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129 Comments
- Homerr, on 06/12/2009, -1/+6721. Check that your PSU can handle the new video card.
- Wuss, on 06/12/2009, -7/+72In summary..
1. Check slot
2. Check wallet
3. Buy fastest card that fit slot
4. Profit - Darkhacker, on 06/12/2009, -2/+49God ***** damn it. Not only do they do the annoying multi-page crap, but they make it impossible to directly link to the print-page. If you don't have the right referrer, you get redirected to the multi-page hell.
Normally I'm more sympathetic. I see other diggers complaining about multi-page articles, but I tend to let it go if the article really is very long and there's a lot of content on one page, but this kind of crap where each page is only a paragraph long makes me want to stab the web developer's eyes with a rusty fork. - trutek, on 06/12/2009, -2/+37"power down computer"
pish posh, real geeks hot swap video cards! - inactive, on 06/12/2009, -3/+35it's not 2007 anymore - time to find a new joke. a card that runs crysis very well will cost around $100
- Nephersir7, on 06/12/2009, -6/+30One page http://www.extremetech.com/print_article2/0,1217,a ...
- MxM111, on 06/12/2009, -4/+25This is the most stupidest article that I have seen on EXTREME tech. (note "extreme" part, if you have missed it. This is not the site for granny who never saw the computer).
FTA "With a budget set, get the most powerful GPU, with the largest amount of onboard memory, you possibly can. "
No dammit. Go for the nicest graphics on the box! And the more red it has in it, the better! - trizzleatl, on 06/12/2009, -0/+20I was very surprised they left this critical piece off the list.
- Jektal, on 06/12/2009, -0/+20Use a drill to make yourself a kickass pair of earrings.
- krisrm, on 06/12/2009, -1/+20And, in reality:
1. Check internet.
2. Check wallet.
3. Damn. - c0mputar, on 06/12/2009, -0/+19You think you need to replace 2x8800GTS? What are you running? Real-life at full quality?
- inactive, on 06/12/2009, -0/+18Number 1 tip - don't cut off part of the video card to make it fit.
- t4m5t3r, on 06/12/2009, -2/+19do these guys know anything about PC's?
only into the article a few paragraphs i spot this little gem,
"With a budget set, get the most powerful GPU, with the largest amount of onboard memory,"
This is the hallmark or someone who knows just enough to be dangerous , What it should say is IGNORE onboard memory as it doesnt matter for *****, its all about the GPU (and half decent card will have a min of 512 anyway, thats plenty!), but then a few more paragraphs in i realise who ever wrote this doesnt know ***** about computers, i dont doubt they could mabey build one, but then it is just lego with the power supply!!im pretty sure i could teach a monkey to build a PC. (and if you dont beelive me, look it up, its more work to install the OS than put the hardware together!like i said, LEGO)
this made me laugh out loud,
"Power down the computer and unplug the power cord before you proceed. That way, if you accidentally brush up against the power button while you're working inside the case, you won't turn on the computer. That would be a bad thing—you don't want to be digging around inside the computer on a live motherboard. "
WHAT? power button or not the PCI-E or AGP slot will be live, so that should simply say, unplug the power, because its retarded to work on an electrical device while its plugged in!
heres a must know tip,
If your fitting a new graphics card do not read any part of this article, i saw ***** in pretty much every section of this!! - asgardshill, on 06/12/2009, -1/+160. Disregard this entire article if you have a notebook. You can't update your graphics card.
- Animan351, on 06/12/2009, -0/+12 " With a budget set, get the most powerful GPU, with the largest amount of onboard memory, you possibly can. The more muscle you get now, the longer you can wait before your next upgrade. "
This is a noob mistake to do and they didn't even mention the possibility of SLI. The rest seems mostly okay (they also skipped talking about power supply's though) , but all in all this was a useless article and will point some in the wrong direction. Apparently you should stick with reading your computer tech on Tom's website as they seem to actually know what they're talking about most of the time. - inactive, on 06/12/2009, -6/+1821. Realize that if you own a Mac you are pretty much screwed. But hey, it's still shiny, right?
- Giac, on 06/12/2009, -0/+12especially if your gonna do SLI/Crossfire
- jer21, on 06/12/2009, -0/+10It's called the minivan: Two in the front...FIVE IN THE BACK!!!
- sockpuppets, on 06/12/2009, -2/+12KHHHAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!
- robbob, on 06/12/2009, -0/+8Tom's Hardware Graphics Card chart is my gauge on if I should upgrade and which one I'll be eying in the future.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/graphics-cards, ... - bloodhound01, on 06/12/2009, -0/+720 must know tips on 20 different pages with 20 bullet points per page!
- BedPost, on 06/12/2009, -0/+7Personally, I hold on to my old hardware. I mean, I generally ride it to the point of no-return (i.e., it'll sell for maybe $20), so eventually I'll use it as A.) A replacement, or stand-in if something breaks B.) a piece for testing (tends to be a lot of overlap between A and B) or C.) I use it, in conjuction with a bunch of other old parts, and put together a second desktop. Run it as a server, or a second PC for a friend to play on (I know, it seems kind of weird, but it's way more fun than you'd imagine). Or, you could build an old PC and give it to a friend in need.
- Yarkz, on 06/12/2009, -0/+7I also went wtf when reading this, now expect some extra sales of old cards still using GDDR2 with 1 GB of memory.
- xcrico, on 06/12/2009, -1/+8Here is the article:
Maybe there are statistics, maybe there aren't, but we're willing to bet that in the computer enthusiast space, the most-upgraded part of any self-respecting system is the graphics card. That's probably doubly-true when it comes to geeks like the ExtremeTech staff that have at least one computer built especially for gamin—which means we upgrade graphics cards religiously..
The graphics market is ever-evolving, and our computers evolve right along with it. There are few feelings worse than that sense of desolate jealousy you get when you drop a brand-new video card into your system only to read—usually the very next day—an announcement of a newer, better card.
Not long ago, we presented you with a big batch of hints for when the inevitable time comes that you have to swap out your computer's motherboard. Now it's time for a similar piece, but this time we're focusing on upgrading the graphics card for your system.
The rules are the same: This is not a tutorial, a how-to, or a here's-exactly-what-you-do. The Internet is chock full of such articles. Rather, this is a collection of handy tips that to compliment such tutorials and make them that much easier. Continued...
Before you even begin to upgrade your computer's graphics card, you have to procure its replacement. Thus, our first set of tips is about choosing the perfect card for your impending upgrade. Remember, this isn't a step-by-step, so here, in no particular order, are our tips.
Depending on the age of your current system, be prepared for the worst. If your computer hasn't been upgraded in several years, you might need to upgrade lots of other parts simply to facilitate a graphics card upgrade. While there are a few AGP cards still available on the market, you'll likely want to upgrade to a PCI Express graphics card. If your motherboard doesn't have a PCI Express X16 expansion slot, you'll have to upgrade the motherboard—and therefore, the CPU and very likely the memory as well.
Set a budget before you pick out a graphics card. That way, you won't get carried away and spend more money than you actually have. The budget should take into account the current state of your finances, and also what level of graphics prowess constitutes an upgrade for you. If your last video card cost $100, you might be able to spend a similar amount for a performance boost; if your last one cost $600, get ready to spend a bundle.
With a budget set, get the most powerful GPU, with the largest amount of onboard memory, you possibly can. The more muscle you get now, the longer you can wait before your next upgrade.
Factory overclocked cards can be nice, but are sometimes overrated. They're generally more expensive than cards that run at performance specifications. Do lots of research to ensure that any cost difference is worth it in terms of a performance boost.
Brand should be your last consideration, in most cases. Unless you've had terrible luck with a particular brand and wish to avoid it, go with the brand that offers the best price for the particular GPU you wish to add to your system. Continued...
The tips that follow assume you have a graphics card on that you're planning to insert into your system, after removing the currently-installed card. There are always some steps you should take before you actually perform the physical upgrade, and doing so will make the whole process go more smoothly.
Download the latest drivers for your new graphics card's GPU. Save the file somewhere to which it's easy to navigate (the desktop, or the Downloads folder in your user directory).
If you're interested in before and after performance scores, run a few benchmarks before you pop the old card out. While the proof is in the pudding and the biggest indicator of your new card's performance will be how fast it runs current games with detail settings cranked up, it's still nice to be able to quantify the boost in performance.
Uninstall the current drivers before you power down the system to remove the old card. Purging the system of old drivers will help keep bloat to a minimum.
Remove any overclocks before you remove the old card. Set the CPU, FSB, RAM and graphics subsystems to run at spec. If you wish to overclock your system, do it after you've installed the fresh hardware. Continued...
Now it's time to actually open up the computer and swap out the old hardware for the new. Here are some hints to make your efforts more successful.
Power down the computer and unplug the power cord before you proceed. That way, if you accidentally brush up against the power button while you're working inside the case, you won't turn on the computer. That would be a bad thing—you don't want to be digging around inside the computer on a live motherboard.
Get the cables out of the way before you remove the old card. Lots of current PC cases feature the power supply mounts on the bottom of the enclosure, and the CPU power cable might run right atop the graphics card. Unplug it and tuck it in somewhere. Unplug the PCI Express power cables from the old card and get them out of the way, too.
Don't forget: Lots of motherboards have locking clips on their PCI Express X16 slots. There's a release lever somewhere along the slot (usually on the side opposite the expansion bracket). Don't force the old card out of the computer or you can break the locking clip; trip the release and remove the old card gently.
Store the old card in a safe place, preferably in an antistatic bag. Save it as an emergency backup card in case the new one arrived broken or dies before its time.
Sometimes it's easier to connect PCI Express power cable(s) to the new card before you actually insert the new card into its expansion slot.
Dress any cables safely away so that they don't block the new card's fan from spinning. If you're installing multiple cards, check all the fans to ensure all cables are clear.
Power up the computer and observe the new card's fan before you close the case. Make sure it runs freely. Continued...
You're almost done, but there are still a few steps left in the process and, therefore, we have a few more tips to give.
After you power the system on and the OS loads, cease any automated driver installation routines. Launch the driver installation file you downloaded before you made the physical swap.
After you've installed the drivers, go into the driver applet and make any settings you wish. For example, be sure to enable CrossFireX/SLI, if applicable, and tweak any performance settings you wish.
We tend to leave most of the settings such as antialiasing and anisotripic filtering up to application settings, but that's up to you. Force any settings you feel like forcing, but remember any tweaks you make so that you can reverse them if something goes awry.Check the GPU temperature within the driver applet's appropriate page. Ideal temperatures vary from one GPU to the next, so do your research and see what the GPU should read at idle and make sure it's not overheating.
Finally, burn in the new graphics card before you start playing games. Grab 3DMark Vantage (or 3DMark06 if you're running a pre-Vista Windows OS) and set it to loop a demo. Observe it periodically, allowing it to run for at least an hour, and watch for any unwanted graphics artifacts. Another good burn-in program is Furmark
If all seems well, launch your favorite games and blast away! See how high you can set their detail levels and still achieve a playable experience. You'll enjoy playing your old games with new graphical splendor—have at it! - WELLDOITLIVE, on 06/12/2009, -0/+6Well how else are you supposed to fit it in a slimline case?
- Kylde, on 06/12/2009, -0/+6they'll sell like hot cakes on eBay, I'll take 'em off ya :) Not everyone is cutting-edge (1 X 4350 here for blu-ray HDMI)
- Wuss, on 06/12/2009, -0/+6That's why Step 2 is before Step 3. See how much money you have, then buy the fastest card you can afford. If you're budget makes you go the "best bang for your buck" route, then adjust accordingly. ;)
All of this is a moot point anywhoo, all cards drop half in price and half in drool factor after 6-8 months. - chaos7, on 06/12/2009, -4/+10the fastest card isn't always the best buy
- Zarokima, on 06/12/2009, -0/+6Caveat: the screw fixtures are okay. My GTX 260 overlapped the screw holes, and a little filing fixed that with no side effects.
- gamben0, on 06/12/2009, -0/+5That's the worst advice I've ever heard.
- HCProgramr, on 06/12/2009, -1/+6*In a Deadpool-imitation voice*
Shh! My common sense is tingling!
Should be called "Don't f*** with your computer's innards if you don't already know these things"... - miggyb, on 06/12/2009, -0/+5We prefer the Old Yeller method of upgrading, thank you very much.
- antoniuk, on 06/12/2009, -0/+5That's nothing, I had to build a wing on my house to handle my video card. We had to petition the local utility company for 6 months to have a feed off the citiy's main so I had enough power to run this.
I had to register as a Class 1 hydro electric plant to get the cooling necessary to keep this thing running.
But damn if I can not run crysis at 69 FPS - uzair21, on 06/12/2009, -2/+7Haven't heard a joke like that for a long time.
- gamerbambi, on 06/12/2009, -3/+8Defrag your computer goddammit!
***waits for angry digg replies** - scubachef11, on 06/12/2009, -0/+5Is that some kind of new version of the shocker in your article thumbnail? One and one with an extra punch?
- Raptor007, on 06/12/2009, -0/+5And performs less, too. (720p rendering is lame, console fanboys.)
- nevinl, on 06/12/2009, -0/+4nor should you if you are playing MP
- scubachef11, on 06/12/2009, -0/+4beautiful
- Scrappy1850, on 06/12/2009, -1/+5bookends
- non00b, on 06/12/2009, -0/+4or if you don't play games
- BedPost, on 06/12/2009, -0/+4For the love of god people - make sure it actually fits in your case. Let me tell you, my Radeon 4870 is literally 1/4" from my HDDs. It's an uncomfortably tight fit.
- FritoPendejo, on 06/12/2009, -0/+4I think this is some kind of web site framework because I see this crap elsewhere. Note the redundant "Continue" and "Next Page" links.
- inactive, on 06/13/2009, -0/+4#1 - Research the idle and load temps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't turn your room into a sauna. - amorrise, on 06/12/2009, -0/+4No pagination at the bottom either so you can't really skip around
- highwayman14, on 06/12/2009, -0/+4This article suffers from the same issue that so many do. There are roughly 300 words per page and at least 5X as much crap in the form of ads. Does anyone else get tired of teeny bits of info immersed in a sea of crap (advertisements)? It seems the bandwidth and page loading times are going to hell to support absurd amounts of ad space per page. After 5 or so ...continue... the routine gets tiresome. Hey, here's a thought-give us a decent amount of info per page. If you can't, due to financial issues, you're doing something wrong.
- dvs1313, on 06/12/2009, -1/+5very misleading article, lets go back to 2003 please where graphics ram counted for performance.
While high amount of graphic ram seem awesome, most cards over 512mb use older technology ie. gddr2 instead of gddr3 or gddr5
The faster the ram the better, if you can get ddr3 or ddr5 graphic cards with over 512mb of ram do it but dont think that that alone plays a big part in performance
All that fast and huge amounts of ram mean nothing if it cant be accessed at the same time, the higher the bit on the card the better I have a 9600GT 512mb GDDR3 256-bit, I used to game at 1280x1024 resolution which it packed plenty of heat for but when I just recently bought my 23 inch widescreen 1920x1080 i saw big slow downs, not enough to ruin the game or force me to turn down the eye candy but it defiantly wasnt pumping out the same ridiculous fps as it was.
Avoid anything with a 128-bit or lower, 256-bit should be a minimum to go by, 256-bit is good enough for most resolutions.
Old graphic cards like most AGP cards relied on pixel shaders the higher the number, the more pixels it could process at once, the same goes for todays Stream processors, my 9600GT only packs I think 64? usually when it comes to Nvidia cards the higher the better but ATI cards work a tad different as they use some different rendering methods but usually the same rule applies, the more stream processors the more it can process a second.
The article is rubbish just follow my short guide, find the best balance of all these factors within your budget and your good to go as long as you have a power supply to handle this new graphic card. - Raptor007, on 06/12/2009, -0/+4SLI rule of thumb: If you can buy two cards for $X each, you will get much better performance from a single card that costs $2X. Later, when that card reduces in price, you can toss in a second card for cheap SLI.
The only reason to go with SLI in a new rig is if you're filthy rich and want two of the highest-end card. Otherwise, find a single card that fits your budget. - Delta32521, on 06/12/2009, -0/+4http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.j ...
or
http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.ht ... - jason80, on 06/12/2009, -1/+5Uhm no, that was you.
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