• Laptop computers can have a range of hardware specifications. Graphic cards, also called video cards, can be some of the most confusing to prospective buyers because they don't come with every laptop and often don't appear to be necessary. While many laptops skate by without them, graphic cards come with many benefits that you'd be wise not to ignore.
  
  

Faster Computer

• Anything you do on a computer requires a certain amount of memory, or RAM. Use too much RAM, and your computer starts to slow down significantly. Graphic cards supply an ancillary source of "dedicated" RAM that is used solely for graphics and video; whenever you're using graphics or video, you're not taking up any of your computer's main source of RAM, and everything else continues to run just as smoothly. By contrast, "integrated" graphics pull RAM from the same central source, slowing down your computer.
  
  

Forward-Compatibility

• Desktop computers can be taken apart so that hardware can be removed and upgraded. Laptops, in which everything is often permanently glued to the motherboard to save space, don't have that luxury. If you buy a computer with integrated graphics rather than a dedicated graphic card, you're stuck with it until you buy a new computer. Graphic cards can extend the life of your computer by keeping processing quick and increasing compatibility with future programs that may require high graphics power.
  
  

Better Video Playback

• They're not called video cards for nothing. Graphic cards will enhance the performance of videos you play on your computer and keep lagging and freezing during videos to a minimum. Many newer graphic cards also support high definition video.
  
  

Better Game Performance and Compatibility

• If you're a gamer, even the most casual, a graphic card is a must. Most new games on the market won't even play if all you have is integrated graphics; those that do will be buggy or extremely slow. Graphic cards not only get the games to run, they get them to run smoothly. A game that runs at a rate of five frames per second (basically a glorified slide show) with integrated graphics might run at 70 frames per second (about three times the smoothness of a movie in a theater) with a graphic card that has 512 MB of dedicated video RAM.