hardware (VRAM) Fast memory designed for storing the image
to be displayed on a computer's
monitor. VRAM may be built
accessed sequentially.
VRAM must be fast enough to supply data to the display
electronics at the speed at which the screen is scanned. Thus
for example, for a
resolution of 1280x1024 eight-bit
would need to supply 1280x1024x70 = 90 Mbyte/s or one byte
every 11 ns. The VRAM may be
dual ported in order to allow
the display electronics and the
CPU to access it at the same
time.
In an
IBM PC the VRAM is located on the display interface
card and 0.5 - 2 MB is typical.
(2001-02-14)