The graphics card is a non-essential specialized piece of hardware designed to improve a computer’s ability to handle graphics. The main difference between a graphics card and a CPU are that a CPU is good at general purpose applications while a GPU is designed for similar repetitive tasks. While most PC CPUs have between 2-8 cores a GPU while GPUs have hundred(Nvidia) to thousands(AMD) depending on architecture. GPUs use either the PCIe lanes on a motherboard or a Thunderbolt 3 connection because they require a high speed connection to the CPU, as the GPU does not know what to do without a direct connection to the CPU. The PCIe lanes can also be used for high speed SSDs.
