Author: Michael Crider / Source: howtogeek.com
Upgrading your desktop PC’s graphics card can give your gaming a pretty big boost. It’s also a fairly easy thing to do. In fact, the hardest part is choosing the right card right card in the first place.
Your primary choice in graphics cards is between the two major makers of graphics chipsets—Nvidia and AMD.
After narrowing that down, you’ll find that there are lots of card manufacturers making different cards based on either of those chipsets. In the end, there are hundreds of customized models available on the market. You’ll also need check for some basic compatibility issues with your PC. Does your motherboard have the right kind of slot for a modern graphics card? Will the card you want fit in your case? Can your power supply handle a card with higher power demands?Join us as we walk you through figuring those things out, narrowing down your card choices, and then physically installing your new card.
Note: Even though AMD makes both CPUs and graphics cards, you can use graphics cards based on either of the major chipsets on whatever CPU you’re running. In other words, you can run an NVIDIA card just fine on a PC with an AMD CPU.
Step One: Check for Basic Compatibility
Before you go shopping for a new graphics card, you need to limit the parameters of your search to the cards that your system can actually run. This isn’t as big a deal as you might think. If your computer has a free PCI-Express (PCI-E) slot and a decent power supply, it can probably run the lion’s share of modern graphics cards. Let’s start with that, why don’t we?
Make Sure Your Motherboard Has the Right Kind of Slot
Today’s graphics cards all use the PCI-E standard for plugging into your computer’s motherboard. This standardized slot gives high-speed access to your PC’s processor and RAM, and its position on the board allows easy access to the rear of the case, letting you plug one or more monitors directly into the card itself.
Almost all modern graphics cards require a PCI-E x16 slot, and almost all motherboards that feature any full-sized PCI-E slots at all will have one. If you only have an x8-speed slot, that’ll work too, though performance on the most intense games might be a little limited. The important part is that you need a full-sized slot and not one that’s designed for smaller x1, x2, or x4 cards.
The other thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the higher powered graphics cards are wide enough that they take up the space of two slots. If you’ve already got another type of card plugged in next to the slot you’ll use for your graphics card, you’ll need to take that space limitation into account.
Make Sure the Card Fits in Your Case
Most full-sized tower cases can accommodate even the biggest graphics cards. If you have a smaller case (like a mid-tower or compact), you’ll have fewer choices.
There are two primary issues here: card width and card length.
A lot of the higher powered graphics cards are wide enough that they take up the space of two slots. If you’ve already got another type of card plugged in next to the slot you’ll use for your graphics card, you’ll need to take that space limitation into account.
The more thorny issue is card length. While low-end and mid-tier cards are generally short enough to fit most cases, more powerful cards tend to be much longer. And in some cases your available space might be further limited by where hard drives are installed, where cables are plugged into your motherboard, and how power cables are run.
Also some very small PC cases might limit the height of the card you can use.
The easiest way to handle all this is to pop open your case and measure the space you have available. When you’re shopping online for cards, the specifications should list the measurements of the card.
There’s also one more factor to consider: the card’s power inputs. Mid- and high-end cards require a dedicated electrical connection to the computer’s power supply. The plug for this cable is either on the top of the card, or on the end of it (the side opposite the monitor connections). You’ll usually need an extra half inch of so of clearance for this plug, in addition to the dimensions of the card itself.
And speaking of power…
Make Sure Your Power Supply Can Handle the Card’s Power Requirements
You’ll need enough power coming from the power supply unit to feed the the new graphics card, in addition to all of your current computer components.
Most of the time this isn’t an issue—a relatively inexpensive 600-watt power supply can handle all but the most power-hungry graphics card plus all the standard PC components. But if you’re upgrading a inexpensive or compact desktop (or any non-gaming PC, really), you need to check your power supply.
Specifications for graphics cards list their estimated power draw (or consumption) in watts. Make sure your power supply has at least that much available (with a 30-40w safety margin) before making your final choice. If it doesn’t, you need to choose a less powerful card or upgrade your power supply at the same time.
If you’re not sure how much your other computer components are taking up, use this handy online calculator. Find the power draw of other components, add them all up, and see if there’s enough left in your power supply to comfortably operate your new card.
If your current PSU can’t power the card you want, and you can’t upgrade the power supply, you’ll need to choose a less powerful card.
The other thing you need to check is whether you have an available power cable of the right type. Some low-power cards can run from the electricity supplied by the motherboard alone, but most cards need a separate input straight from the power supply.
Check the specifications on the card you’re choosing. If the card needs a separate input, it will require either a 6-pin or 8-pin plug. Some more powerful cards even require multiple connections. Make sure your power supply has the right cables and plug types for the card you want. On many modern power supplies, those plugs are even labeled PCI-E.
If you don’t see the right types of plugs, but your power supply is otherwise powerful enough for your card, you may be able to find adapters (like these 6-pin to 8-pin adapters). There are also splitters (like these that can split a single 8-pin plug into two 6- or 8-pin plugs).
Make Sure You Can Connect a Card to Your Monitor
Of course, you’ll need a monitor that can actually accept the video output of your new card. This usually isn’t a big deal—most new cards come with at least one DisplayPort, HDMI, and DVI connection. If your monitor doesn’t use any of those, adapter cables are cheap and plentiful.
What If I Can’t Upgrade?
If you can’t upgrade your motherboard, power supply, or case to work with the specific graphics card you want, or you’re using a laptop and you want more power than is available, you also have the option of using an external graphics card enclosure. These are basically external boxes into which you can plug a PCI-E graphics card. They have their own power supply and a way plugging into a PC (usually via USB 3.0 or USB-C). Some come equipped with a graphics card already; some are empty enclosures for plugging in whatever card you want.
They aren’t an ideal solution. They do require an extra power outlet and a high-speed connection to your PC. Plus, they don’t offer the same level of performance as an internal card. In addition, these enclosures start…
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