> If a major manufacturer is ncluding a video card with the PC
> -- should I be
> concerened about the brand name?  Also what does it mean when
> the ad says it's
> a "video accelerator"?

Remember, your system is only as fast as the slowest component.  While this
isn't a huge issue with new computers, particular video brands will be
better for particular purposes.

So, yes, it does matter (what you may find is that some of the major
manufacturers are using custom cards with other chips - Intel, Voodoo, etc-
and may not be a retail card.  Compare chipsets).

Video Accelerator - haven't seen that advertised in a while ;) - basically
it means nothing in this day of video cards.  A legacy to the old VGA cards,
but still sounds kinda cool!  They may, however mean 3D acceleration - you
would have to read the fine print to determine the difference.  3D
acceleration is hardware based video chips that are heavily optomised render
polygons at a fast rate, taking much of the load of the CPU.  A worthwhile
investment for any gaming you plan to do!

Just my $0.02

Justin Twyford

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