Graphic Card Upgrades – Mistakes To Avoid
Upgrading your computer system often starts with a graphics card upgrade but as prices vary immensely you need to ensure you buy the right one.
What Do You Use Your Computer For
Before you go diving straight in it would be a sensible idea to assess your actual needs, for example do you play games?. Do you have an older collection of games or are you looking to buy the latest releases?
If most of them are 2-D models, you’ll get the most from the graphic cards that are on the market today without needing the more expensive 3-D acceleration. Remember that the CPU speed is the variable that you’ll need to consider the most. Take care here before you buy anything. Getting the latest upgrade when you’ve got an older chip in your computer will be a waste since the two won’t be compatible.
Not All Cards Are The Same
You may not be aware but people are often caught out by the different card slot types available, simply put if you get the wrong one it will not fit in 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; AGP – Pci, and Pci-e
Does Your Computer Have Sufficient Memory?
Quite often upgrading a graphics card will also mean a computer memory upgrade too!
Graphics cards will be available with different gpu’s and varying amounts of memory, and if your Pc only has a pretty small amount of onboard memory then you will run into problems as there will be insufficient memory to allocate to your system hardware and installation will either fail or your pc will become vary slow.
Does Your Computer Have Enough Power?
Newer cards drink a lot more power than their older counterparts so you need to be aware of this as well, the older the power supply the smaller it may be, and it may only be around 200w or there abouts, so depending on if you have already added additional hardware to your system, this may over strain the supply which can cause system instability. Also take note thatmany newer and more powerful graphics cards may need an additional direct power connection so you need to check to see if you have a spare connector (that will reach the card) available.
Is My Case Suitable?
Even some PC tech’s forget about this one as case design does vary from manufacturer to manufacturer or the layout out of the main board may simply not be conducive for larger cards and 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. Equally many will have larger fans to keep then cool as they work harder so check in your case to make sure there is enough space above and below the graphics slot.
A graphics card upgrade is worth doing but don’t just dive straight in, but if you have an older AGP based motherboard and want to play the latest games then you may be better investing in a new computer.
For computer help visit the Dorchester Pc Repairs website.
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