What is the GPU actually doing?

I have build a new computer system recently, it's a HTPC. And i have a Solidworks 2011 student edition (licensed) laying around, so i installed it and it runs perfect. I also have an old FX 3400 graphics card laying around so i installed it with Solidworks drivers, and it did not run perfect..the computer got laggy, stuff started freezing up and all. But all of that is not the problem, i know this happens because this old card isn't supported very well, drivers are old, OS,DX and openGL are not compatible etc etc. I did notice when i was running Solidworks with the graphics card, parts with "chrome" selected as material really looked like chrome and not matt grey like it did when i was running SW without the graphics card. So what exactly in a graphics card creates the “realistic appearance”?



My HTPC appears to run Solidworks like a clock, i want to use my HTPC for viewing small parts and assembly's and i am considering to buy a new graphics card to support the HTPC when playing games like Anno and Settlers AND make the chrome parts in solidworks look like chrome



Now which specifications does my new graphics card has to have to take care of the chrome?



Since I found out simple solidworks tasks seems to do great on my dualcore 2.6Ghz without a graphics card i am wondering what the FX4000 cards I use at work are actually doing, which solidworks tasks are taken care of by the CPU and which tasks are taken care of by the GPU? When I am moving parts around really fast or doing picture renderings and simulations the CPU seems to take care of all the work?!



Specs:

Processor : Intel G620

Motherboard: Asrock Z68 ITX/HT

Memory: Kingston 1333MHz Cl7

SSD: OCZ Vertex Plus 60GB

The video card is mostly applying textures, shaders, etc.

In your case most probably the integrated Video function of the Intel G620 do not have all the OpenGL functions required by solidworks. Your old FX 3400 probably has those functions since it was a OpenGL graphic card designed for such usage

Their site lists which video cards are compatible... mostly highend graphic cards that have full opengl support