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Updating Video Drivers |
All hardware in a computer system, including the
video card, is controlled by software called drivers. Drivers act as
a connection between the operating system or program and the device
itself. Since each device behaves slightly differently, this is
necessary to allow the same code (such as drawing a triangle on
screen) to run correctly with different hardware.
As many people know, practically no software is perfect when it is
first written. Device drivers are no exception. Upgrading drivers
for your video card can have a number of benefits. It can fix
errors—often seen as system lockups or graphical glitches—and can
improve overall performance—allowing games to run more smoothly.
Sometimes a driver update will even add support for new features or
functionality. Some games might require functionality provided in a
new version of a video card driver that isn't provided in an older
one. Whatever the reason, keeping video card drivers (and all
drivers, for that matter) is a good idea.
Updating video drivers is usually a rather easy process. First, it
is necessary to know what model your video card is and what company
makes it. If you don't know what video card you own, it can be found
within the Device Manager in Windows. Right-click on “My Computer”
(either on the desktop or in the start menu) and choose
“Properties.” In the “Hardware” tab, open the Device Manager. Find
an item called “Display adapters” and click the “+” to its left.
Right-click on the item that appears and choose “Properties.” All
needed information should be shown here.
Now that the video card model is known, the updated drivers need to
be downloaded from the manufacturer's website. The most common video
card manufacturers are ATI (at ati.com) and nVidia (at nvidia.com).
If your video card was made by another company, you can use a search
engine (such as google.com) to find that company's website. Once on
the correct website, look for a “Drivers,” “Software,” or
“Downloads” section. Once in that part of the website, you should be
able to look for drivers for your video card. Download the file to a
place on your computer you can easily find it, such as your desktop.
Most driver downloads are in the form of a program (a .EXE file)
that guides the user through installing the new drivers. So, once
the download is complete simply open the file by double-clicking on
it. Follow each step in the program until installation is complete.
You will likely need to reboot your computer to finish the
installation. |
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