Upgrading your GeForce graphics card requires partially dismantling your computer.
The GeForce 8800 GTS graphics card or Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is among the most powerful GPUs that NVIDIA offers. The 8800 GTS originally came onto the market early on in 2006. There were two versions of the card. One card that ran on 340 MBs of video RAM and another that ran double the video RAM at about 640 MBs. Upgrading your desktop's graphics card requires partially dismantling your computer.
Instructions
1. Power down your computer. Unplug the power cord from its socket on the back of the computer. Disconnect and remove all external devices. Lay the computer on its right or left side depending on which side the removable side panel is located. Loosen the thumb screws, or disengage the retaining levers securing the side panel in place. Remove the side panel to reveal the inside of the computer.
2. Touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge static electricity from your body before working inside your computer. Locate the graphics card mounted to the computer's rear panel. Remove the single Phillips screw fastening the graphics card in place. Lift up on the graphics card to disconnect it from the connector on the motherboard. Remove the old graphics card from the computer.
3. Place the GeForce 8800 GTS graphics card into the empty slot on the computer's back panel. Match up the alignment notch on the card with the alignment notch on the motherboard connector. Press down on the card until it is firmly connected to the motherboard and the face of the card is flush with the rear panel.
4. Replace the side access panel and any retaining thumb screws, as necessary. Or, simply press down on the side panel until its retention levers snap the panel into place. Place the computer tower vertically and reconnect all cables to their individual sockets on the back panel.
5. Power on your computer and insert the driver installation CD that came with your GeForce card into the CD/DVD drive. Follow the onscreen instructions to install the graphic card's device drivers. Without the proper drivers installed, you may experience low resolution and jumpy video along with a host of other potential issues.
Tags: graphics card, your computer, side panel, 8800 graphics, 8800 graphics card, alignment notch