Why does a computer need a dedicated graphics card for high-graphics video games, but can play 4K quality video without one?
In: Technology
I don’t see it mentioned in other comments so I’ll bring it up.
Hardware acceleration.
Playing back 4k video is actually surprisingly hard work for the computer. But the algorithm used is so common that manufactures like Intel, Apple, and Qualcomm (common android CPU maker) have built dedicated circuitry that is really really good at playing video. By contrast, the algorithms used by games are much more generic and thus need the powerful graphics card.
If you want an example of this, watch the CPU usage on an old computer while playing a 4k YouTube video. Older computers still had this video decoder built in, but could only work up to 1080p. Actually experienced this on a buddy’s laptop. It was reasonably powerful and had a 4k screen, but lacked a 4k video decoder. So when we watched a 4k YouTube video, the CPU spiked to 100% and the fans went full jet engine mode as it tried to keep up.
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