Installing a new graphics card.

Installing a new graphics card. - Printable Version

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Installing a new graphics card. - Greg22 - 2008-08-04

Well guys, I've been using a 64MB(lol) graphics card for the past six years. I've reached the point where I'm having FRAMERATE lag in MAPLETORY. yes, i no, very lulz rite? I've decided to stop blowing so much money on NX and drum equipment, and buy myself a new graphics card. Seeing how a 64 MB card is worth roughly five f'ucking dollars, even a half-decent graphics card should fufill my desire to use boomerang step without freezing my screen for a split second.

Call me a technophobe papaya, but I seriously dread the thought of moving my tower out of it's little corner, unplugging everything, cleaning all the dust out, taking off the case, and replacing the card. I'm not tech savvy at all and I'll probably end up breaking my new card when I try to jam it in to the slot it's supposed to go in to.

I'd like a good suggestion on what graphics card I should get myself. I'm trying not to go over forty~fifty dollars. Oh, and how the hell do I change it.

I know SP's got some srs business computer guys. Thanks in advance. :<

Installing a new graphics card. - Yoorah - 2008-08-04

There are some things to consider first:
1) Does your computer motherboard have a PCI Express slot? If not, what type of expansion slots does it have? (look in the manual/spec sheet for your model, as I assume it was prebuilt)
2) How powerful is your power supply? (again, look it up in the manual or product website)

I quickly looked through Newegg.com, and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102755 seemed like a good buy, if your system is compatible with it. You do need a PCI Express slot and a 400W or greater power supply, however.

Installing a new graphics card. - Bacon - 2008-08-04

If you've been able to live with a 64MB Video Card, I know you're not going to be expecting too much so buying the card Yoorah has linked is going to work out fine for you. Heck, anything with at least 256MB is going to work find for you. Installing a graphics card is already really easy. I'm lazy, so I'll just point you over to a video that guides you through the process. If you don't like the video, just hop onto Youtube and search 'How to install Graphics Card' and you'll get tons of results.

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/howstuffworks/39-how-to-install-a-graphics-card-video.htm

Good luck.

Installing a new graphics card. - Beloved - 2008-08-07

Here's a helpful guide from tigerdirect.com to help you identify what you have available.

Quote:Will Your Motherboard Support the Video Card You're Purchasing? Here's the Answer...

Before you buy - make sure your motherboard is compatible with this video card. For example, PCI Express video cards won't work with motherboards designed only for AGP or PCI video cards, and vice versa. Please read the specifications carefully or call us for expert advice.

Close-Up: PCI, AGP, and PCI-E (PCI Express)

There are 3 types of cardbus slots currently available: PCI, AGP, and PCI Express (PCIe 2.0 is compatible with PCIe slot)

PCI - The most widely used I/O bus, it provides a shared data path between the CPU and peripheral controllers, such as network, display, SCSI and RAID cards. Though limited in terms of performance, they are considered the best value when you upgrade your video capabilities on a PC. The PCI interface can be found and used in nearly any motherboard.

AGP - The AGP slot is next in line of higher graphic performance. It was designed especially for the throughput demands of 3-D graphics. It offers up to 8x improvement over a PCI card, is 32 bits wide and runs at 66 MHz. It provides a direct connection between the card and memory, and only one AGP slot is on the motherboard. The motherboard must be equipped with an AGP bus slot for an AGP card to be compatible.(AGP 1x provided a data transfer rate of 264 Mbytes/sec. AGP 2x is 528 Mbytes/sec. AGP 4x is 1 Gbyte/sec. AGP 8x is 2 Gbytes/sec.)

PCI Express - PCI Express is the newest technology that is superior to both PCI and AGP, in terms of graphic performance. It offers performance as much as 4x faster than the fastest AGP 8X slot. PCI Express connections can support fast data transfer rates, which can be used to connect high-speed devices such as high-end video cards. The slots come in different variations and speeds, such as x1, x4, x8, and x16. Presently, most high-end motherboards meant for design, video production, or gaming come with PCI express slots. To use a PCI Express card, your computer must have at least one available PCI Express slot.

To answer your "im too lazy to unplug + replug all those wires" question, you don't need to unplug them at all. Just unplug the power cord stuck into the back of your computer (top part of the back of ur comp) then remove the lid to ur computer. It's a relatively easy task....so as long as you didn't just shove it in with all the strength you can muster, you'll be fine.