Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Computer hardware |
Founded | 1984 |
Headquarters | Taipei, Taiwan (Headquarters) Munich, Germany (European HQ) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Products | Graphics cards |
Number of employees | 20 (European HQ) |
Parent | Palit Microsystems |
Website | www |
Gainward Co., Ltd., is a computer hardware company which has produced video cards since 1984. Taiwan-based TNC Industrial sold the company to Palit Microsystems in 2005, acquiring the Gainward brand and branch Gainward Europe GmbH for $1 million. [1]
Their graphic cards used to be exclusively based on Nvidia chipsets; however, the company also announced ATI-based graphics solutions after the successful launch of ATI 4800-series hardware, [2] although Gainward does not currently produce any cards from the ATI Radeon range. [3]
Gainward traditionally offers overclockable graphic cards that deviate from the reference specifications set forth by Nvidia, such as their Golden Sample range of graphics cards. These cards are overclocked past their stock speeds and tested before they are sold, to ensure quality for customers. Gainward have had success with their Phantom series of graphic cards, featuring removable fans. [4]
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational corporation and semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets.
Nvidia Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It is a software and fabless company which designs and supplies graphics processing units (GPUs), application programming interfaces (APIs) for data science and high-performance computing as well as system on a chip units (SoCs) for the mobile computing and automotive market. Nvidia is also a dominant supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and software.
Matrox Graphics, Inc. is a producer of video card components and equipment for personal computers and workstations. Based in Dorval, Quebec, Canada, it was founded in 1976 by Lorne Trottier and Branko Matić. The name is derived from "Ma" in Matić and "Tro" in Trottier.
A graphics card is a computer expansion card that generates a feed of graphics output to a display device such as a monitor. Graphics cards are sometimes called discrete or dedicated graphics cards to emphasize their distinction to an integrated graphics processor on the motherboard or the central processing unit (CPU). A graphics processing unit (GPU) that performs the necessary computations is the main component in a graphics card, but the acronym "GPU" is sometimes also used to erroneously refer to the graphics card as a whole.
The GeForce FX or "GeForce 5" series is a line of graphics processing units from the manufacturer Nvidia.
ATI Technologies Inc., commonly called ATI, was a Canadian semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985, the company listed publicly in 1993 and was acquired by AMD in 2006. As a major fabrication-less or fabless semiconductor company, ATI conducted research and development in-house and outsourced the manufacturing and assembly of its products. With the decline and eventual bankruptcy of 3dfx in 2000, ATI and its chief rival Nvidia emerged as the two dominant players in the graphics processors industry, eventually forcing other manufacturers into niche roles.
3dfx Interactive, Inc. was an American computer hardware company headquartered in San Jose, California, founded in 1994, that specialized in the manufacturing of 3D graphics processing units, and later, video cards. It was a pioneer in the field from the late 1990s to 2000.
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AMD CrossFire is a brand name for the multi-GPU technology by Advanced Micro Devices, originally developed by ATI Technologies. The technology allows up to four GPUs to be used in a single computer to improve graphics performance.
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XFX Inc. is a Chinese electronics company that specializes in the manufacturing of video cards, power supplies and motherboards. XFX has its headquarters in Ontario, California, and is a division of Hong Kong-based Pine Technology Holdings Limited, founded by Michael Chiu the CEO Pine Technology Holdings Limited.
The ATI Rage is a series of graphics chipsets developed by ATI Technologies offering graphical user interface (GUI) 2D acceleration, video acceleration, and 3D acceleration developed by ATI Technologies. It is the successor to the ATI Mach series of 2D accelerators.
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Club 3D, founded in 1997 as Colour Power, is a Dutch brand of video cards and digital multimedia products such as TV tuner cards and digital sound cards for PCs, featuring AMD graphics chipsets and technologies.
Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix (VDPAU) is a royalty-free application programming interface (API) as well as its implementation as free and open-source library distributed under the MIT License. VDPAU is also supported by Nvidia.
ZOTAC Technology Limited is a computer hardware manufacturer founded and based in Hong Kong. The company specializes in producing video cards (GPUs), mini PCs, solid-state drives, motherboards, gaming computers and other computer accessories. All its products are manufactured in the PC Partner factories in Dongguan City, China.
Palit Microsystems, Ltd. is a Taiwanese-based company, founded in 1988. It is known for exclusive manufacturing of graphic cards on the basis of Nvidia & ATI graphic chipsets. Palit's factories are found in mainland China, while the offices are in Taipei, Taiwan, a logistics center in Hong Kong, China, and branch office in Germany.