGP socket
and around 3 or 4 PCI sockets. AGP is a lot faster than PCI so it
is highly recommended if you have an AGP Slot to use it.
A new player on the field is PCI-express (also
known as PCI-E), much faster than PCI or AGP, this new format slot is
set to take over from all previous formats in years to come. Confusingly
there are a few different sizes of PCI-E slots known as x1 x4 x8 or x16,
many new motherboards may come with some or even all the sizes of slots
but its best to check before rushing out and buying a new video card
that will most likely be a x16 slot, if your motherboard doesn't have
that size slot or larger it wont fit.
Once
installed remember to screw the plate into the case. Nearly all
video cards will have one VGA connector, some more expensive may
have two VGA connectors or a combination of VGA and DVI or a TV
type RCA or S-Video. VGA connectors are identifiable by 15 pins arranged
in 3 rows inside a D shape connector, 90% of monitors use this type of
connector with DVI gaining in popularity in recent years on high end
equipment.
