How to guides to help you upgrade your Computer
Next, remove the new card from its anti-static bag and line the card up with the slot. AGP slots tend to be brown and set back from the PCI slots, whereas PCI-E slots are longer and tend to be black. Push down on the card until it sits firmly within its slot. Push the plastic catch up on the slot to further secure the card.
Secure the backing plate by screwing it firmly to the case. Check that the card cannot move and that the fan on the GPU is clear of obstructions such as floating cables.
Finally, check whether or not your new card requires an additional power source. Some of the more powerful PCI-E cards have a square four-pin power connector slot, so you may need to purchase an additional cable to convert a molex connector if one hasn't been bundled with your graphics card.
Finally, replace the sides of your case and reconnect the cable to your machine.
Boot up your PC and make sure that the POST and Windows splash screens are displayed. This indicates that your card is installed and functioning correctly.
If the display does not show first power down and recheck the card connector as this may of become knocked if yhe system case had been moved.
Once Windows has started, you may be prompted to install drivers for your new card. You may be best cancelling this dialogue and then running the installation program on the driver CD that came with your card. This will install the drivers as well as giving you the option to install other bundled software such as tweaking utilities or DVD playing software.
Once you have installed the new drivers and rebooted, you should be able to reset your desktop resolution by going to the desktop, right clicking, selecting properties and then heading to the Settings tab. You should also visit the manufacturer's website and check for newer drivers, as these will offer optimum performance and iron out glitches with previous driver versions.