Upgrade a graphics card

Don’t navigate away from the manufacturer’s website yet. Once the driver has been downloaded, it will be necessary to refer to the manufacturer’s instructions on how to install it correctly. This may involve uninstalling the old driver first.

If the installation instructions aren’t provided on the download page itself, check elsewhere on the site ­ – the support section or FAQs (frequently asked questions) would be a good place to start.

Unplug and play
Keeping graphics drivers up to date is good practice and can have many performance advantages, but ultimately you’ll always be limited by the graphics card itself. This means that if your computer’s gaming performance still isn’t up to scratch, you may need to upgrade to a completely new graphics card.

And it’s not just gamers who can benefit from a new graphics card. Graphics hardware affects everything you see on your screen. Windows Vista makes use of a graphics card to display its flashy new Aero desktop effects, so these can be disabled if the computer has an older card that’s not up to showing them. Plug a better graphics card into a computer in this situation and the animations and transparency effects will appear.

Whether or not you should upgrade depends largely on what graphics card you already have and what you intend to use your PC for. If you don’t play games and Vista is running happily, then we wouldn’t recommend changing. On the other hand, those with older or integrated graphics cards and who want to play games should certainly consider adding a new card.

If upgrading to play games, however, be sure to check that the rest of your computer is up to scratch first. Take a look at the requirements for a recent game and make sure that your processor and memory are suitable ­ if they’re not then simply fitting a new graphics card may not have the desired effect.

Fitting in
Before we go any further into upgrading, we should point out that if you own a laptop PC, then upgrading the graphics hardware is almost certainly out of the question. Due to the way that laptops are built, it’s more or less impossible to get inside the computer and replace the graphics chip.

It’s a lot easier for desktop PC owners. Upgrading a standard desktop PC simply involves whipping out the old card (or disabling an existing integrated graphics chip) and popping in the new one.

The first thing to do when upgrading is establish whether or not you need an AGP or a PCI Express card. If you have the documentation that came with your PC handy, then this may provide information about the type of graphics interface inside your system. Otherwise you’ll need to physically open up the computer and have a look for yourself. As a general rule, AGP slots are found on older PCs and are often a different colour to the other slots on your motherboard ­ often orange or brown as in the picture on page 52.

There are also some variations within the AGP standard, with the main difference being the voltage used. Newer 1.5V cards won’t work in older 3.3V slots and vice versa. If your computer is more than a few years old ­ and in particular if it has a Pentium 3 processor or older ­ then visit www.snipurl.com/88skb for more details on AGP slots.

Most desktop PCs made in the last few years should have PCI Express slots. There are several types of PCI Express slot, and it’s common for computers to have a couple on their motherboard. Graphics cards need a PCI Express x16 slot like the orange one shown above­ if replacing an old card then use the same slot, or otherwise look for the longest slot.

The right replacement
Once you’ve identified the right interface, it’s time to pick a new card. Unfortunately, choosing a new graphics card to buy can be a bit of a headache, mainly because graphics card names tend to be full of letters, numbers and jargon. It should, however, be fairly easy to establish whether a card is compatible with PCI Express or AGP from either the product name or from hardware specifications listed either on the packaging itself or the product web page if you’re buying online.