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Installing a Video Card - How To: Basics

2016-03-16
welcome to another episode of how to hear on Linus tech tips today we're going to be doing our first how to basics video are we show you how to install a graphics card into your computer a lot of newer system builders and computer novices can get a little bit nervous when installing a GPU since it can be one of the more expensive parts of your PC but don't worry the process is actually quite straightforward as long as you keep a few points in mind the gtx 980ti VR edition from EVGA provides an industry-leading graphics experience as well as a five hundred quarter inch bay with easy access inputs for your VR device learn more at the link in the video description before you do anything it is vital to make sure that your parts are compatible in terms of both size and power make sure that your case is large enough to accommodate your graphics card particularly if you're going with a higher-end model and that you have a power supply that has both the right connections and can put out enough watts virtually all graphics cards these days use a 6 pin or 6 + 2 pin PCI Express power connector which looks like this some cards might only have one connector while others will have two or even more so verify that your PSU has the right cables before you pull the trigger as far as wattage goes most 500 to 600 watt power supplies from reputable companies can handle one graphics card with no issues but if you'll be running more graphics cards like two or three you might need to look into something more target reviews to see how much your card actually needs sometimes power requirements on spec sheets are vastly overestimated so don't be too disheartened if you only have something like a 450 watt power supply as it may end up working just fine as long as it's a good one there's a great thread on the Linus tech tips forum that covers which makes and models are considered good you can check that out in the link of the description down below so let's get right to it and remember to be careful when handling computer components either use an anti-static wristband or the easier method of just touching a metal part of your case from time to time especially after moving your feet to avoid damaging stuff with static electric city first decide where on your motherboard your card is going to go modern graphics cards can go on a PCI Express x16 slot which are the longest ones on your motherboard in the expansion slot area generally it's a good idea to install the card in the topmost slot that is closest to the CPU to ensure you're running it at full speed but check your motherboard manual to confirm its best use whatever slot your manual shows as being 16x but using an 8 X slot will work fine as well you may not be able to avoid this if you're using multiple cards like SLI or crossfire and that's ok most cases will have bracket covers for unused expansion slots unscrew and remove the covers that correspond with where your card needs to go and then line up the bottom of the card with the slot I recommend holding it by the cooler and avoiding touching the sensitive contacts on the bottom or the traces on the back the slot is keyed so it's impossible to insert the card backwards so don't worry about that push down with a firm but steady pressure on each end of the card until you hear an audible click also notice that once the card is in the retention clip at the end of the slot will help hold it in place some other words have clips that you have to squeeze or push sideways on to release the card with others you can just push the clip down be sure to release the clip if you ever need to remove the card otherwise you could really damage both the card and the board if you try to rip it out once you've got your card in the slot screw it into the case being sure to lift the card a bit as you screw it in so it won't droop later on then find the PCI Express cables attached to your power supply and plug them into the card usually the connectors will be around the cards right hand corner and are keyed to keep you from installing them upside down route your cable up to the card preferably using the cable management holes of your case that is hopefully there and just push the cable in until it clips into place so that's it for the hardware install now it's time to install drivers even if you were not using a standalone graphics card before I strongly recommend using the free display driver on installer also known as ddu a favorite program of ours here at the office to completely remove any remnants of old drivers from your system first as they can cause issues later if not properly removed just run the program which will automatically boot into safe mode select whether you want to remove nvidia AMD or intel drivers and reboot this is a good idea even if you just built a new system as Windows will often install display drivers that are out of date once you get back into windows head - either in video or AMD's website entering your GPU model and operating system and snag the latest drivers don't bother using either the driver disk that came with your card or any drivers from Windows Update as these tend to be out of date by the time you actually install your card run the installation program and select custom installation to tell the system whether you want drivers only or if you want any additional software from Nvidia or AMD wait for it to finish and you're all done open up your games crank up the settings and do your thing Rackspace is a top-tier managed cloud computing company they have dedicated storage options to meet your performance security network capacity and compliance needs they're backed by fanatical support 24/7 365 days a year Rackspace is inviting all of you to their interactive deep dive sessions they take an hour every week or two to discuss the benefits of dedicated solutions and their place in a cloud world they have upcoming events and recorded Google Hangouts available on topics from security to compliance to performance and even cost they typically do three sessions per month and they will also provide you with downloads to reference architectures ebooks and white papers on the sessions landing pages it's live and active participation go ask your questions and interact with them so the next sessions are on moving to the cloud and leaving your VMware deployment behind and stuff like performance requirements improving operational efficiency see details in the video description down below thanks for watching guys if this video is stuck you know what to do but if it was awesome get subscribed hit the like button or even consider supporting us directly by using our affiliate code to shop on Amazon buying a cool t-shirt like this one or with a digital direct monthly contribution to the forum now that we're done doing all that kind of stuff you're probably wondering what to watch next so if this little video movie thing was too simple for you and you're like dude I know how to install a graphics card check out this video up here where we do some more advanced things
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