Study Lab

Don't miss the Study Lab materials found on the CD accompanying this book. Each Study Lab is tailored to the individual chapters in this book, meaning that you'll quickly be able to determine which topics you understand well enough to pass the exam and which topics need more study. The Study Labs are presented in printable PDF format so that you can take them with you to study at work, on the road, or even in your car just before test time!

The Absolute Minimum

Here's a quick review of the high points of this chapter. Take a quick stroll through this section before you head out for your exam.

• The AGP slot is used for most card-based video today, although PCI cards are still available.

• There are several standards for AGP slots that vary by voltage and connector. The AGP Universal and AGP Pro slots can use any normal AGP card, and the AGP Pro slot also supports AGP Pro cards.

• CRT monitors use a vacuum tube and are similar to TVs in their basic construction, whereas LCD monitors are similar to active-matrix LCD panels built into portable computers.

• Almost all CRT monitors and most LCD monitors support the analog VGA standard and its higher-resolution descendants.

• The DVI standard is the current standard for digital LCD displays. The DVI-D connector supports digital displays only, whereas the DVI-I connector also supports analog LCD displays through the use of an adapter.

• Many recent video cards and some portable computers' built-in video also feature TV-out. S-video provides a sharper picture than a single RCA jack.

• 24-bit color is the highest color standard supported for business graphics; it is equal to over 16 million colors and is sometimes called true color .

• 32-bit color supports the same colors as 24-bit color, but is optimized for 3D graphics.

• 16-bit color supports over 65,000 colors and is sometimes called high color .

• You can use DXDIAG, the Display Properties sheet, or third-party software to determine the amount of display memory.

• The amount of display memory and the resolution selected determine what color quality can be used at a particular resolution.

• 3D graphics require much more video memory than 2D graphics or business applications.

• Most recent video cards use SGRAM or some form of SDRAM or DDR SDRAM for display memory.

• Recent video cards no longer provide memory upgrade sockets; replace the video card with a model with more memory and a faster graphics chip if you need more video memory.

• Systems with integrated graphics normally use Unified Memory Architecture to share memory between graphics and system requirements.

• Increasing system memory on systems with integrated graphics can increase the amount of memory available for graphics.

• You should reset the existing video card type to VGA or delete the current card listing in the Windows Device Manager before installing a new video card.

• You should set the refresh rate to 60Hz and the resolution to 800x600 before installing a new monitor to prevent damage to the monitor.

• You can install an additional PCI video card into a system that already has a PCI or an AGP video card to create a multiple-display system, but it's usually better to install a dual-head AGP card.

• Settings such as horizontal and vertical picture size and position, contrast, brightness, and screen geometry can be controlled on the monitor itself.

• TV-out, secondary monitor support, screensavers, refresh rates, and 3D graphics settings are controlled through the Display Properties sheet in Windows.

• The Troubleshoot (Windows XP) or Performance (other versions) tab in the Advanced dialog can be used to reduce or eliminate graphics acceleration for startup or program troubleshooting.