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A user may sometimes ask why the monitor is blinking, a PC hangs and video cards overheat which are among some of the behavior attributed to video card.


A video card pertains to a peripheral attached to a motherboard. It is also known as video adapter, display card, graphics card, graphics board or display adapter. This is usually attached within the video card slot or port. Its either an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) type which is phased out already in the market or PCIe type. Peripheral Component Interconnect express (PCIe) is a high speed serial computer expansion bus designed to replace the PCI, PCIX and AGP bus standards which was introduced in 2004 that is why AGP card is no longer used.

Seemingly you can still buy AGP card available for old model computers which is still abundant in some markets selling surplus computer and peripherals. So long as the card exists you can still use your Pentium 4 socket 478 and 775 or any brand of board created before 2003.

Due to some latest innovations, some motherboard already used PCIe type and even had on-board or integrated graphics accelerator firmly attached to the main board (other term for motherboard). Both of them can be seen with the latest models of motherboard.

Nowadays, it turns out that newly built motherboard intensifies the use of on-board graphics accelerator as can be seen in the PC Express website. Few models eliminated the slot for PCIe card. But as the on-board graphics accelerator is not capable enough to control or run highly graphics games a separate slot is necessary. So we need to learn how to deal with video card problems.

Basically, beside from Random Access Memory (RAM), a graphics card served as an accelerator by making any games or programs runs faster. New designs contains two ports for dual purpose - one for monitor and the other for TV output or using another monitor. Without it you cant even view anything from your monitor. If we encounter lags while playing online games then this is it, you have a problem with your video card. Poor graphics card may cause your system to restart. It may also make your system become unstable especially when it overheats.

We need to have a high-end graphics card if you want a smooth gaming experience. If you love viewing You Tube videos then you need to have something like 128 Mb, 256 Mb or higher capacity combined with high speed internet service.

How we can avoid such situations. Can we do it without the need for a technician? Absolutely, Yes! We only need self-confidence and understanding in doing personal computer maintenance

   Add additional fan around the casing to cool down graphics card other parts of the CPU. This is an effective way if your location doesnt have enough ventilation. Or, youre living within a hot climate country. Buy only card that has fan on it. Consider buying a case with enough ventilation which may help eliminated excess heat.

   Mostly, user doesnt care enough for this - ignoring fans behavior. If you have time, try cleaning the fan if possible. Usually, so much dust can prevent fan from running as it accumulate inside it. But never press the fan heavily as you may damage it instantly. Wipe off the dust using brush or a blower if you need to blow away some solid particles inside.

   Try reseating the video card. Reseating is simply taking it out (video card) and putting it back carefully. It may solve the problem. Clean the port to make the slot and the video card firmly connected.

   Stores dont allow unit testing but provide replacement under the warranty period when the unit is defective. Avoid mishandling the unit to avoid damage otherwise warranty may become void. So as soon as possible, if it is defective ask for a replacement under the warranty period. This time they will test the unit and replaced it accordingly. If it is a surplus or something, they would test the unit giving only a short period of warranty. To check by yourself if it is defective or damaged try it with another PC.

Slot is Defective
   This rarely happened but must not be ignored. We have to understand that sometimes this might be the case which often ignored when troubleshooting a computer. The port is defective if after several attempts the card is not working wherein you found the card worked with the other PC. If the port is defective and the board doesnt have an integrated graphics controller, the board is unusable.