How to : Upgrade Your Graphics Card

Upgrading your graphics card is a great way to further improve performance of your PC after you've already upgraded RAM to help out your computer addiction, specially for you gamers out there. If your computer still has integrated graphics, not only is it sharing your processor more than it needs to but it's also sucking up some of your extra RAM that you've just installed. Let's get into it and get it installed!

What kind of graphics card should I buy?!

An awesome one. Seriously, don't skimp. Get a reliable brand, and one a little better than you think you need but there's 2 very important things you need to determine first. The obvious is what kind of expansion slot do you have. You can determine this by removing the case and looking at your motherboard as we discussed in How to : Upgrade RAM. It'll look a little something like this.

 

The most common types are PCI-E and PCI-E 2.0 - if you can't tell from looking in the case(they all look different) then you can always consult your computers manufacturer website and look it up there with your model number. Also take note before you buy a card, some higher end cards require a higher power supply, take note of this and make sure you have an appropriate power supply!

Removal of old card(if applicable)

If you have a graphics card already installed, you will of course need to remove that first. Disconnect everything from the back of the PC and remove all power sources and open the case like we have done prior. Remember, ground yourself on the case and stay off of carpet or other static sources.

After you've located the card you're taking out, there's a small screw holding it to the back of the case. Grab yourself a phillips and remove this first. Some will also require moving a plastic clip out of place at the far end of the PCI slot, after you push it off to the side pull the card straight out. Try to avoid wiggling side to side so you don't break anything on it's way out.

Card installation

Installation is of course opposite of removal, push the card straight into the appropriate slot making sure it is firmly placed and even. Put the screw in on the back side of the card and if it requires it's own power supply, make sure it's hooked up appropriately.

After the card is installed, close up the case hook everything back up and power her on. Chances are your screen will look distorted at this point until the drivers are installed. Pop in your CD that came with the card for the drivers if Windows didn't auto-detect them for you and install everything it has for you. After this is done, restart, and you're done!