Broussard is a competitive computer game player who knows that the faster his graphics card, the more edge he'll have on his opponents. He is part of a sizable segment of PC owners who crave the top of the line. They buy graphics cards like other people buy groceries, and price is often not an issue. It is this group that has the graphics card business moving at speeds that rival the frame rates of their cards. But while gamers like Broussard are on the cutting edge, those in the mainstream of computing may be bewildered by the rush of technology.
Graphics cards are the components in a personal computer that generate the images seen on a monitor.
They have come a long way from the early days of PCs, when most information was delivered via text and graphics were an afterthought. Today, nearly all PCs sold to homes and businesses come with graphics cards capable of displaying the two-dimensional images associated with operating systems and traditional programs. That includes e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets, Web browsers, information managers and even simple games. But in terms of development, the action is now in three-dimensional graphics. The pace of change is accelerating so dramatically that cards that were state of the art a year ago are being offered at bargain-bin prices today.