Skip to main content

What graphics card do I have? How to find out what GPU is in your system

The RTX 4080 in a running test bench.
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Knowing what graphics card/GPU (that's graphics processing unit) you have makes it much easier to know what games you can play. A high-end graphics card will unlock any game you like with advanced settings like ray tracing, while a weaker GPU might leave you unable to even start some newer AAA games. In that scenario, you're going to need an upgrade.

Here's how to find out what GPU you have in your PC, so you know whether what you have is enough, or you need to choose an upgrade from the best graphics cards around.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • A desktop PC or laptop

Check what graphics card you have on Windows

If you're running Windows, the easiest and quickest way to check what graphics card you have is through the Windows Task Manager. The screenshots below are from Windows 11, but the instructions are similar for Windows 10 and earlier versions.

Step 1: Press Ctrl *+ *Alt + Delete on your keyboard, then select Task Manager from the screen that pops up.

Alternatively, you can right-click the task bar and select Task Manager from there. If you right-click the Windows button, you will see a larger menu, which also includes a link to Task Manager.

Find Task Manager in the Windows taskbar menu
Christian Cawley / Digital Trends

Step 2: If your task manager is in its minimized form, select More details at the bottom to unlock the full Task Manager.

Step 3: Select the Performance tab on the left of the screen. This is where you'll find all kinds of information on your processor, memory, storage, and graphics.

Windows Task Manager  Performance tab
Christian Cawley / Digital Trends

Step 4: Scroll down the list on the left-hand side until you find GPU 0. Listed underneath that heading in the left-hand menu will be your graphics card.

If the name is truncated, as in this example, select it and you'll see the full name of the graphics card or GPU in the top right. In this case, we used a small desktop PC, with a standard AMD Radeon Graphics processor.

Graphics cards details in Windows Task Manager
Christian Cawley / Digital Trends

Step 5: If you're interested in learning more about your computer, you can also use Task Manager to look at details of your processor, memory, and storage, by selecting the individual elements along the left-hand side. This can be particularly handy if you're looking to upgrade, or build yourself a new computer.

Find your Mac's Graphics information.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How to find out what graphics card you have on a Mac

You might not be able to upgrade your Mac in the same was as a PC, but if you want to optimize your Mac for gaming, then you'll want to know what graphics card you have. Here's how to find out what it is.

Step 1: Select the Apple icon in the upper-left side of the screen.

Step 2: From the menu that appears, select About this Mac.

Step 3: The window that appears will contain all the basic information about your Mac, including its processor, memory, storage drive, and its graphics card or GPU.

Buying a new GPU for your PC is invariably expensive. As such, it is important to do as much research as possible before committing to buy. Our guide on how to choose a graphics card can help set you in the right direction.

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is a freelance evergreen writer and occasional section coordinator, covering how to guides, best-of lists, and…
How to update Nvidia GeForce drivers
The RTX 3060 installed in a gaming PC.

Whether you're using an older card or have one of the best graphics cards available, having the latest graphics drivers installed is important, and for most Nvidia GPU owners, that means Nvidia's GeForce Game Ready drivers.

New driver releases can offer improved performance and stability, which is why it's crucial to know how to update them and turn a tedious task into a quick two-minute job. But what if something goes wrong with your latest driver? At that point, it's good to know how to uninstall it and start fresh with a new installation.

Read more
How to install and upgrade GPU drivers in Windows 10
Dell Special Edition XPS Desktop RTX graphics card.

If you want to ensure your graphics card runs as fast as possible with all the latest features, it's important to install the latest GPU drivers. Graphics drivers optimize new games and fix bugs, and staying up to date with them can squeeze extra performance out of your card. In this guide, we have a simple two-step process for how to install and upgrade your GPU drivers in Windows 10.

We have steps below for the best graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD.
Before getting started: Identify your GPU

Read more
How to speed up your graphics card
A hand holding the RTX 4090 GPU.

When it comes to PC gaming, the GPU, or graphics processing unit, takes center stage as your primary ally. Responsible for rendering everything visible on the screen, from the user interface to high end 4K videos, the GPU bears the brunt of heavy lifting. To ensure optimal functionality, it's essential to provide proper care.

Even if you have one of the best GPUs you can get, here are some ways to accelerate performance to even greater heights.

Read more