Tech Tips

How to Boost Your Computer! (part 1)

by Patrice Krysztofiak

Did you buy a new computer and now the games run slowly!? How is that possible; the vendor said it was the fastest model available! Does this sound familiar to you? Read on!

Most people are unaware of this but when you buy a new computer the video card drivers are not installed! Simply put: the program that communicates between the computer and the screen is not present on the hard drive, and your computer is using the default manufacturer settings to display pictures, and that is usually very slow.

Luckily you can update this driver program for free and boost the overall speed of your computer!
First find the manufacturer of your video card, this can be found in the display properties, or in the manual of your computer. Then find the manufacturer web site and go to the drivers area:

On the PC it's most likely to be one of the following manufacturers :

ATI: http://www.atitech.com/support/driver.html

NVIDIA: http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

Intel: http://www.intel.com/products/browse/chipsets.htm?iid=Homepage+Find_chipsets

Dell Computer: http://support.ap.dell.com/ap/en/filelib/

HP or Compaq computers: http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html
(once you have entered your computer reference, select the 'Software & Driver downloads section and locate the video drivers)

Can't find your driver? contact us and we'll try to help you.

Don't let the driver drive you nuts!

Click here to find what video card is installed in your computer

How to Boost Your Computer! (part 2)

by Patrice Krysztofiak

A common perceived notion is that the computer processor's Mhz or Ghz is directly related to computer speed.

In games, it is not the main factor. In fact, the video card of your computer is what makes a game run fast and smooth. In other words, a game can run faster on a 300 Mhz machine with a good video card, than a 3 Ghz machine with a non-accelerated video card. Luckily, nowadays video cards are becoming very affordable, which means you can boost the overall speed of your computer without having to replace the entire machine. Your computer just needs to have its video card replaced to get a new life!

Of course that's not an easy task for everyone. If you don't feel comfortable doing this operation we recommend that you go to your local computer dealer, who'll be able to help you with the installation.

We'll guarantee that you'll experience a totally new gaming experience!

"Ok but what do I need to ask my computer dealer?"
You need to ask him/her for an upgrade of your video card with a video card that is openGL and Direct3D accelerated. The more memory on board the better. 16 MB is usually very good. The most popular cards are NVIDIA (TNT2, GForce 2 and higher) and ATI (Radeon and higher).

"How much does it cost?"
Depending on the model, prices may vary between $30 US (for a Radeon7x00 or Gforce2) and several hundred dollars for the high-end video card. A $30-$50 video card is more than enough for an excellent gaming experience. Expensive video cards are usually reserved for hardcore gamers who like to play first person shooter games or flight simulators.

You can also read this article for more help.