How computers show graphics under the hood.

Source: Dev.to

Introduction

I thought computers just show image files like PNG format on the monitor directly, but after some investigation I was impressed by the complexity of the process.

Early terminology

The term Computer Graphics appeared for the first time in the 1960s. Researchers wanted to represent visuals on the computer mathematically. It meant everything on the monitor except text and symbols.

Rendering pipeline

1. CPU

The process starts with a task being sent to the CPU.

2. VRAM

After that, the CPU generates some mathematical instructions, which get stored in VRAM (memory like RAM but for the GPU—its function is to store instructions and data for the GPU to execute).

3. GPU

The GPU then executes the instructions in parallel after going through a couple of processes.

4. Monitor

Finally, the GPU sends data to the monitor for each pixel. The process of lighting each pixel according to the data differs from one monitor type to another.

Closing thoughts

By the way, that’s not everything—it’s just a simplification of the process. I hope I helped you understand it. I think it’s kinda impressive. What do you think?