How to Upgrade Your Video Graphics Card

The video card which is inside of your computer is responsible for what you're seeing on your monitor correct now and how excellent your PC games play. Video cards, also known as graphic cards, can come pre-built into your motherboard or may be an actual card that fits securely into a slot on your motherboard. Either way, your video card is extremely important, and becomes a lot more crucial as graphics grow to be much more demanding.

Initial let's talk about what type of video cards there are, and which 1 you should get. Upgrading your present video card has become a very straightforward job simply because it only slides right into a slot on your pc. Your video card can go into one of two slots, PCI or AGP. Probabilities are that your personal computer has both, but which 1 will be the best you ask? By far AGP is the much better technology given that it processes information much quicker then PCI. Unfortunately for those who have a personal computer that was bought just before the year 2000, most likely you do not have an AGP slot, or at least not the fastest. Yes, AGP slots can come in several different speeds too, like 1x, 2x and so on and so forth.

Now which you know about AGP and PCI, you need to learn which 1 your computer can use. Each and every personal computer has a PCI slot, so a PCI video card must be fine for any person, but if you wish to use the quicker and far better AGP technology then you should find out if your computer has an AGP slot. You can do this one of 3 techniques, call your computers manufacturer and ask, read your PC's instruction manual, or open up your pc and appear for a brown slot on your motherboard. PCI slots are usually white and AGP are brown, however it could be various for others computers. So just remember this, a PCI slot is larger then an AGP slot, so for those who have a slot which is smaller then the rest, that is your AGP.

Next we talk about capabilities on your video card, and what they are all about. In case you are a personal computer beginner or novice, then you need to know two crucial issues about video cards. Very first is their memory size, which basically means how much RAM the video card has. The much more the better obviously, but to much may be a waste of money, so just make sure to get the proper quantity for what you program on doing. Second are graphic capabilities, now there are all kinds of technical terms like floating points, pixels and lots of other technical gibberish. If you're a Windows user, all you have to focus on will be the DirectX capabilities. DirectX is the software program employed to procedure the graphics details, so make sure you get a video card that supports the newest DirectX version. Learn what the latest version of DirectX is by going to Microsoft's web site.

Last but not least we move onto installing your new video card upgrade. This is truly the easy component and may be completed by everybody who owns a pc. First you will need turn off your computer and unplug every little thing attached to it. Then unscrew your personal computer case and remove it, exposing the inside of one's computer. If you're installing the video card in an unused expansion slot, then be sure to remove the slot cover on your computers case and save it for future use. If you're replacing your old video card, then you need to unhook any cables that are hooked as much as it, and gently rock it back and forth out of the slot to get rid of it.

When that's all carried out, you are able to pull your quite new video card out of its box, and protective sleeve, and put it into the AGP or PCI slot on your motherboard. Push evenly on both sides of one's video card, to get it securely into the slot. Following that, screw the card into the slot holder using the screw provided, and make certain it is secure. Then if the card has any extra cables that could be needed to be hooked up, like a power supply connector, audio cable or whatever the card demands, then connect them. The best way to hook up these cables, and exactly where they go, must be within the manual that comes together with your video card.

Once those actions are total, just put your computers case cover back on, hook every little thing back up, and you're just about carried out. The last factor you have to do is begin your computer, and when you're at your desktop you should install the video card drivers. These drivers ought to be on a CD or floppy disc that comes with the video card, if not then the card might only call for generic drivers that come with Windows, so no disc is necessary.

You've got now learned the best way to successfully upgrade and install a new video card into just about any computer. Use this knowledge to assist your friends and loved ones have a better PC, and possibly make a couple of added bucks for your self.