Installing a New Expansion Card
One of the easiest improvements you can make to your computer is to install a new expansion card. The phrase ‘expansion card’ refers to any of the specialized circuit boards that are inserted into slots in the motherboard. Some examples include graphics (or video) cards, sound (or audio) cards, network cards, and so forth.
There are a couple of reasons why you’d want to replace an existing card. One reason is that the card may have failed (if you keep your computer long enough, sooner or later, the components will fail).
More commonly, cards are replaced because the needs of the user have changed. For example, PC games have become very complex, with their 3-D effects, fluid motion, and so forth.
Gaming enthusiasts need more powerful graphics cards to support the graphical demands of the gaming application. The memory demands of these games can be quite high as well, more than the system RAM can support by itself. Consequently, high-end video cards (also referred to as video adapters or display adapters) incorporate their own onboard memory.
A video card upgrade may also be in order if you plan on purchasing a super high-resolution monitor, or if you are looking to set up dual monitors. In either case, you must make sure that the video card you purchase supports these features.
There is a certain degree of interdependence between your monitor and your video card. For example, monitors are designed to be run at certain resolutions, and you need to make sure that your video card can support those resolutions.
As mentioned previously, the video card is just one type of ‘expansion card’ that is installed in your computer.
Because the video card shares common features with other types of expansion cards, and because it has a few unique peculiarities, we’re going to use it as the basis for our discussion on upgrading expansion cards.
The first step is to determine what type of slot is available on the motherboard. The three possibilities for video cards are PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect), AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port), and PCI Express.
The PCI slot has been around for awhile, but it cannot match the performance benefits of AGP and PCI Express (PCI-E). For backward-compatibility purposes, motherboards will continue to support PCI devices, but the PCI bus will eventually give way to PCI Express.
If your current video card is installed in a PCI slot, you should plan on upgrading to either an AGP or PCI-E video card, if supported by your motherboard. In fact, PCI-E slots come in a variety of ‘flavors’, the most common of which are 1x and 16x. Be sure to check your motherboard documentation before making your video card purchase.
Some of these cards can set you back upwards of $500 – good reason to make sure that you are static-protected when you install the new card. Even a small static discharge that you would not even feel can destroy that $500 video card.
Once you’ve done your research and you have your new video card on hand, it’s time to get started. You’ll need your antistatic wrist strap and a Phillips screwdriver.
Procedure:
1. Before installing your new card, you first need to uninstall the drivers for your current card to avoid any potential device conflicts. Here’s how to do this in Windows XP and in Windows Vista:
a. Windows XP: Right click ‘My Computer’ and select Properties. Under the Hardware tab, click on the Device Manager button. Under the Display Adapter heading, double click on the name of your current graphics card to open up a Properties window. Under the Driver tab, click the Uninstall button.
b. Windows Vista: Go to Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Device Manager. Under the Display Adapters heading, double click on the name of your current graphics card to open up a Properties window. Under the Driver tab, click the Uninstall button.
2. To remove the old card, turn off the computer and disconnect it from the wall. To make for easier access, disconnect the keyboard, mouse, and other peripherals from the back of the case. Remove the case cover, and ground yourself to the chassis with your ESD wrist strap. Remove the retaining screw for your old video card and carefully wiggle the card out of the slot, exerting even pressure on both ends of the card. Set the old card aside, preferably stored in an antistatic bag (if it’s still functional, you can give it away, sell it, or keep it as a backup).
3. Before installing your new card, take a few moments to thumb through the documentation that came with the card so as to familiarize yourself.
4. Next, locate the slot into which your new graphics card will be inserted – either the AGP or the PCI-E slot. If there was no card previously installed in these slots, you’ll have to remove the slot cover from the back of the case before installing the new card.
Most slot covers have a retaining screw, but some cheaper cases have expansion slot covers that snap off and can’t be replaced. So make sure you remove the correct slot cover (position your new card over the appropriate expansion slot on the motherboard and see which slot cover needs to be removed).
5. Handle your new card very carefully as you remove it from its protective bag. Remember to hold the card by the edges of the board; don’t use the heat sink or any other component mounted to the board for support as you install the card. Don’t touch the gold contacts, and be very careful not to damage the fragile components that are soldered to the board as you insert it into the appropriate slot.
6. Align the new card with the slot you have chosen, and gently but firmly push the card into place, using even pressure on both ends of the card. Once the card is fully seated, lock it into place with the retaining system provided on the motherboard, if there is one. Finally, secure the card to the case with the screw from the previously-removed slot cover.
7. If your new card requires power directly from the power supply (as do many high-end PCI-E graphics cards), plug the six-pin connector into the appropriate socket. If your system does not have a matching socket, an adaptor most likely will have been included in your video card package.
8. Before putting the case cover back on, plug your computer back into the wall socket and turn it on. Verify that the fan on the graphics card is working properly. A bad fan or an improper power connection can cause the board to overheat and become damaged.
9. Once you’ve verified the fan is working properly, power down the computer and reinstall the case cover. Reconnect the keyboard, monitor, and other peripherals to the ports on the back of the case.
10. Once your computer is powered back up, the last step is to install the drivers for your new graphics card. The graphics card will have come with a compact disk that contains the drivers and probably some other utilities and applications.
However, the drivers on the included disk are not necessarily the most current drivers available (in fact, many of the CD-supplied drivers won’t work with Windows Vista at all). For this reason, it is recommended that you download the newest drivers for your card directly from the manufacturer’s web site. Follow the download and installation instructions from the manufacturer for your graphics card, and you’re done!
Congratulations on installing your new graphics card! Remember, the procedure we’ve outlined applies to any expansion card you wish to install (though only the graphics card would use the AGP slot). If you prepare yourself in advance by doing the research to ensure compatibility with your system, the installation itself will be a breeze!