Diagnose Video Card Problems

The computer video card is the device that takes output and interprets it; instructing the monitor on which of the tiny dots on the screen to light up to produce the right graphic image for you to see. In other words, the Video Card, also known as the graphic card, is the graphic powerhouse of your computer that organizes virtual output.

The type of graphic card you have on your system determines the quality of the images you see on your screen. Before we begin on PC problems that may arise when your PC graphics card is faulty, it is important to understand that not all problems listed below are unique to a faulty graphic card.

1. A Dead Screen

A blank screen may be due to a wrong graphic card connection – card not properly fastened to the connector. To solve this problem, shut down the system and check to see that the video card is well connected. Also, inspect the connector pins. A broken or missing pin could breach contact.

2. Loud Noise

The video card has a fan. The more powerful the video card, the larger the fan may be. A failing fan gives out a screeching noise. Cleaning up the fan could help resolve this problem. Another thing to do is to replace the fan if your computer graphics card has a replaceable fan. Otherwise, you may need to replace the graphics card altogether. So at this point, it is wise to get a video card with replaceable fan.

3. Irregular Size of display on the Screen

This is when there is a display but it does not fit properly to your computer screen. To resolve this, check the resolution settings (on the control panel click on display settings). If the problem persists, try to update the graphics card drivers.

4. Wrong Color Display

This could be resolved by merely changing the display resolution. To do this, click on the display settings from the control panel. If this is not of help, update the video card drivers. You can also mess with the color settings on the monitor itself or in the display setting from the control panel

We hope you have found the above troubleshooting tips helpful. These common PC problems often point to a faulty video card. When any of the above occur in a computer, it is very likely that your video card is faulty. However, other failing hardware devices may share one or more of these problems. Therefore, these are not solely unique problems to failing video cards. To identify and eliminate failing hardware, you have to be patient and sometimes lucky.

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-By Dominic

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