HOW TO: Buy/Install a Graphics Card

[frznmnky]

When it comes to buying graphics cards nowadays i see people going into bestbuy and blowing away an extra 200$. They don't know what to look for, or how much it should be. So i felt like making this tut for you guys, i hope you enjoy it.

THE EXAMPLES ARE MADE IN AMERICAN DOLLARS
When it first comes to buying a g-card (g-card = graphics card for short) you will have to figure out what kind of slot you have. I found a picture and edited a little.



Those are the kind of slots a PC might have. The best go in order from:

PCI-Ex16>AGP>PCI-Ex1>PCI

Your PC will have atleast 3 PCI or more + a Graphical slot. Dont buy a graphics card for your PCI if you have a PCI-Ex16

To figure out which slot you have, you will have to open the side door to your PC Case.

WARNING: Some New PC's have Warranties. There may be a sticker from your side door to your back of the case. They normally can peel off then you can stick back on. Just watch out.

First i am going to start of with the lowest, PCI.

PCI:

The cards made for that now are just lowest of the low. DON'T EXPECT GOOD GRAPHICS. The highest card for PCI I've ever seen was a 6100Geforce from Nvidia.

Well from decending order best to worse

6100 Geforce
5200 Geforce
All other radeon series you can find for PCI are below this. (i.e. Radeon 7000)
OK.... moving on.

PCI-Ex1:

this is were you have 3 PCI(or more) and a PCI-Ex1.
Look for the Following cards, search Google or something don't ask.

descending order:

ATI Radeon x1550
ATI Radeon x1300
ATI FireMV 2400 <---3d modeling card, not for games
Nvidia Quadro4 NVS285 <---3d modeling card, not for games
Nvidia Quadro4 NVS440 <---3d modeling card, not for games
Thats all i could find.
AGP SLOT:

There are plenty of cards for this one, so i am going to post this generation and last generation cards.

For the best gaming: spend $150-$200

Ati Radeon 2600XT is the latest/ best card for it so far. (Direct X 10)
Ati Radeon 1950XT i have no clue were this ranks up against the 2600XT.
Nvidia Geforce 7900GS

Those to cards are for the best gaming you can get on AGP.

For normal everyday gaming. $100 range

Ati Radeon 1600XT
Ati Radeon 2600PRO (Direct X 10)
Nvidia Geforce 7600GT

Lowest of low, everyday computing, no gaming:

Ati Radeon 2400PRO (Direct X 10)
Ati Radeon x1550
Nvidia Geforce 7300GT
PCI-Ex16:

Due to the many existing cards, im doing this generation only. All others are pretty much out dated.

Extreme Gaming (in order least to greatest):
EXPECT TO PAY $200-600....

ATI Radeon 2900PRO
ATI Radeon 2900XT
ATI Radeon 3850($170!)
Nvdia Geforce 8800GTS
ATI Radeon 3870 (similar performance to 8800GT)
Nvidia Geforce 8800GT (similar performance to 3870)
Nvidia Geforce 8800GTX
Nvidia Geforce 8800 Ultra ($800...)
Mid-ranged cards:

Ati Radeon 2600XT (beats 8600GT)
Ati Radeon 2600PRO
Nvidia Geforce 8600GT
Nvidia Geforce 8600GTS

VERY LOW RANGE OR HTPC's OR INTERNET PC'S:
$50-100
Nvidia 8400GS
Nvidia 8500GT
Ati Radeon 2400PRO
Ati Radeon 2400XT
Personal opinion:
Go for mid-range unless you have the money for a high end card. I bought a 2600PRO pci-e16 and was easily over clocked to 2600XT specs. I think i was lucky because i bought an early card and got one with 2600XT core.

If you do buy one to install:

1. Unistall Graphics drivers for current card
2. Turn off PC
3. Insert Graphics card
4. Turn on Pc, and install new graphics drivers (should be on a CD)

Please don't come here and say: "Nvidia beats ATI!!" and dumb stuff like that, if i made an error please correct me.

[Spartan Erik]

Should add in that some graphics cards require more juice (larger power supply) to run than others. Many good graphics cards nowadays have a requirement of upwards of 350-450 Watts

[roctronic]

QUOTE:
When it comes to buying graphics cards nowadays i see people going into bestbuy and blowing away an extra 200$. They don't know what to look for, or how much it should be. So i felt like making this tut for you guys, i hope you enjoy it.

THE EXAMPLES ARE MADE IN AMERICAN DOLLARS
When it first comes to buying a g-card (g-card = graphics card for short) you will have to figure out what kind of slot you have. I found a picture and edited a little.



Those are the kind of slots a PC might have. The best go in order from:

PCI-Ex16>AGP>PCI-Ex1>PCI

Your PC will have atleast 3 PCI or more + a Graphical slot. Dont buy a graphics card for your PCI if you have a PCI-Ex16

To figure out which slot you have, you will have to open the side door to your PC Case.

WARNING: Some New PC's have Warranties. There may be a sticker from your side door to your back of the case. They normally can peel off then you can stick back on. Just watch out.

First i am going to start of with the lowest, PCI.

PCI:

The cards made for that now are just lowest of the low. DON'T EXPECT GOOD GRAPHICS. The highest card for PCI I've ever seen was a 6100Geforce from Nvidia.

Well from decending order best to worse

6100 Geforce
5200 Geforce
All other radeon series you can find for PCI are below this. (i.e. Radeon 7000)
OK.... moving on.

PCI-Ex1:

this is were you have 3 PCI(or more) and a PCI-Ex1.
Look for the Following cards, search Google or something don't ask.

descending order:

ATI Radeon x1550
ATI Radeon x1300
ATI FireMV 2400 <---3d modeling card, not for games
Nvidia Quadro4 NVS285 <---3d modeling card, not for games
Nvidia Quadro4 NVS440 <---3d modeling card, not for games
Thats all i could find.
AGP SLOT:

There are plenty of cards for this one, so i am going to post this generation and last generation cards.

For the best gaming: spend $150-$200

Ati Radeon 2600XT is the latest/ best card for it so far. (Direct X 10)
Ati Radeon 1950XT i have no clue were this ranks up against the 2600XT.
Nvidia Geforce 7900GS

Those to cards are for the best gaming you can get on AGP.

For normal everyday gaming. $100 range

Ati Radeon 1600XT
Ati Radeon 2600PRO (Direct X 10)
Nvidia Geforce 7600GT

Lowest of low, everyday computing, no gaming:

Ati Radeon 2400PRO (Direct X 10)
Ati Radeon x1550
Nvidia Geforce 7300GT
PCI-Ex16:

Due to the many existing cards, im doing this generation only. All others are pretty much out dated.

Extreme Gaming (in order least to greatest):
EXPECT TO PAY $200-600....

ATI Radeon 2900PRO
ATI Radeon 2900XT
ATI Radeon 3850($170!)
Nvdia Geforce 8800GTS
ATI Radeon 3870 (similar performance to 8800GT)
Nvidia Geforce 8800GT (similar performance to 3870)
Nvidia Geforce 8800GTX
Nvidia Geforce 8800 Ultra ($800...)
Mid-ranged cards:

Ati Radeon 2600XT (beats 8600GT)
Ati Radeon 2600PRO
Nvidia Geforce 8600GT
Nvidia Geforce 8600GTS

VERY LOW RANGE OR HTPC's OR INTERNET PC'S:
$50-100
Nvidia 8400GS
Nvidia 8500GT
Ati Radeon 2400PRO
Ati Radeon 2400XT
Personal opinion:
Go for mid-range unless you have the money for a high end card. I bought a 2600PRO pci-e16 and was easily over clocked to 2600XT specs. I think i was lucky because i bought an early card and got one with 2600XT core.

If you do buy one to install:

1. Unistall Graphics drivers for current card
2. Turn off PC
3. Insert Graphics card
4. Turn on Pc, and install new graphics drivers (should be on a CD)

Please don't come here and say: "Nvidia beats ATI!!" and dumb stuff like that, if i made an error please correct me.
UNQUOTE


Thats a good tut for beginners!

[lottab]

Here are 3 things I learned as a noob replacing my g-card for the first time solo.

MOST IMPORTANT...after you power down your machine, go ahead and "pretend" to turn it back on, the geek in town says that releases any stored static from the main machine and wet a washcloth and put it next to you on your leg, before touching anything internal dab your fingertips on it. This will remove any static in your body and whether you realize it or not, there is static and it WILL fry a new card.

Second, not only do the new cards require larger power supplies, they may also require their own 4-plug. My Nvidia has it's own cooling fan onboard and all the attempts and troubleshooting came down to simply plugging it into it's own 4-plug. Worked great after that.

Lastly, I'm told that presently anything over 256 RAM on a g-card is a waste. None of the programs require 512mg (now they tell me) and it's just extra expense for the consumer. OK, there's my 2-cents worth.

[nicmoon]

Lottab - some motherboards hold some power after you turn them, not sure of the exact reason but my best guess would be something with the CMOS. It is like your home town "geek" said a good idea to do this. Also, 256 of video memory is enough if you are not a gamer or video editor (both of these will most likely utilized the extra video ram).

One other thing to mention is if you are trying to upgrade a graphics card on a pc you bought from a retailer (not self-built) is that some smaller form factor machines will have less slots due to the size differential (My dell Micro ATX system has 1 PCI and one AGP slot). These smaller PCs also as stated above have a low end power supply making it difficult to power your new video card. They are also usually tailored especially for that case and will be difficult to upgrade without moving to a different case. The slots themselves will also usually not hold a full size graphics card, making it especially difficult. I myself would not recommend trying to do to many upgrades on a small form factor machine, and would leave the upgrading for mid tower or larger pcs.

Just thought I would mention it to avoid confusion as this is a first timer tutorial. Great tutorial for beginners though.

-NicMoon

[charlies]

roctronic!!! You didn't have to copy and paste that whole post, even if you wanted to, there is a 'Quote' button that maks it a hell of alot better than copy and pasting and writing QUOTE UNQUOTE, plus why did you feel the need to copy and paste that whole post when all you wrote was:

Thats a good tut for beginners!

Theres no substance in that at all!!!
What did frznmnky say???

Please don't come here and say: "Nvidia beats ATI!!" and dumb stuff like that, if i made an error please correct me.

Anyway, I agree about the bit where you were talking about all the computer illiterates walking into a store and grabbing the prettiest looking box off the shelf.

People like that need to get the message that like everything else, you can't just whack any old part into a computer and hope it will work, they're the kind of people that buy their computers from Dell or HP (:thefinger:thefinger)