VRAM (Video RAM) is dedicated memory on your graphics card used to store textures, frame buffers and shader data while gaming. Modern GPUs have 8GB (entry), 12GB (mid-range), 16GB (high-end) or 24-32GB (halo/workstation). Running out of VRAM causes massive frame drops, stuttering and texture pop-in, regardless of how fast your GPU's core is. For 1440p gaming in 2026, 12GB is the minimum; 16GB is comfortable headroom.

What is the difference between CUDA cores and RT cores?

CUDA cores are NVIDIA's general-purpose shader processors — they handle the raster rendering, shaders, compute and most of what makes games run. RT cores are specialised silicon for ray tracing — calculating light bouncing off surfaces. Tensor cores (also separate) handle AI workloads including DLSS. A modern RTX GPU has thousands of CUDA cores (e.g. RTX 5070 has 6,144), a smaller number of RT cores (48 on the 5070) and a small number of Tensor cores (192 on the 5070). They work together but do different jobs.

What is the difference between Hz and FPS?

Hz (Hertz) is the refresh rate of your monitor — how many times per second it can update the image. FPS (Frames Per Second) is how many frames your GPU is producing. If your monitor is 165Hz and your GPU produces 200 FPS, you see 165 FPS worth of smoothness (the monitor cap). If your monitor is 165Hz and your GPU produces 80 FPS, you see 80 FPS — limited by the GPU. The ideal scenario: GPU FPS ≥ monitor Hz, with G-Sync or FreeSync syncing them to eliminate tearing.

What does TBW mean for an SSD?

TBW (Terabytes Written) is the manufacturer's rated endurance for an SSD — the total amount of data the drive is warrantied to write over its lifetime before NAND flash cells start degrading. A typical 1TB consumer NVMe SSD has 600-1200 TBW. A typical gamer writes 20-40 GB/day, which means a 1TB drive lasts 40-80+ years of gaming writes before exhausting TBW. TBW only matters for heavy workloads — video editing, server use, constant downloads.

What is the difference between CL14 and CL16 RAM?

CL (CAS Latency) is the delay in clock cycles between the CPU requesting data from RAM and RAM delivering it. CL14 is faster than CL16 — fewer cycles of wait. But CL only compares meaningfully at the same memory speed: CL14 at DDR5-5200 vs CL16 at DDR5-6000 — the higher-speed CL16 is often actually quicker overall in real-world latency because it cycles faster. For DDR5-6000 RAM, CL30-32 is typical; CL28 is enthusiast tier.

HDR1000 (or DisplayHDR 1000) is a VESA certification meaning the display can hit 1,000 nits peak brightness, with proper local dimming, 10-bit colour and wide gamut coverage (DCI-P3 90%+). It's the level where HDR genuinely transforms image quality — bright sun highlights, deep blacks, accurate sunsets. HDR400 by contrast (400 nits peak, no real local dimming) is mostly a marketing label; you won't see meaningful HDR effect. For HDR gaming, look for HDR600 minimum, HDR1000 ideal, OLED for the best blacks.

What does the suffix 'X3D' mean on a Ryzen CPU?

X3D is AMD's branding for CPUs with 3D V-Cache — additional L3 cache stacked vertically on the chip die. This dramatically improves gaming performance because games access cached data far more often than other workloads. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D and 9900X3D / 9950X3D outperform their non-X3D siblings in gaming by 10-25% at the same core count. Trade-off: X3D chips clock slightly lower for productivity work but win decisively in games.

What is the difference between DLSS, FSR and XeSS?

All three are upscaling technologies that render a game at a lower resolution and intelligently upscale to your monitor's native resolution, giving you higher FPS with minimal image quality loss. DLSS (NVIDIA) uses dedicated Tensor cores and AI — highest quality, RTX-only. FSR (AMD) is software-based, runs on any GPU including older NVIDIA cards. XeSS (Intel) supports both an XMX accelerated path on Arc GPUs and a software fallback on others. In 2026: DLSS 4 > FSR 4 > XeSS 2 for image quality, with the gap narrowing.

Glossary & Reference

PC gaming glossary. — 150+ terms. Plain English. Bookmarkable.

From VRAM to NVMe Gen 5, CUDA cores to CAS latency — every PC gaming term you'll encounter in forums, reviews and spec sheets, explained in the language your IT-savvy friend would actually use.

14 min read
Updated May 2026
Reviewed by Evetech Hardware Team

By the end of this guide, you'll have a permanent reference for the language of PC gaming hardware, organised by category so you can find any term in 10 seconds and understand why it matters when buying.

CPU terms

Everything related to processors — Ryzen, Core Ultra, and the silicon that runs your operating system and game logic.

Term	Plain definition	Why it matters
CPU	The general-purpose processor that runs your OS, game logic, AI/physics.	The "brain" — gaming wants high single-thread speed + 6-12 cores.
Core	An independent processing unit inside the CPU. More cores = more parallel work.	8-core CPUs are the gaming sweet spot in 2026.
Thread	A virtual stream of work. SMT/Hyper-Threading doubles thread count per core.	"16-thread" usually means 8 cores with SMT.
Clock speed (GHz)	How many cycles per second a CPU core executes.	5+ GHz boost is the 2026 standard. Games love high single-core speed.
Boost clock	The peak speed a core hits under load when thermals permit.	Manufacturer headline number — real sustained speed is slightly lower.
All-core clock	The speed sustained when all cores are busy.	Productivity workloads care about this more than gaming.
IPC	Instructions Per Cycle — how much work per clock tick.	Higher IPC = more done per Hz. Newer architectures = higher IPC.
Cache (L1/L2/L3)	Small fast memory on-die that holds frequently accessed data.	Larger L3 dramatically helps gaming — see X3D.
X3D	AMD's 3D V-Cache CPUs with extra L3 stacked vertically.	Best gaming CPUs available. 9800X3D, 9950X3D etc.
TDP	Thermal Design Power — heat the cooler must dissipate, in watts.	Matches cooler capacity. 65W = budget air cooler. 170W = 240mm AIO.
Socket	The physical CPU connector (AM5 for AMD, LGA1851 for Intel).	Determines motherboard compatibility.
Chipset	Motherboard companion chip that adds I/O features and PCIe lanes.	B650 / X670 (AMD) and B860 / Z890 (Intel) are the 2026 staples.
iGPU	Integrated GPU inside the CPU package.	Modern Ryzen + Core Ultra have basic iGPUs — enough for desktop use, not gaming.
SoC	System on a Chip — CPU + iGPU + memory controller + I/O in one die.	All modern desktop CPUs are SoC-style now.

GPU terms

Everything about graphics cards — the silicon that determines your gaming performance.

Term	Plain definition	Why it matters
GPU	Graphics Processing Unit — handles game rendering.	The single most important gaming component.
VRAM	Video RAM — dedicated GPU memory for textures, frames, shaders.	8GB = entry, 12GB = mid, 16GB = high, 24GB+ = halo.
CUDA cores	NVIDIA's general-purpose shader processors.	Headline GPU spec — more = more raster performance.
Stream Processors	AMD's equivalent of CUDA cores.	Not directly comparable to CUDA counts — architecture differs.
RT cores	Dedicated ray tracing hardware on RTX GPUs.	More RT cores = better path-traced game performance.
Tensor cores	AI accelerators on RTX GPUs — power DLSS.	DLSS quality scales with Tensor core count.
TGP / TBP	Total Graphics Power / Total Board Power — wattage.	Determines PSU sizing. RTX 5090 = 575W. RTX 5070 = 250W.
Raster	Traditional rendering without ray tracing.	Still the bulk of game rendering work in 2026.
Ray tracing	Real-time light simulation for accurate reflections, shadows, lighting.	Eye candy that costs FPS. DLSS/FSR offset the cost.
Path tracing	Full ray-traced rendering (every light interaction).	Top-end visual mode. Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2. RTX 5080+ only.
DLSS	NVIDIA Deep Learning Super Sampling — AI upscaling.	Render at lower res, AI-upscale to native. Big FPS boost.
FSR	AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution — open upscaling.	Works on any GPU. FSR 4 narrowed the gap with DLSS 4.
XeSS	Intel Xe Super Sampling — Arc-optimised upscaling.	Works on any GPU; faster on Arc with XMX cores.
Frame Generation	AI-inserted intermediate frames between real frames.	Roughly doubles FPS at cost of latency. DLSS 3+, FSR 3+.
Multi Frame Gen	DLSS 4 — inserts up to 3 AI frames per real frame.	Up to 4x FPS on RTX 50-series.
Reflex	NVIDIA's latency reduction technology.	Cuts input lag. Always-on on RTX cards.
NVENC	NVIDIA's hardware encoder for streaming/recording.	Single-PC streaming killer. 8th-gen on RTX 50.
AMF	AMD's hardware video encoder.	Caught up to NVENC in RX 7000 / 9000.
GDDR6 / GDDR7	VRAM speed standards.	GDDR7 is RTX 50-series. Higher bandwidth = better at high res.
Memory bus	Width of the VRAM connection (192-bit, 256-bit, 384-bit).	Wider bus = more bandwidth. Affects 4K performance.
AIB partner	Add-In-Board — third-party (ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte) versions of the same GPU.	Different coolers, RGB, factory OC. Same GPU silicon.

Display and monitor terms

Monitors are where the GPU's work actually shows up. These terms dominate every monitor purchase.

Term	Plain definition	Why it matters
Resolution	Pixel count (1080p, 1440p, 4K).	Higher res = sharper, but needs more GPU power.
1080p / FHD	1920×1080 pixels — Full HD.	Still relevant for high-FPS competitive gaming.
1440p / QHD	2560×1440 pixels — Quad HD.	The 2026 sweet spot for 27-inch gaming.
4K / UHD	3840×2160 pixels — Ultra HD.	Needs an RTX 5080 or 5090 for high-FPS modern gaming.
Refresh rate / Hz	How many times per second the monitor updates.	165Hz minimum for gaming. 240Hz+ for competitive.
Response time	How fast pixels change colour, in milliseconds.	1ms (GtG) for esports, 4ms-5ms is fine for general gaming.
Ghosting	Trail of previous frame visible behind moving objects.	Result of slow response time. Annoying in fast games.
Tearing	Horizontal line splitting frame in two.	GPU output desynced with monitor. Fixed by G-Sync/FreeSync.
G-Sync	NVIDIA's variable refresh rate tech.	Eliminates tearing. G-Sync Compatible badge covers most modern monitors.
FreeSync	AMD's variable refresh rate tech.	Royalty-free, works on most monitors.
VRR	Variable Refresh Rate — umbrella term.	Always-on for any monitor with G-Sync or FreeSync.
IPS	In-Plane Switching panel.	Best balance: colour accuracy + viewing angles + speed.
VA	Vertical Alignment panel.	Deeper blacks, slower response. Good for movies.
TN	Twisted Nematic panel.	Fastest response, worst colour. Dying segment in 2026.
OLED	Organic LED self-emissive panel.	Best contrast and response. Burn-in risk for static UI.
QD-OLED	OLED + quantum dots.	Brighter than standard OLED. Samsung G6/G8.
HDR400 / 600 / 1000	HDR brightness tiers.	HDR400 is fake HDR. HDR600+ is real. HDR1000 is transformative.
Peak brightness (nits)	Maximum brightness output.	1,000 nits for HDR impact, 400 nits adequate for SDR.
Contrast ratio	Ratio between deepest black and brightest white.	OLED = infinite. IPS = 1000:1. VA = 3000:1+.
Colour gamut (sRGB / DCI-P3)	Range of reproducible colours.	100% sRGB is baseline. 90%+ DCI-P3 for HDR content.
Pixel response (GtG)	Grey-to-grey transition speed.	Common spec for response. 1ms ideal.
Ultrawide (21:9, 32:9)	Wider-than-16:9 aspect ratios.	Immersive for sim/RPG. Some games don't support 32:9 properly.

Storage and memory terms

SSDs, HDDs and RAM — the unsung heroes of fast game loading and smooth performance.

Term	Plain definition	Why it matters
SSD	Solid State Drive — flash-based storage.	10-100× faster than spinning HDDs. Required for modern gaming.
NVMe	Non-Volatile Memory Express — modern SSD protocol.	10× faster than SATA SSDs. Plugs into M.2 slots.
SATA SSD	SSD using older SATA bus.	Slower than NVMe but cheaper for bulk storage.
PCIe Gen 4	4th-generation PCIe lanes. Common in 2026.	7,000 MB/s sequential — fast enough for everything.
PCIe Gen 5	5th-generation PCIe lanes. Premium tier.	14,000 MB/s sequential. Marginal real-world gaming gain.
M.2	Physical SSD form factor (a stick).	The slot on modern motherboards for NVMe SSDs.
2280 form factor	22mm × 80mm M.2 SSD size.	The standard. Some boards support 22110 (longer).
TBW	Terabytes Written — SSD endurance rating.	1TB drive lasts 40-80 years at normal gaming writes.
DRAM cache	SSDs with onboard DRAM for faster random access.	Higher tier. Crucial for sustained writes.
HMB	Host Memory Buffer — uses system RAM instead of DRAM cache.	Cheaper, slightly slower. Acceptable for budget tier.
QLC NAND	4-bit-per-cell flash.	Cheap but lower endurance. Avoid for OS drive.
TLC NAND	3-bit-per-cell flash.	Sweet spot. Almost all good consumer SSDs use TLC.
DDR5	5th-gen DDR memory standard.	Universal in 2026 platforms. DDR4 is dead for new builds.
MHz / MT/s	RAM speed (e.g., DDR5-6000).	6000 MT/s is the AM5 sweet spot.
CL / CAS Latency	Clock cycles of delay per request.	Lower CL = faster, but only at same MT/s.
XMP / EXPO	Memory speed profiles enabled in BIOS.	Without them, DDR5 runs at slow 4800 default.
Dual-channel	Two RAM sticks running in parallel.	2× bandwidth vs single-channel. Always use 2 sticks.
ECC RAM	Error-Correcting Code memory.	Workstation/server use. Not relevant for gaming.
HDD	Hard Disk Drive — spinning platter.	Cheap bulk storage. Not for game install in 2026.
RAID	Redundant Array of Independent Disks.	Multiple drives for speed or redundancy. Enthusiast use.

Networking terms

Internet, Wi-Fi and the metrics that determine online gaming feel.

Term	Plain definition	Why it matters
Bandwidth	Total data capacity per second (Mbps, Gbps).	100Mbps fibre is plenty for solo gaming.
Ping / Latency	Round-trip time in milliseconds.	<30ms is great, <60ms playable. Affects responsiveness.
Jitter	Variance in ping over time.	Low jitter = consistent feel. High jitter = laggy moments.
Packet loss	Percentage of data lost in transit.	>1% causes rubber-banding and disconnects.
Wi-Fi 6 / 6E	802.11ax wireless standard.	Sub-1ms latency to router. 6E adds 6GHz band.
Wi-Fi 7	802.11be — newest standard.	4× throughput vs Wi-Fi 6. Worth it for high-bandwidth users.
5GHz / 6GHz	Wireless frequency bands.	5GHz = better speed/range balance. 6GHz = clearest, shortest range.
Ethernet	Wired networking via RJ45 cable.	Always faster and lower latency than Wi-Fi.
2.5GbE	2.5 Gigabit Ethernet.	Standard on modern motherboards. Future-proof.
Mesh Wi-Fi	Multiple Wi-Fi nodes forming one network.	Covers larger homes. Eero, TP-Link Deco, Netgear Orbi.
QoS	Quality of Service — router traffic prioritisation.	Prioritise gaming over downloads. On most modern routers.
VPN	Virtual Private Network — encrypted tunnel.	Adds latency. Useful for accessing region-locked games.
NAT type	Network Address Translation behaviour.	Open NAT = best for multiplayer. Strict NAT causes connection issues.
Bufferbloat	Excessive buffering in network gear.	Causes ping spikes during heavy use. Modern routers handle it.

Audio and peripheral terms

Term	Plain definition	Why it matters
Driver size	Diameter of headphone speaker element (mm).	40-50mm is gaming standard. Larger drivers = bigger bass.
Impedance (ohms)	Electrical resistance of headphone driver.	16-50Ω = phone/console direct. 80Ω+ needs amp.
Frequency response	Range of audible frequencies a driver reproduces.	20Hz-20kHz covers human hearing. Wider = HiFi.
Open-back / Closed-back	Headphone enclosure design.	Open = better soundstage, leaks audio. Closed = isolation, less natural.
DAC	Digital-to-Analog Converter.	Improves audio quality over motherboard onboard sound.
Amp	Headphone amplifier.	Drives high-impedance headphones to proper volume.
Surround sound	Multi-channel audio positioning.	Real 5.1/7.1 or virtual via DTS:X, Dolby Atmos for Headphones.
Polling rate	How often a mouse/keyboard reports position (Hz).	1000Hz standard, 4-8000Hz competitive. Higher = more responsive.
DPI / CPI	Dots/Counts Per Inch — mouse sensitivity.	400-1600 DPI for FPS gaming. Higher = faster cursor.
Mechanical keyboard	Individual mechanical switches per key.	Better feel, longer life. MX Red, Brown, Blue most common.
Hall effect / magnetic keys	Analog-input keyboard switches.	Adjustable actuation point. Newer tech (Wooting, Razer Huntsman).

Gaming concept terms

Term	Plain definition	Why it matters
FPS (frame rate)	Frames Per Second the GPU produces.	60 minimum, 144+ for high-refresh monitors.
FPS (game genre)	First-Person Shooter — CS2, Valorant, COD.	Same acronym, very different meaning by context.
1% / 0.1% lows	Lowest 1% / 0.1% of frame rates over time.	Determines smoothness feel. Higher = less stutter.
V-Sync	Vertical sync — caps FPS to monitor refresh rate.	Old solution to tearing. Adds input lag. Use G-Sync/FreeSync instead.
Input lag	Delay between physical input and on-screen response.	Sub-10ms feels instant. 30ms+ is sluggish.
System latency	Total mouse-to-photon delay.	NVIDIA Reflex measures and reduces this.
Anti-aliasing (AA)	Smoothing of jagged pixel edges.	TAA / DLAA modern norms. FXAA is fast but blurry.
DLAA	DLSS Anti-Aliasing — image quality enhancement without resolution change.	Best AA quality available, RTX-only.
Anisotropic filtering	Sharpness of textures at oblique angles.	Always set to 16x — costs nothing on modern GPUs.
Texture quality	Resolution of game art assets.	Limited by VRAM. Ultra textures need 12GB+ at 4K.
LOD / Level of Detail	Distance-based asset complexity.	Higher = better visuals at distance, more VRAM/CPU work.
Draw distance	How far the game renders detail.	Open-world games eat CPU at high draw distance.
Bottleneck	The slowest component limiting overall performance.	CPU bottleneck at 1080p, GPU at 4K — usually.
Overclocking	Running components above stock speed.	GPU OC gives 5-10%. CPU OC less common on AM5.
Undervolting	Reducing voltage at same speed.	Lower temps, quieter fans. Common on RTX cards.
AAA / AA / Indie	Game budget tiers.	AAA = $50M+ budget. Indie = small studio.
KDA / K/D	Kills/Deaths/Assists ratio (multiplayer stat).	Common online metric. Not related to KDR cheating slang.
TTK	Time To Kill — how fast enemies die.	Low TTK = tactical (CS2). High TTK = arena (Overwatch).
Aim assist	Controller targeting help.	Required on console. Limited or off in PC competitive.
FOV	Field of View — how much you see.	90-110° typical PC. Higher = more peripheral but smaller objects.

Common acronyms reference

Quick-scan reference for the alphabet soup that fills every PC gaming forum.

Acronym	Expansion	Context
RTX	Ray Tracing eXtreme (NVIDIA brand)	NVIDIA GPU brand since 2018.
RX	Radeon (AMD brand)	AMD GPU brand.
SAM / ReBAR	Smart Access Memory / Resizable BAR	Enable in BIOS for ~5-10% gain.
RGB	Red Green Blue (lighting)	The lights inside your PC.
ARGB	Addressable RGB	Individually controlled LED strips.
AIO	All-In-One liquid cooler	Closed-loop CPU cooler.
PSU	Power Supply Unit	The thing that converts AC to DC.
SFF	Small Form Factor	Mini-ITX builds. Compact, harder to assemble.
HEDT	High-End Desktop	Threadripper / Xeon-W tier.
API	Application Programming Interface	DirectX 12, Vulkan, Metal — game rendering APIs.
VRR	Variable Refresh Rate	G-Sync / FreeSync umbrella term.
UEFI	Unified Extensible Firmware Interface	Modern BIOS replacement.
TPM	Trusted Platform Module	Security chip. Required for Windows 11.
SMT	Simultaneous Multi-Threading	AMD's name for hyper-threading.
BIOS	Basic Input/Output System	Pre-OS firmware. Press Del at boot.
OEM	Original Equipment Manufacturer	Pre-built brands; OEM Windows = limited licence.
HEVC	High Efficiency Video Coding (H.265)	Better-than-H.264 video codec.
AV1	AOMedia Video 1 codec	Next-gen codec; YouTube/Twitch starting to use.
HDR	High Dynamic Range	Wider brightness/colour range than SDR.
HUD	Heads-Up Display	In-game UI overlay.
MMR	Match Making Rating	Hidden skill score in ranked games.
RNG	Random Number Generation	Game's luck/randomness system.

Key takeaways

CPU specs that matter most for gaming: cores, boost clock, cache (X3D for top-tier), TDP.
GPU specs that matter most: VRAM amount, CUDA/Stream cores, generation. Don't compare cores across generations.
Monitor: Hz, response time, panel type (IPS/OLED), HDR tier, VRR support. 165Hz IPS at 1440p is the sweet spot.
Storage: NVMe Gen 4 for OS drive, larger Gen 4 or SATA SSD for game library, HDD only for backup archive.
RAM: DDR5-6000 32GB dual-channel with EXPO/XMP enabled. CL30-32 is normal, CL28 enthusiast.

Frequently asked questions

What does VRAM mean?
Video RAM — dedicated GPU memory for textures and frame buffers. 8GB entry, 12GB mid, 16GB high-end, 24GB+ halo. Running out causes massive frame drops.
What is the difference between CUDA cores and RT cores?
CUDA cores handle raster rendering and general compute. RT cores are specialised for ray tracing. Tensor cores handle AI / DLSS. All three work together but do different jobs.
What is the difference between Hz and FPS?
Hz is monitor refresh rate. FPS is GPU frame output. You see the lower of the two. Ideal: GPU FPS ≥ monitor Hz with G-Sync/FreeSync.
What does TBW mean for an SSD?
Terabytes Written — endurance rating. A 1TB drive at 600 TBW lasts 40-80 years of gaming writes. Only matters for video editing or server use.
What is the difference between CL14 and CL16 RAM?
CL is clock cycles of delay. Lower = faster, but only at same MT/s. CL16 at DDR5-6000 often beats CL14 at DDR5-5200 in real latency.
What is HDR1000?
VESA cert meaning 1,000 nits peak brightness with proper local dimming, 10-bit colour, wide gamut. Real transformative HDR. HDR400 is marketing.
What does the suffix 'X3D' mean on a Ryzen CPU?
3D V-Cache — extra L3 stacked vertically. Boosts gaming 10-25% vs non-X3D. 9800X3D, 9950X3D are top gaming CPUs.
What is the difference between DLSS, FSR and XeSS?
All three upscale low-res render to monitor native res for higher FPS. DLSS (NVIDIA Tensor) > FSR (AMD software) > XeSS (Intel). Gap is narrowing in 2026.