I want to replace my PC's built in graphics with a card...?

Question

As an amateur What do I do first? Crosses my mind that uninstalling the old graphics first will leave me blind to installation instructions, but not doing so might cause installation problems with the card?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Answer 1

You don't "uninstall" the old graphics, you change the settings in the bios from Integrated to PCI e so that the computer knows it is there.

Answer 2

Most video cards support a low resolution VGA mode without drivers installed so you don't need to worry about being left "blind". The first thing to do is verify what type of video card port your system currently has. Unless your system is fairly old (by computer standards), you probably have a PCI-Express x16 video port and support all current video cards. If it is older, you'll have an AGP (various speeds) and it might be worth considering a new system rather than upgrading components. If you have the PCI Express port, you'll need to consider a few things for the new card.



- Card size. High performance cards can be fairly long and smaller cases may not handle the card length. This doesn't happen often, but it is something to consider. If you have a low profile system, the height of the card can be an issue and your choice of cards can be pretty limited.

- Power Supply Unit (PSU). Mid to high range video cards generally require a 6 pin PCI-E connector and a higher wattage PSU. Check the card requirements and make sure your PSU is adequate. Replacing a PSU isn't a difficult tasks, but it will normally set you back about $70-90 for a decent one.



If you have a dedicated card already in your system, you'll need to physically remove it first. PCI Express ports have a locking mechanism that you'll need to mess with to allow the card to be removed (mine snapped, but it isn't critical if it happens to break...still, try to be careful). Install the new card, connecting the 6 pin PCI-E cable if required. Connect the display cable to the port on the card. Power up the system. You should see the BIOS prompts and eventually a low resolution version of the Windows login screen. At that point, install the video drivers/software suite for the card and follow their instructions.

Answer 3

OK you just need to know what type of card to buy, its going to be one of three types depending on the age of your machine, for really old ones it will be PCI these are hard to come by and your better staying with the onboard one, then there is AGP a different connector type but you can get these most places still. The modern one is PCI-e (For express) these are the latest.



All these card types can simply be inserted in the relevant slot on the motherboard, switch it off open the case and insert it into a compatible slot.



As for unintalling the onboard one i wouldnt bother, it gains you nothing and if the card goes wrong its there as a backup, install the new card put the monitor connector in that and not the motherboard and your done.

Answer 4

"As an amateur What do I do first?"



Posting your computer's specs would have helped. If it's a laptop, you probably won't be able to change your graphics hardware. Even on desktops your choice of card can be limited by your own hardware. You will need a card that matches the graphics slot on your motherboard - AGP for older computers, PCI-e on modern computers (which come in different versions) and older PCI for older computers, or budget systems from the mid 2000's. You also need to know what the output is on your computer's power supply unit - that box with the fan in the corner. Not all PSU's are rated equally, and even a mid range power graphics card will require more than a 350 watt PSU, which is at the high end of what you can expect on a brand name computer.



Most modern computers have integrated graphics - a low power chip on the motherboard. Installation generally involves disabling the graphics in windows control panel - this won't immediately blind the computer. You the shut down the computer, open it up and install the new card. The computer then recognizes the card on start-up. That's a brief summary of what happens - cards do come with instructions.

Answer 5

First, make sure your computer can be upgraded. You will need a PCIe port or an AGP port on your motherboard. Hopefully it's PCIe since that's been the standard for a while. The PCIe or AGP slot is located on your motherboard. You can either research what these ports look like and look at your computer, or you can find out what motherboard your computer has and look it up online.



Next, check your power supply. There are power supply calculators on websites like Newegg.com that will tell you about how powerful they need to be. Newer video cards can draw a lot of power so make sure your computer can handle it.



When you get your card it will come with a driver CD but you will usually just want to go to the card manufacturer's website and download the drivers there because they get updated frequently.



Then, the other guy described the hardware change pretty well. Make sure to read through several tutorials online to make sure you understand what to do.



Good luck!

Answer 6

Here are some things you need to think about before adding a gpu



-Is it a desktop, because most laptops are not aloud to upgrade your computer

-If so open up your desktop side panel and check if you have a pci-e x16 slot.... Google that if you don't know what that is.

-Then check what power supply you have (how much wattage you have) if you have around 450w-500w or more then I'd add a gpu because I wouldn't upgrade a computer if I didn't have around that much wattage or else your computer might not run under load.

-Once you have around that wattage then I'd check and see what your cpu spec's is, how much ram you have, because if you buy the best gpu and have a crappy cpu... Your gpu will be slowed down because of how slow your cpu is... I'm not going to say which one is best for you, you can look around the internet for that.

Answer 7

First, get a good power supply. OEM computers come with a power supply just big enough for what they come with. Upscale video cards use a lot of power, so toss some serious cash at your power supply. $50 should be a minimum you consider spending in this area.



Turn it off, unplug it, install power supply, install video card, put it all back together, plug it in and fire it up. Boot to windows normally with your integrated card. The "Found New Hardware Wizard" will start because windows now sees the new video card. Cancel out of the wizard, then download the latest driver for your card and OS from the chip maker (nvidia or AMD). Don't use the disk that it comes with, just chuck that in the trash. After downloading the latest driver, run (install) it, then when it's all done, reboot. At the POST screen, hit whatever you need to enter BIOS setup (normally DEL key, but not always), go to where you select the graphics, select your slot as the primary (start up) video source, and if you can, disable the onboard. Then unplug the monitor from the integrated, plug it into the graphics card, and restart as normal, and you should be good to go.

Answer 8

Just plug it in the PCI slot and plug your monitor (with the computer off of course). If you have drivers on CD you need to install them or down load them.

Answer 9

You can usually not change your graphics card, but that depends. Some of the newer Laptops can.