There are several reasons for upgrading the video card on your PC. Perhaps you're looking to speed up your system, or maybe you want to be able to play full-motion video on your monitor. Regardless of your reasons, you'll find that upgrading your video card is one of the easiest things you can do to improve the speed and performance of your computer.

When upgrading your video, you must first determine the bus type your PC uses. Nearly all Pentiums and many 486-based PC's use the PCI bus for connecting expansion cards to the rest of the system. Most other 486's and some 386's use the older VL-Bus standard, while all other PC's use the original ISA bus introduced by the first IBM PC. Both the PCI and VL-Bus are much faster at transferring data between the CPU and the video card than the older ISA standard, which provides a great boost in performance. Regardless of the bus type you use, you'll find accelerated video cards that can greatly improve the speed of your video (although it's getting harder to find ISA-type cards as time goes by). Accelerated video cards provide much better performance than older frame buffer cards due to the acceleration features built directly into the new video chips these cards use. While these features weren't needed in the old DOS character-mode days, they are a must for decent performance in the realm of graphical user interfaces (such as Windows) that we use in today's world. This combination of accelerated functions and bus improvements lead to performance improvements of several orders of magnitude over even the best video cards of several years ago.

Besides the speed improvements, there have been recent improvements in the features provided by video cards as well. For example, new cards often contain built-in hardware features that let them play full-screen MPEG videos which just wasn't possible a couple of years ago. They can also handle the new Direct X technologies being introduced with Windows 95. Remember the days of the old postage stamp sized videos that we used to watch onscreen? Well, those days are rapidly fading into the past! The newer cards also let you see more colors onscreen that ever before. In the past, running in true color (16.7 million colors) or high color modes (65,536 colors) required compromising video performance. Today, you can run in these modes without a major speed decrease. The same is also true if you want to run in high screen resolutions (above 800 x 600). Cards today can run in 1024 x 768 (or even higher) without much of a performance penalty.

So what should you look for in a video card? First of all, look for a card that uses a 64-bit accelerator chip. These chips handle memory in 64-bit chunks, which improves performance. Secondly, get at least 2 MB of DRAM video memory on the card (less than this compromises both video speed and the number of colors you can display at different screen resolutions). If you're a performance freak, get VRAM memory, rather than DRAM (VRAM is more expensive, but provides better performance). Fortunately, decent video cards that meet these specs are available at prices starting at just a little over $100, so you should be able to get a good card regardless of your budget. Also, make sure that your monitor can handle the refresh rates of your new card. Ideally, you should be able to run at a refresh rate of at least 72 Hz for each screen resolution you wish to use (lower refresh rates can be hard on your eyes). Just make sure that you don't use a refresh rate that your monitor can't handle (in extreme cases, this can physically damage your monitor). Always remember - when in doubt, consult your hardware's documentation before hooking up any new hardware to your system!

Once you buy your new video card, installing it is relatively simple. Before disconnecting your PC, go into Windows (or whatever operating system you use) and set your video to run in standard VGA mode. This will let you get back into Windows after you install your new card without problems (using your old video card drivers with your new card can cause video problems when going into Windows; in extreme cases, Windows may even refuse to operate). After doing this, turn your PC off and ground yourself to remove any static electricity from your body by touching the back panel of the PC (always ground yourself before working with your PC or its components, as static electricity can easily damage them!). Next, disconnect the cables on the back of your system and remove its cover, making note of which expansion slot contains your old video card. Remove the screw on the bracket that holds your old card in place and carefully remove the old video card from its expansion slot, then slide the new card into the vacated slot left by the old card and screw its bracket to your system's case. Remember to handle your new card by its edges and avoid touching any of the circuits on the card itself. Do not force the card into its slot; too much pressure can crack your motherboard, causing an expensive repair. On some systems, the video is integrated into the motherboard itself. On these systems, you'll need to disable the motherboard's video instead of removing the old video card (this is usually done by setting a jumper on the motherboard) before installing the new video card. After the new card is installed, replace the PC's cover, reconnect all its cables, and turn it back on.

After starting your PC, go into Windows and install the video drivers provided by the manufacturer for your card (the generic drivers provided by Microsoft should work OK with your card, but you'll get the best performance by installing the vendor's drivers instead). Once this is accomplished, you can begin enjoying the enhanced performance and other features of your new video card!

Gateway offers this column to its readership as a service, but please note that it is not responsible for the accuracy or opinions of the author and offers no warranty either expressed or implied that the information will produce the desired result.

The information provided in this article is based upon the writers particular experience with certain equipment. Familiarize yourself with the requirements of your local and state electrical code and insure yourself that the work you plan to do does not require a licensed professional. If you decide to attempt to do the work yourself, always exercise extreme caution when working on electrical systems because accidents may cause serious injury including death and damage your computer. If you experience difficulty or do not understand the instructions, please consult a professional in your area.

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