Display Adapter Driver (VGA)

A Blog About Display Settings - Download Drivers

2008-04-16T07:25:00.000-07:00

This Blog is for everyone out there using a computer. I would try to make my post as much non-technical as possible, but if you need some clarification please get back to me with a comment or an email or an off-line message...

When you are buying a computer you try to buy a Good Graphic Card and the Good Monitor you can buy with the money available. In most cases the Mother Board has the Graphic Card integrated into it and you might have bought a CRT or TFT/ LCD Monitor.

After getting your computer, do you check weather the graphic card and monitor are configured optimally to give the best display resolution? The answer would be No in most of the cases. Let me explain you why.

In 99% of the cases in assembled computers I don’t see the drivers of the Monitor Installed. It would be installed and configured as a Generic Color Monitor. So if your monitor supports better refresh rates or resolutions your System would not be knowing that and hence wont try to display those resolutions and refresh rates.

If I ask you where you should configure your resolution, most of you would have an answer, but if I ask you where to change the refresh rate I am sure very few would have the answer. When you right click on the desktop and select Properties and go to the settings tab you would find a slider to set your resolution.

If you click the advanced button and go to monitor tab you would see the drop down list to select the refresh rate. Higher the refresh rate less strain for your eye. So go ahead and select the highest value you see there. Sometimes your display would go blank when you select a refresh rate which is not supported by your monitor don’t worry, just wait for a minute and your Graphic card would reset the refresh rate to the older value. Now you can select the value which is lesser than the highest value until you find your monitors highest supported value.

Installing the latest drives for your Graphic Card and Monitor would improve the quality of the Display a lot. So keep checking the website of the manufacturers once in a month to find any updated drivers.

If you need any further clarification please get back to me.

About the Author:

Author: Sunil Saripalli
Blog: http://cybergurus.wordpress.com

Are You A Pc Gamer And Want The Best Out Of Your Graphics Card?

2008-04-16T07:20:00.000-07:00

by: Stephen Hames

Introduction

In this article you will learn how to get the most out of your graphics card by installing new drivers and tweaking Windows. The guide is based around Windows XP Professional Edition but you can use the same guide to tweak other Windows operating systems.

Step 1.

The first thing you need to know what graphics card you are using. The most popular graphics card companies are nVidia and ATi. Both these companies have an excellent range of products and offer excellent service. Once you know what graphics card you are using, then head over to the companies website where you can download the latest drivers.

Drivers are software that runs your graphics card, printer or scanner correctly. Being up to date with drivers will help solve issues that may arise with modern PC games. Just recently I had to update my drivers to fix a problem I had with a game I recently purchased, and this solved my problem.

OK once you have downloaded your drivers for your graphics card make sure you create a restore point using the utility System Restore. This can be done my click Start-> Programs-> Accessories-> System Tools and then System Restore. Then follow the on screen instructions to create the restore point. By doing this it makes sure that if a problem occurs after you installed the new drivers, you can return to the restore point to see if the problem is the drivers you installed.

Once you’ve finished creating your restore point, you need to install your drivers. This can done by double clicking on the file you downloaded and then you follow the on screen instructions. After you’ve installed your drivers you will have to restart Windows so the changes can take effect.

If everything goes according to plan you should see an increase in performance in your games and you will not need to go back to your restore point. If you do have problems, use your restore point to go back and fix the problems. If the problem persists, then contact the company that made your graphics card.

Step 2.

Make sure you have the latest version of DirectX. This can be done by going onto the Microsoft website http://www.microsoft.com and searching DirectX. Once you’ve downloaded the latest version, you will need to create another restore point. One person I know installed the latest version of DirectX and then had problems afterwards, and because they didn’t create a restore point they couldn’t fix the problem and so they needed to reformat their computer to solve the problem. Again to create a restore point, go to Start-> Programs-> Accessories-> System Tools and then System Restore.

Once you’ve created the restore point install the latest version of DirectX by double clicking on the file you just downloaded. Follow the on screen instructions and once you’ve finished you will have to restart your Windows.

Step 3.

In this step I will guide you through tweaking Windows XP. The first step will be changing the performance of Windows, to do this right-click on My Computer and then Properties-> Advanced-> Performance-> Settings and select ‘Adjust for best Performance’.

The next step is to change your Themes, so right-click on your desktop and select Properties. Under the Themes tab set your theme to Windows Classic.

I hope that’s helped you. If you have any problems or comments please contact me at steve.hames@gaming-archive.com

About The Author

I run a small PC gaming website called Gaming Archive. I'm currently a student in England studying ICT.
steve.hames@gaming-archive.com

Choosing A Graphics Card

2008-04-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

by: Kadence Buchanan

To the uninformed consumer, buying a new graphics card can be a daunting task. There are literally hundreds of different aspects to consider when buying a new card, and we've composed this article to help you find the graphics card that best suits your needs and your budget.

- The first major thing to consider when purchasing a card is the type of chip that you want. The main two companies that market graphics card chips are NVIDIA and ATI, and pretty much every graphics card available features a chip from one of these two manufacturers. The chip of the card is of utmost importance; different graphic cards with the same type of chip often feature similar performance levels.

- Next, you're going to want to consider the amount of memory that your future video card will have. The more RAM that is in a graphics card, the more it can process, giving it more speed and smoother transitioning.

- You're also going to want to consider the possible multimedia applications of your future card. TV-out is one type of feature incorporated into graphics card that is commonly sought-after. TV-out compatible graphics cards allow you to hook your computer up to your television, allowing for the viewing of movies and other general purpose features shown on your TV screen. Another feature that is gaining popularity in the graphics card world is dual-head support. Dual-head support allows for you to use two separate monitors side-by-side with your windows tool-bar stretching across the two screens.

- When it comes to spending money, you can get a sub-par graphics card for less than $70. However, those who are looking for a decent graphics card that can hold its own for a few years to come, you're probably going to want to spend around $200. Top-of-the-line graphics cards are available and are priced upwards of $600. While the chips are cutting edge, they're usually not too much more noticeably efficient than those priced slightly lower. Performance will increase, without a doubt, but you won't see the same kind of effects as opposed to buying a $300 chip over a $150 one.

Now that you know more about graphic cards, you can more easily find one to suit your needs while sticking to your budget. Only buy the features that you find necessary; you can spend a lot of extra money unnecessarily by being coaxed in by bells and whistles.

About The Author

Kadence Buchanan writes articles for http://1st-computers.net/ - In addition, Kadence also writes articles for http://igolfcentral.net/ and http://yoursciencesource.com/.