Essential Reading Before You Buy A New Graphics Card
When most people consider doing an upgrade to their existing PC buying a new graphics cards often seems the way to go but there are some considerations you need to take into account because if you get these wrong you may waste your money.
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?. Are you a casual games player that perhaps prefers to save money and buy older or second hand games, or do you want the latest and greatest?
If the majority of your games tend to be older titles then you simply will not need a high end high memory card and will be better suited with a budget card especially in an older system. Surprisingly one consideration you need to take into account is your current processor speed. Exercise caution before making a purchase. If you processor is older then it simply may not have the power necessary to drive a newer card and your purchase will have been in vain.
Does Your Motherboard Support The Card Type?
You need to keep in mind as well these cards are not universal. That means not all of the ones you buy will be compatible with your system. This can be due to a number of differing reasons but the main one will probably the slot type which could be either PCI, AGP and Pci-e so make sure which one is in your system.
Is There Enough Memory In Your Computer?
In a lot of cases upgrading your computer graphics will 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 small amount of RAM then you will run into a big snag as there will be insufficient memory to allocate to your system hardware and installation will either fail or your computer will end up slower than before.
Is Your Power Supply Good Enough?
The larger the card the more power they will generally draw from your power supply so you need to take this into account 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 on the number of other pieces of hardware you have attached, this may lead to excessive power drain which can lead to computer instabilities. Also take note thatmany a majority of the newer cards may need an additional direct power connection so open your case and make sure that a spare connector is not only available, but is also long enough to reach the card.
Is There Enough Space In My Case?
Sometimes a cases internal layout can cause space problems when fitting a new graphics card or the layout out of the main board may simply not be conducive for larger cards and a newer card will simply not fit!
The new generation of cards often have multiple GPU’s or large amount of memory so the tend to be a lot longer than previous cards. 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 the effort but you do need to take account of the above considerations, 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. As with most technical things it is best to take advice from your local Dorchester computer repairs provider who will be best suited to help.
