Upgrading Your Graphics Card

Upgrading Your Graphics Card - Essential Tips

Sep.28, 2009 in Computers

When most people consider doing an upgrade to their existing PC buying a new graphics cards often seems the way to go but there are some considerations you need to take into account.

Do You Want To Play The Latest Games?

One of the first things that you’ll need to do is a take a close look at what you use your computer for and at the collection of games that you’ve got. Do you have an older collection of games or are you looking to buy the latest releases?

If most are older games then it could be a waste of money buying a mid to expensive card for a variety of reasons. Remember that the CPU speed is the variable that you’ll need to consider the most. Exercise caution before making a purchase. Buying a powerful new card may be in vain if your processor is simply not up to the task.

Not All Cards Are The Same

You need to keep in mind as well these cards are not universal. That means not all of the ones you buy will be compatible with your system. The type of card you need for a newer motherboard will vary compared to an older motherboard so you need to choose the right one, the different types are; Pci slot, AGP slot and Pci express slot

Is There Enough Memory In Your Computer?

In a lot of cases upgrading your computer graphics will mean a ram upgrade too!

Graphics cards have different amounts of memory and the better (in most cases) the card the greater the memory, and if your Pc only has a smaller amount of system ram then you will run into a big snag as there will be insufficient memory to allocate to your system hardware and installation will either fail or your system will suddenly get much slower than it was before the card upgrade.

Does Your Computer Have Enough Power?

Newer cards drink a lot more power than their older counterparts so you so you’ll need to make plans for this as well, the older the power supply the smaller it may be, and it may only be around 350w plus or minus, so depending on on the number of other pieces of hardware you have attached, this may over strain the supply which can cause system instability. Also don’t forget that many newer and more powerful graphics cards may need an alternative direct power connection so check your cabling before purchase and buy a splitter if your need one.

Will The New Card Fit?

This is one aspect that is often totally forgotten about but some cases will be quite small or the motherboard configuration may be such that a newer card will simply not fit!

Newer cards are much longer than the older varieties as they often need additional space for the larger memory, multiple GPU’s and additional power connectors. With newer cards working a lot harder they tend to generate a lot more heat so onboard cooling has been increase. This tends to lead to a thicker card as well so you may need to move other Pci cards to accommodate a larger graphics card.

A graphics card upgrade is worth doing but don’t just dive straight in, but if you are after the ultimate gaming experience and your computer is over 3-4 years old you may be better off just buying a new one.

For more great advice about computer upgrades visit our business computer support website.