Upgrading Video Card

Your friend has lent you a latest PC game and you start to play the game on your laptop or desktop computer. But the game is not running smoothly and the graphics are not very clear. What can be the problem? The problem might be the video or graphics card installed in your computer.

The task of upgrading the video card certainly can be done as a do-it-yourself task. You just have to follow some a simple step-by-step instructions. However, if you are thinking of upgrading a laptop, it is suggested that you take the laptop to a computer repair shop, as you will have to disassemble some parts of the laptop. And this task is very difficult for those who do not have a technical side regarding computers.

Laptop Video Card Upgrade

If you want to upgrade the graphics card of your notebook computer, you will have to first find out if the card is actually upgradeable. There are some laptops which may have on board graphics. It is not possible to upgrade such laptops, unless you change the motherboard altogether. In modern gaming laptops, it is possible to upgrade the old card to a new one.

To take out the card which is to be replaced; you have to remove the LCD monitor, keyboard, base of the laptop, and other parts. To preclude any damage to the laptop while doing the upgrade yourself, it is better to ask the laptop manufacturer's technician to do it. If you have a new laptop and some damage occurs during a DIY upgrade task, the warranty may also become void.

Desktop Video Card Upgrade

Unlike laptops, you can easily do the upgrade on a desktop computer. The first step is to determine what type of card is compatible with the motherboard. You can refer to the user manual of your computer for finding out the appropriate graphics card type. Also find out how much graphics you would require for playing the type of games you want to, and then purchase a card accordingly.

The next step is to uninstall the drivers of the old graphics card. For doing so, if you are using Windows operating system; right click on 'My Computer', select 'Properties' option, choose 'Device Manager', and finally 'Display Adapters'. Select the appropriate option for the old card and click the 'Remove' button. Shut down the system after this has been done.

Open the CPU cabinet carefully and locate the video card slot. Take out the computer monitor cord from the old graphics card, remove the screws which secure it, and remove it from the slot. Do not be hard during the removal process, so as to prevent damage to other components. Take the new card and place it into the slot properly. Make sure you do not press it in the slot too much.

Put back the monitor cable and secure the graphics card with the screws. Set up the CPU cabinet and boot the computer. The system will ask you for drivers, which can be installed from the CD that came along with the replacement video card. After the driver installation process is complete, reboot the computer.

This was a general procedure for upgrading video cards on a desktop. Before thinking of making any modifications to computer parts, note that the computer will no more be covered under the manufacturer's warranty.