Early personal computers employed text-based displays, offering green, white, or amber characters against a black background. Today the average PC monitor can provide life-like colors and reproduce images of near-photographic quality. This dramatic change is the result of radical improvements in monitors and the display-adapter technology that drives them. This chapter discusses how these devices work in unison to provide an acceptable display.
An understanding of the principles of memory and expansion cards is essential. If you need a refresher course on these subjects, review Chapters 7 and 10.