Graphics Card Installation Guide
Step 1: Preparing Your PC
Before you can install a new graphics card, your PC needs to be prepared. Start by unplugging your power supply from the wall, removing your side panels, and tipping your case on its side so that you can see the components within.
To eliminate static electricity, you will need to either ground yourself or wear an anti-static wristband when you are doing a job like this.
Step 2: Remove Expansion Slot Screws
Most PC cases come with small metal plates that cover the holes that expansion cards, like GPUs, use to give you access to their I/O. These will be pre-removed by our Tech team, so you only need to remove the screws on top of them for the GPU to fit in. You will need a Phillips Head PH1 screwdriver for this part of the job.
Step 3: Open Your PCIe Slot
All modern mainstream graphics cards use PCIe slots to interface with your motherboard. Much like a RAM/DIMM slot, these connectors have a clip on the end that you press to open to install your graphics card. You can see what an open PCIe slot looks like in the image above.
Step 4: Install the Graphics Card
Now it is time to install your graphics card, and you need to take care to do this correctly. A PCIe slot will only allow you to install a GPU if you have the card oriented correctly. The metal plate that houses your display connectors will face the back of the case, while the fans on the graphics card will usually face straight down.
Start by lining up your graphics card’s main connector with the PCIe slot, taking special care to ensure that the grooves in the connector match those inside the PCIe slot. This can be fiddly, with the graphic card’s I/O plate having to slip into a small space beside the motherboard.
Once you have the connectors lined up, the graphics card will easily glide into place. At this point, you will need to push down on the card until you hear the clip on your PCIe slot close, and this will usually come with a slight click.
At this point, you should reinstall the screws that were holding your expansion slot plates in place. This time, they will be used to hold the graphics card.
Step 5: Attach Your PSU Connectors
You will usually have one or two connectors to attach when you install a new GPU. Many PSUs have 6+2 plugs that can double as a six- or eight-pin connector. It can be tricky to attach connectors like this, though you can make it easier for yourself by plugging the two-pin portion into the graphics card before the six-pin. New PCIe 5.0 16pin Connectors can be seen on RTX 40 series GPUs, these cables are easy to install but a bit fragile, so need to pay more attention while installing them.
Plug in each connector in the correct orientation, ensuring that you feel or hear a click once they fall into place.
Single 8 pin GPU Power Adaptor
PCIe 5.0 16 pin Connectors (Mostly seen on RTX 40 series cards)
(If the GPU is an RTX 3080 or higher level graphics card, Please avoid using single power cable which split into 2 adaptors, please connect 2 or more adaptors from 2 separate cables at least!)
Please check the video for more details.
Step 6: Connect Your Monitors and Boot the PC
Once everything is installed, it will be time to connect your monitors to the graphics card and boot the PC to make sure that you have completed the job correctly. It’s vital that you make sure that you connect your monitors to the graphics card and not the motherboard.
In most cases, your PC will boot up and you will be ready to move onto the next step. If not, though, it will be time to start the process again and reinstall your new graphics card to make sure that you didn’t miss anything along the way.
Step 7: Install or Update Drivers
Your new GPU will usually be able to operate without dedicated drivers installed, but you will need to get drivers as soon as possible to get the best performance out of your new graphics card. Both AMD and Nvidia offer driver downloads on their websites.