In Computer graphics, a Swap Chain is a series of framebuffers utilized by the graphics card or graphics API in an immediate mode graphics processing environment for frame rate stabilization and several other functions. The swap chain usually exists in graphics memory, but it can exist in system memory as well. The first framebuffer, the screenbuffer, is the buffer that is rendered to the output of the graphics card or a variety of other locations for further processing depending on the environment the client application is running in. Each time new frame is displayed, the next buffer in the swap chain takes the place of the screenbuffer, this is called presentation or swapping. A variety of other actions may be taken on the previous screenbuffer; it may be erased from memory, or returned to the front of the swap chain for further processing. The action taken is decided by the client application and is API dependent.