What You Need To Know Before Buying A New Graphics Cards

By: Mike Mann Click author's name for more of his/her articles

When money is tight it is quite often a good idea to try and invest in your existing systems in preference to purchasing new and this is very much the case with business computer systems because new components are readily available from either local stores or from the many online computer retailers. Upgrading your computer system often starts with a graphics card upgrade but as there is a large price range to choose from you need to ensure you buy the right one.

How Old Is Your Games Collection?

Inititally it is a wise decision to take a step back before making a purchase and ascertaining the level of upgrade that would be most suitable i.e. are you an ardent games player. Find out whether the majority are in 2-D or in 3-D. If the majority are 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.

Remember also that the CPU speed is the variable that you’ll need to consider the most. Do your homework before purchasing. Getting the latest upgrade when you’ve got an older chip in your computer will be a waste since the two won’t be compatible.

Not All Cards Are The Same!

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.The type of card you need for a newer motherboard will vary compared to an older motherboard so you need to choose the right one, the different types are; PCI, AGP and Pci-e.

Do You Have Enough Computer Memory?

Quite often upgrading a graphics card will also mean you'll need to install additional memory as well!

Graphics cards have different amounts of memory and the better (in most cases) the card the greater the memory, and if your computer system only has a smaller amount of system ram then you will run into a big snag as your computer will simply not have enough memory to support your new card and your computer may become vey unstable and crash or your pc will become vary slow.

Does Your Computer Have Enough Power?

Bigger cards draw more power from your computer so you need to take this into account as well, older power supplies may only be around 350w give or take, so depending on what else you have on your pc, this may cause a power drain which can cause system instability. Also don’t forget thatmany of the new breed of graphics cards may need an additional direct power connection so you need to check to see if you have a spare connector (that will reach the card) available.

Will The New Card Fit?

Even some PC tech’s forget about this one as case design does vary from manufacturer to manufacturer or depending on the main board manufacturer, graphic card space may have not been a major consideration when the board was designed so your new card may be too large!
Typically newer cards are much longer and much deeper than older less powerful cards. With newer cards working a lot harder they tend to generate a lot more heat so onboard cooling has been increase. This tends to lead to a thicker card as well so you may need to move other Pci cards to accommodate a larger graphics card.

Graphics card upgrades are worthwhile but does need some planning, but if you mainboard is based on the older AGP graphics standard you will more than likely be better off buying new if graphics performance is what you require.

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