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Removing old components and slotting in their replacements becomes second nature once you get into the wonderful world of desktop PCs. Unlike your power supply, motherboard, or storage drive, which you don’t need to upgrade for a long time, the graphics card is almost always one of the first components that gets replaced in PCs.

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For one, upgrading your GPU provides the most noticeable boost to the FPS at high resolutions, assuming the rest of the components aren’t too outdated. Or perhaps you want something cheap to replace your old graphics card with after its untimely demise. Since this process can be somewhat complex for beginners, we’ve created a step-by-step guide to help you replace your GPU.

Before you begin

If you haven’t picked a replacement graphics card yet, there are a couple of things worth keeping in mind. First, you should ensure that your current PSU has enough wattage to support the new graphics card, as trying to pair a high-end GPU with a 450W budget power supply can have disastrous consequences, especially if you’re into gaming. If you’ve purchased a top-of-the-line graphics card from the RTX 4000 series, you may require a 12VHPWR adapter to supply power to the GPU, since the new cards use a different connector than their predecessors.

It’s also a good idea to check your motherboard’s PCI version because you won’t be able to take full advantage of the graphics card’s processing capabilities if you’re stuck on the outdated PCI Express Gen 3 interface. Finally, for those upgrading a GPU released before 2020 with its modern counterpart, make sure your case has sufficient space and airflow, as the more high-end GPUs have become a lot bigger than they used to be in the past.

A render showing the Cooler Master 12VHPWR adapter in black color.

Cooler Master 12VHPWR adapter cable

Uninstalling old GPU drivers

Once you’ve got your new graphics card, it’s time to get started with the replacement procedure. However, before you start tearing your PC apart, it’s a good idea to get rid of the older GPU drivers to avoid running into compatibility issues when you boot into the PC after slotting in the new graphics card. Display Driver Uninstaller is the best tool for this purpose, and here’s how you can use it:

Download the zip file for Display Driver Uninstaller from Guru3D’s website.
Unzip the folder you just downloaded and extract the DDU app to your preferred location.
Head to this location and run Display Driver Uninstaller.exe as an administrator.
Click on the Device option and select GPU from the drop-down list.
Press Clean and shutdown and wait for DDU to remove the drivers and turn off the PC.

Replacing the GPU

With the drivers uninstalled, it’s time to physically remove the old graphics card and add in the new one.

Unplug the PC from the wall outlet and detach the display cables connected to the old graphics card.
Remove the thumb screws holding the side panel in place before setting it aside to gain access to the internals of your PC.
Unplug the power cables from the GPU.
With the help of a screwdriver, remove the screws that secure the graphics card on the PCIe expansion slot.
Push down on the PCIe latch while slowly pulling the GPU out of the PC case until it pops out of the PCIe socket.

Slide the new GPU into the vacant PCIe slot and push it down until you hear the latch click into place.
Secure the graphics card into the PCIe expansion slot(s) using the screws you removed earlier.
Attach all the power cables to the GPU.

For some high-end cards, you might need to attach more than one 6+2 pin power connector. This is also the step where you’ll need to plug in one end of the 12VHPWR adapter into your PSU, and the other 12-pin end into your GPU.
Reattach the side panel and fix it in place using the thumb screws you removed at the beginning.
Insert the display cable into the new GPU and plug the PC into the wall outlet before powering it on.

Installing the new GPU drivers

If the monitor displays the normal UI of your operating system, then you’ve completed the GPU transplant. However, there’s still more work to be done as you’ll have to set up the proper drivers for your new graphics card. We have a dedicated article on how to update GPU drivers, and the procedure is exactly the same even when you’re installing the drivers for the first time. But here’s a short version of the process that works on every graphics card:

Launch your favorite web browser and head to the GPU manufacturer’s support page.
Enter the GPU name in the Search bar and press the Download button after locating the drivers for your specific card.
Run the executable file you just downloaded with admin privileges and follow the on-screen instructions to install the drivers.
Reboot your PC one last time.

AMD, Intel, and Nvidia logos overlaid on a picture of a graphics card

How to update the graphics driver on your PC

Keeping your GPU drivers up to date is essential to get the best performance in the latest games. Here’s how to do it.

Fine-tuning the new GPU for all your gaming needs

An Intel Arc A750 placed on top of its box

Once your system boots up, you can pat yourself on the back for successfully installing the new GPU. The next logical step involves checking whether the graphics card is properly functioning by running your favorite PC games/benchmarking tools and comparing the results with similarly spec’d systems online.

If the performance numbers don’t line up, the other components in your system might be bottlenecking your GPU. In most cases, the processor is the culprit, and you can verify this by checking the CPU and GPU usage metrics via the Task Manager the next time you run a graphically-intensive game. If the GPU utilization is low while the CPU usage percentage remains at 100%, then your processor is holding your GPU from reaching its full potential, and it’s time to outfit your system with a new CPU.