Video card:
Your computer has an integrated video card but has a "PCI Express" expansion slot for an upgrade. After the upgrade you will be able to play most games without the choppy frame rate...depending on what card you buy.
Since you have
Nvidia chipset and all, I would try to get a video card that is also
Nvidia. When picking out the card, make sure it is
PCI Express. I buy my computer parts from
newegg.com...good pricing, fair return policy and fast delivery. I have easily spent a few thousand there just in the past year, never a problem. Just remember that you get what you pay for.
Read the installation instructions that come with the video card and follow them. Sometimes they have you
preload drivers before installation and also contain other specific warnings.
Now the fun part of installing that new shiny video card. First of all
unplug the computer from the wall and then hit the power button to drain the capacitors. You will notice your lights will come on very briefly and then go off. This is an important step that most will overlook or not do.
Next you need to make sure you have no static buildup on yourself. It may sound a tad funny, but I never wear socks or work on carpet when getting inside a computer. One little static shock can fry many components, which are not cheap to replace. The "correct" way to get rid of static is to wear one of the wristbands that ground you to the computer, I personally have never used one.
With that said, lets move onto the actual installation of the card. First remove all
peripherals so you can move the case around easily and lay it on its side.
Next you want to remove the case cover, this will usually require a phillips screwdriver.
Now you want to locate the
PCI Express expansion port, your owners manual should have it labeled in a picture of the motherboard. If it doesn't, you can easily pull up a picture of it on
google prior to
disassembly.
When you find the expansion port, you will notice that the back of the case (inline with the expansion port) is most likely blocked with a easily removable plate or metal from the case that can be bent back n forth to snap off.
Depending on which
video card you purchase, you might have to take 2 slots off. Some video cards take up two case slots, 1 to let the VGA/DVI connection on card to exit the case and the other for a vent. Remember this step, very important. But you have nothing to worry about if.the card only takes up one rear slot.
There also might be screws in the same area you had to remove the blocking plate, remove them and don't lose em. Other types of cases have weird contraptions to hold cards in their slots, just make sure the path is clear for the card to fit.
Now you are ready to put your video card into the computer. There is only one direction the card will physically fit...the right way. If you have to force it, your doing something wrong. The connectors to hook monitor up should be facing the back of case. Once the card is firmly seated, you should now put the screws back that you took out from the previous paragraph or use the "contraption" that might be present. This will stop the card from falling out of the slot or shifting around.
After that is done, now you need to hook up the power leads from your power supply (aka PSU). The
PSU is the little box that has all the wires coming from it going to each device inside your computer. It is also where you plug the main power cord from wall/surge protector into your computer on outside of case. You need to find the lead that fits to your new video card and plug it in. It might be labeled, or it might not be...50/50 chance. If it is labeled it will be something like "PCI-E" or a voltage that your card requires, the instructions will explain it in more detail. I have seen 4 pin connectors and 6 pin. I have also seen a 4pin and 2 pin snap together to make a 6 pin, your instructions will let you know what it needs.
By now you should have the card installed, power hooked up to it and have it secured onto the case so it doesn't move around.
Now you need to look at your monitor cord. Where it plugs into the motherboard, do a visual to see if the connector is compatible with your new video card. The odds are that it won't. This is where the little adapter that came with your video card comes in, It converts a
DVI connector to VGA. It is pretty self
explanatory, it is just a go-between the monitor connector and video card.
Now you are ready to put your computer back where it usually sits and hook up the mouse, keyboard, monitor and whatever else you have connected to it. I usually leave all non-essential devices disconnected until the installation process is 100% done to rule out possible problems, but it is your discretion.
After that is done then plug the main power cord back in.and turn the computer on. Pay attention to what happens or what doesn't happen.
If all goes well, you should be greeted with a low resolution desktop image. All this means is that the correct drivers are not installed yet. If you did not
preload the drivers/software this is the time to do it. Place the CD/DVD that came with the video card in and install away. You might be
prompted for a reboot afterward. If you are, when the computer reboots your resolution should be a lot better. This is when you go into your graphic options for your operating system and set the values for things like resolution and
DPI settings for fonts. If it went how I said it would...you are done!!
The following is if it didn't go as planned.
Most motherboards automatically turn off the
on-board graphics card when an upgrade is installed, but there are the few that do not. If it did not automatically do it, you have to go into the BIOS and disable "integrated" or "on board" graphics manually.
To get into the BIOS:
When the computer is booting up the Logo will come up for the maker of computer, this is when you
repeatedly hit the correct button on keyboard. Now the correct button is different from computer to computer. Your computer manual should outline how to do this. My computer is the DEL key. After you change the setting, make sure you pick the option of "save" or it will discard your setting changes.
If that fixed your problem, then just continue with the above directions that started with "If all goes well, you should be greeted with a low resolution desktop image".
If this did not fix your problem, then you need to
re-look at your installation of the card. If your new video card has dual monitor support, then plug your monitor into the other spot on card and try booting up again. If that doesn't do it, then you need to reopen your case to make sure it was correctly installed. Make sure the card is firmly in its slot and that the power is properly connected. If you are still having problems, make another post here to ask for help, I'd be happy to help.
While it looks like a lot typed out, it should not take you that long to do. For me it takes under 5 minutes to install a video card, if it is your first time, I would guess about 30-60 minutes.
Okay, now for the networking. I can not get into many specifics on this because I do not know exactly what operating systems you are trying to network or what exactly you are networking.
I am guessing you meant you have a
Linksys "Router" not modem.
You should not have to make any setting changes to your router, but I would suggest getting into the
configs and changing the default password to something you will remember. Also look for "remote management", make sure it is disabled. You can enter the configuration menus by navigating your web browser to
http://192.168.1.1. You will be
prompted with a
logon screen or message box, leave the
username blank and use "admin" for the password. Your router manual should have this process in it.
I could write out every possible way to network, but I think it would be better to read at Microsoft's site on this. There are too many variables in your possible setup and
their directions cover them all.
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/networking.mspxHope this all helps.
