Do your research before putting your money down. Sites like Tom’s Hardware (tomshardware. com) and PCWorld (pcworld. com) regularly test and provide comparisons for many of the most popular new and upcoming graphics cards. These test results can help you quickly see how all of the available options stack up against each other. Don’t worry about the amount of memory (RAM) the graphics card has. Inflated amounts of memory are often used to make poor cards look more appealing. What is important, however, is the memory bandwidth. This is the speed that the memory can send and receive data from the computer. GDDR5 is the current leader in this category, and will significantly outperform four times the amount of the older GDDR3 memory. [2] X Research source If you have a midrange CPU, you’re likely not going to get the most out of a high-end graphics card. The graphics card is an important factor for performance, but games rely on all of the components in your computer in differing capacities, including the CPU, the system RAM, and even the hard drive read and write speed. 4K gaming is becoming more and more of a reality, but it will require a top-of-the-line graphics card (or two) in order to get satisfactory performance out of your games at that resolution. Keep this in mind if you’re in the market for a 4K monitor as well.
Except in very rare circumstances, it is not possible to upgrade the graphics card on a laptop. Refer to your laptop’s documentation to determine how to upgrade its graphics card if possible. When opening your case and working inside your computer, make sure that you are properly grounded. This will help prevent electrostatic discharge that can damage your computer components. You can ground yourself by using an electrostatic wriststrap, or by touching a running water tap before working in the computer.
There are a variety of power supply calculators online that you can use to enter in all of your components and see the minimum recommended wattage. You’ll want a little more than the minimum to future-proof your computer. Another general rule you can follow is that you typically will want a power supply that supplies double the wattage that your graphics card requires. If you’re installing multiple graphics cards into a single computer, you’ll likely need a power supply that provides at least a kilowatt of power. There is no way to determine a power supply’s wattage without physically looking at it. There is no software that can report the wattage. Nearly all power supplies have a sticker that is clearly visible on the side which will tell your the power supply’s specifications. You can usually just remove the side panel from your computer and visually inspect the sticker. Many of the more powerful graphics cards require one or two 6-pin connectors (PCIe) from the power supply. [3] X Expert Source Yaffet MesheshaComputer Specialist Expert Interview. 22 September 2020. Most newer power supplies should have these cables, but older power supplies will not. You can get adapters to connect to one of the other cables, but you may be better off replacing the power supply anyway if it’s that old.
A graphics card may take up the width of two PCIe bays, but it will only need to plug into one slot.
PCIe and AGP slots are colored differently on the motherboard. AGP is typically a darker color such as brown, while PCIe is usually white, yellow, or blue. There is no standard, however, so refer to your motherboard’s documentation or look for labels next to the slots. PCIe slots are typically located closest to the CPU on the motherboard.
Use a Phillips-head screwdriver to remove the screw that is securing the old card to the case. Unplug any cables connected to the old graphics card. Undo the latch underneath the back end of the old graphics card (PCIe). This latch helps secure the graphics card, so make sure to unlatch it before pulling the old card out. Gently pull the old card directly out of the slot. Pull the old card straight out of the slot. You may have to be firm, but don’t force it out. If you can’t pull the card out, make sure that the latch has been released and the Phillips screw has been removed from the card’s bracket.
Due to the way that the pins are configured, the plug will only fit one way. Don’t force the connection, but make sure that the connection is secure.
Windows will likely boot into a low-resolution mode when starting with your new graphics card. Ignore the prompts to detect the new hardware for now.
Open the Control Panel and select “Programs and Features” or “Uninstall a program”. If you are using Windows XP, select “Add or Remove Programs”. Find your graphics drivers in the list of installed programs. For NVIDIA, this will usually be “NVIDIA Graphics Driver XXX. XX”. If you are removing AMD/ATI drivers, look for “AMD Catalyst Install Manager”. Follow the prompts to uninstall the drivers. For NVIDIA, highlight the driver, click Uninstall, and then follow the prompts. For AMD, highlight “AMD Catalyst Install Manager”, click Change, select “Express Uninstall ALL AMD Software” and then follow the prompts. Reboot your computer after removing the drivers. This will complete the uninstallation process.
Driver files are fairly large (around 300 MB), and may take a little while to download depending on your connection.
You will likely be asked to reboot your computer once the driver installation is complete.
