You should disconnect the power cable and all peripherals before removing the side panels. Remove the panel on the opposite side of the motherboard. If you look on the back of your computer you will see a panel on one side that contains a variety of ports, including USB, Ethernet, display ports and more. This is the motherboard I/O panel and will help you see which side the motherboard is located on. You can lay your computer on this side and remove the opposite panel so that you can easily access the motherboard.
There are a variety of sites online that help you calculate power requirements by analyzing all of the hardware currently installed or that you’re planning to install. Search for “power supply calculator” using your favorite search engine. [1] X Research source Your power supply will also need PCI-E connectors. This usually isn’t an issue if your power supply is newer, but power supplies older than 10 years may not have the appropriate connectors. Your power supply’s maximum wattage should be printed on a sticker affixed to the power supply. You may need to remove the power supply to find it.
Refer to your motherboard’s documentation to find the layout diagram. This will help you identify where the PCI-E slots are located. Installing a new motherboard will require that you reinstall your operating system. Note: Most laptops do not allow you to upgrade the graphics card.
Use a tape measure to note both the vertical and horizontal clearance that you have available. Nearly all cards will have their dimensions listed in their product descriptions, allowing you to ensure that it will fit before you purchase it.
The more expensive cards are typically geared towards graphics card overclockers and users who want to use dual- or quad-card configurations. Be sure to read as many reviews as possible before deciding on a card. There are lots of resources online for finding the best performance for your budget. Sites such as Tom’s Hardware will publish comparison charts ranking the current most popular cards in all price ranges, and customer reviews on sites such as Newegg can provide insight into the average person’s experience with the card. Check the system requirements for your favorite games. See what graphics card is recommended to get the best performance out of the games you love, and also keep in mind the needs of future games.
AMD Radeon R9 290X - This is a good all-around card that can run most games at Ultra settings without breaking a sweat. You can usually find these for around $300. The similarly performing Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 can be had for $50 more, though it has lower power usage. AMD Radeon R7 260X - This is a low-end card that can handle most games at Medium to High settings. You can snag this card for less than $120. The similarly performing Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti can be had for $30 more, though it has lower power usage, and does not need a PCIe power connector (advised for PCs with lower-end PSUs). Nvidia GTX 980 - This is one of the best high-end cards at the moment that can handle pretty much anything you throw at it at 1440p. It has a price to match too - about $550 for the EVGA ACX 2. 0 and $680 for the Classified edition. If you are focused on graphic design, look for cards with more onboard memory, such as 3 or 4 GB. These will be more expensive, but will increase your rendering and encoding speeds.
For the best possible quality, you will want to connect via HDMI or DisplayPort. If you want to run multiple monitors, ensure that the graphics card can support multiple monitors with quality ports. You don’t want one monitor on HDMI and the other on VGA, because the VGA monitor will be low resolution and look terrible next to the HDMI one.
The quickest way to uninstall your drivers is to open the Device Manager and uninstall from there. To open the Device Manager, search for it in the Start menu or press ⊞ Win+X and select it from the menu (Windows 8 only). Once in the Device Manager, expand the Display Adapters section. Right click on your current display adapter and click Uninstall. Follow the prompts to remove the driver from your computer. Your display will likely revert to low quality, with large icons and blurry text. Power down your computer after uninstalling the drivers.
Make sure that the open computer is not resting on carpet, and that you are standing on tile or linoleum when working inside the computer. Make sure that the computer is unplugged from the wall before you begin working on the insides.
If your computer was using integrated graphics before (your monitor was connected directly to the motherboard), then there will be no card to remove.
When removing the card, pull it straight up so that you don’t damage the PCI slot. Make sure to disconnect any displayed plugged into the old card before removing it.
You may need to remove the neighboring panel if your graphics card is two panels wide. Make sure no cables or any other components are in the way before completely seating the card.
Many graphics cards come packaged with adapters that will change your existing connectors into ones that will fit into the graphics card.
For best results, use HDMI or DisplayPort to connect your display to your graphics card. If your monitor or card does not support HDMI or DisplayPort, the next best choice is DVI, followed by VGA.
If your monitor does not display any picture at all, you need to troubleshoot your installation. Check to make sure you have the card properly installed and connected. An irregular, jagged-looking or distorted picture might indicate a problem with your graphics card. Check that your card is properly installed before contacting the manufacturer.
Drivers contained on a disc are almost always out of date by the time they are purchased, so you will most likely be asked to update after installing them.
When setting the resolution, you should always try to keep it at your monitor’s resolution. For most flat screen monitors, this is 1920x1080, though newer monitors have a higher native resolution than that. If the game is choppy or otherwise performing badly, start lowering settings one-by-one. Don’t worry too much if your card can’t handle the Ultra settings; sometimes games come out that don’t work right with any card! A game’s performance is affected by more than just the graphics card. Your processor, RAM, and even hard disk speed will all play a part in how the game performs.
