Computer Assembly - How To Assemble A PC
Install the Video Card Drivers
There are two types of video cards. Those based on technology made by
NVIDIA and those based on technology made by ATI. The brands are
numerous, including ATI, Sapphire, ABIT, ASUS, Chaintech, Leadtek,
Gigabyte and so on, but the technology comes down to one or the other.
Since both technologies make for excellent video cards, I've included
the steps for each of them describing how I located and installed the
drivers. For the section on NVIDIA, the particular video card model is
a Chaintech GeForce 6600 GT. For the section on ATI, the particular
video card model is an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro. While there are numerous
models within each of the NVIDIA and ATI technology lines, the steps are
pretty much the same for any model. In fact, most NVIDIA models share a
common driver based on the operating system. Same for most ATI models.
The CD's that come in the retail package of the video card can be used
to install the video card driver, with the usual trade-off of
convenience (at least in terms of locating and retrieving the driver)
versus the more up-to-date functionality available in the downloaded
driver. It's unfortunately not possible to assume one is "better" than
another in terms of trouble-free installation and performance. I've had
trouble with both the retail packaged driver on the CD - which is quite
aggravating as you can imagine - as well as a downloaded version, but
not to any chronic extent in either case. I'm not using the CD's since
all things considered I prefer the most current version. However, if
you go with the CD version then it's certainly reasonable to expect that
things will go well.
For a video card based on ATI technology, skip to the section on this
page titled Install The ATI Video Card Driver.
For a video card based on NVIDIA technology, continue on to the next
section titled Install The NVIDIA Video Card Driver.
Install the NVIDIA Video Card Driver
The driver can be retrieved by starting at the NVIDIA home page. I need
the driver for the GeForce 6600 GT 128MB video card. Here is how I
navigated to find them.
|
On the NVIDIA home page, click on "Download Drivers".
|
Click on "Graphics Driver".
|
Click on "GeForce and TNT2".
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click on the OS, "Windows XP/2000" for me.
|
Click on "Go".
|
Click on a download link and save it to a directory on the hard drive.
|
|
|
|
Once the download is complete, navigate to the directory where it was saved.
|
Double-click on the file.
|
Accept the license agreement and click on the "Next" button.
|
Click the "Next" button to use the default location.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The files are decompressed and the driver is installed.
|
Select "Yes, I want to restart my computer now." and click the "Finish" button.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
After the computer restarts, the driver is installed. Skip to the bottom of this page to the section Now That The Drivers Are Installed.
Install the ATI Video Card Driver
The drivers can be retrieved by starting at the ATI home page. I need the drivers for the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB video card. Here is how I navigated to find them.
|
On the ATI home page, click on "Drivers & Software".
|
Select the OS - "Windows XP" for me.
|
Click on "Graphic Driver".
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click on "Radeon Family".
|
Click on "Go".
|
|
|
|
|
The "Driver Download and Installation" page appears. The downloads are available either as one big package listed under "High Speed" connections or as individual downloads listed under "Low Speed" connections. The driver package consists of four parts, the Display Driver, the Control Panel, the CATALYST Control Center and the WDM Capture driver. I downloaded from the "Low Speed" section and placed each download in its own directory. I won't be installing the CATALYST Control Center since it is optional. It provides a more polished user interface than comes with the Control Panel.
If you have an All-In-Wonder type ATI video card then locate the WDM Capture driver where it was downloaded. Install the driver following the Windows XP WDM Capture driver installation steps from ATI. Notice that the computer is not restarted after the capture driver is installed.
Next, or first if you're not installing an All-In-Wonder type video card, locate the Display Driver where it was downloaded.
|
Double-click on the file.
|
The InstallShield Wizard starts. Click the "Next" button.
|
Click the "Next" button to use the default location.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The files are decompressed and the install steps begin. Click the "Next" button.
|
Click the "Yes" button to accept the license agreement.
|
Click the "OK" button for the "tests will be run on restart" message.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The files are quickly installed and this "InstallShield Wizard Complete" window appears.
|
Change to the "No, I will restart my computer later" option...
|
...and click the "Finish" button.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And finally, locate the Control Panel where it was downloaded.
|
Double-click on the file.
|
The InstallShield Wizard starts. Click the "Next" button.
|
Click the "Next" button to use the default location.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The files are decompressed and the install steps begin. Click the "Next" button.
|
Click the "Yes" button to accept the license agreement.
|
Click the "Next" button to install the files into the default location.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The files are quickly installed. I clicked the "No" button for the shortcut.
|
This time, leave the "Yes, I want to restart my computer now" option selected and click the "Finish" button.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Remember above when you clicked the "OK" button for the "tests will be
run on restart" message? It seems that when the tests run on restart,
what happens is the computer reaches the desktop and then the screen goes black for a few
seconds. Then the desktop is visible once again. But no
informational message is given at that time to indicate that the tests
are being run or to otherwise explain why the screen suddenly went black
for a moment. So don't be surprised when that happens.
Now That The Drivers Are Installed
After the restart, things are looking much better. The computer is no longer sluggish and the images look crisp. The Device Manager still looks good, too.
Navigating through the Display Properties as we did when installing the monitor driver shows the results of the install. As before, start by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting "Properties" from the popup windows.
|
Click on the "Settings" tab.
|
Click on the "Advanced" button...
|
|
|
...to see a window like one of these two showing the tabs as they now appear with the video card driver for each make of video card installed.
|
GeForce 6600 GT
|
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
|
|
|
You can take a moment and explore the added tabs if you like. Return to the desktop when you're done.
Back to My Super PC - Home Page
How To Build A Computer. Step By Step Instructions To Assemble. Skip To Any Assembly Step.
Back to My Super PC - Home Page
© 2001-2008, Rob Williams, all rights reserved.
|
|
Parts List [go]
