How-To Remove and Upgrade Your Video Card in any PC

[Nettles]

How-To Remove and Upgrade Your Video Card in any PC




I, nor Cryo-labs, take any responsibility for any harm done to yourself, your computer, your home, your neighbor's home, your neighbor's cat/dog, or anyone/thing else you may have ever encountered if you happen to harm something.



Before we begin, I must ask that you find out what desktop model you have, or more specifically, what interface your Video Graphics Adapter (VGA) has with your motherboard. You can do this by opening your computer up and removing the video card. In order to remove the card, you need to
1) Turn off your computer
2) Remove all cables and cords from your desktop computer
3) Carry it to a well lit area with a table (I use my dining room)
4) If you own a store-bought computer, find the instructions on opening your case, or if you have no instructions and have no idea where to start, shoot me a PM and I’ll help you ASAP.
5) Once your case is opened, find the processor cooling fan and/or duct (should be the biggest thing) and look below it. You should see a board made of the same stuff as your motherboard jutting out at a 90 degree angle. Remove any hardware (screws, plastic, or latch) holding the card to the frame



6) GRAB THE FRAME THE ENTIRE TIME YOU DO 7, 8, & 9!!!!! IF THIS IS TOO DIFFICULT, BUY A GROUNDING STRAP!!!! YOU CAN FIND ONE AT Newegg.com - CABLES UNLIMITED ACC-1400 Anti Static Wrist Strap With Grounding Wire - Retail . THIS WILL PREVENT YOU FROM SHOCKING YOUR COMPUTER AND COSTING YOURSELF HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS. YOU WILL NOT BE HARMED, BUT THE STATIC ELECTRICITY THAT HAS BUILT UP ON YOUR BODY WILL HARM THE COMPUTER. BY TOUCHING THE FRAME, YOU ARE EQUALIZED IN CHARGE WITH THE COMPUTER, MEANING NO CRAZY, HORMONAL ELECTRONS WILL BE HARMING YOUR COMPUTER. You may thank me later by sending cookies! (*cough..cough…chocolate chip*)




7) Remove any power supply source to the card.

It should be a small clamp that rises with a small bit of pressure. Hold the clamp with pressure and pull out. If no clamp, pull straight out. Last but not least, you may skip this step if you find it easier to remove the power supply plug after step 8.

8) Pull card from motherboard. DO NOT SIMPLY RIP THE CARD OUT!!!!!!!!!!! There may be something holding it in place.
You must first unhinge the bracket or unscrew the screw that holds the card in place.

FOR REGULAR PCI SLOT VGA’S:

This is strictly in older computers and store bought… that I know of. You can recognize these cards by the trademark slot type the bottom of the card. These will generally look like your LAN cards, sound cards, modems, etc. Here is a picture of where the PCI video card interfaces with your motherboard.




And this is where your motherboard accepts the PCI card. The RED is the card installed in the slot. The GREEN is an open PCI slot. Again, these slots are used by all sorts of different card types, not just video card.



To remove a PCI card, slide the card out, straight up with a gentle, but firm, grip.



FOR AGP VIDEO CARD OWNERS:

You will know that you have an AGP card by the shorter slot size of the motherboard inlet and different place of the slot in the motherboard and the holder that keeps the card from being accidentally removed. The arrow shows which way you need to push the holder in order to safely remove your card. As you push the holder, gently pull upwards on the card until it comes loose. The slot-holder is unique in placement and will not allow a PCI or PCIe card to slide in easily.






FOR PCI-EXPRESS VIDEO CARDS:


The picture below shows a PCI-Express slot holder. These are a longer slot and generally are in an “up-to-date” computer. To remove the card that is in place, pull this small plastic piece gently toward your processor as you pull the card upwards. It should slide out. If it doesn’t, try pulling the card back and forth. Be gentle, but firm.



The card should be free of the motherboard at this point.


9) Compare the base of your card to the following pictures if you haven’t deduced what type of card you have at this point. The arrow shows the direction toward the metal piece that your monitor hooks up to.

A) The following is a picture of regular PCI video card



B) The following picture is the bottom of an AGP card



C) The following is a picture of the new standard PCI-E card



If you still cannot discern what card type you have, please get glasses, get a buddy, or get help immediately. 

Replace the card doing exactly what you did to remove it, only backwards. Now, grab all the money you were saving for college (just kidding) and go anywhere from computer forum classifieds, to places like ZipZoomFly, or Newegg.com - Buy Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!. No, I don’t advertise for anyone and really don’t care where you go, so no “flamers” or what-not. Buy a better card. If you need help finding out what card you have, shoot me a PM and a picture. The way I do it is download software called Sandra. It works pretty well. As for the card, make sure it is DirectX 9 or 10, and you need a DX10 card if you have Vista and want to play the latest and greatest games. Have fun out there, and don't hurt yourself. I'm Nettles, and this is Cryo-labs.

[dunk3r23]

Thank you help. I'm about to upgrade my video card. Hope this will come handy.