Do i need a antistatic wrist strap to replace a video card?

ok, this isnt my account its actually my mom's since i dont have a yahoo account. why am i using it well i was searching for answer yet didnt find one that could answer all of my questions. ok here i go. so there a new game coming out and i would like to replace my video card/graphics card. so ive watched videos on youtube and people seem to use a wrist strap. i would like to know what it is and why use them. is it maybe dangerous if i dont? also, as i was looking for answer, i found words such as "ground" and "electrostatic discharge" which i dont know the meaning of. could some of you maybe update me on this? also is it possible that after i replace the video card and turn the computer on, nothing shows on the monitor? im sorry for writing alot im just very cautious. thanks in advance to anyone that replies to this without being mean or uninformative. (ive seen comments with mean thing and unnecessary stuff in them...)|||I like to see people being cautious with things like this, better to be safe then sorry i always say =)



Basicly, an Anti-static wristband grounds you and removes all the static charge that you build up when you walk around and move. Thats why sometimes when you touch something that grounded, you get an electric shock.



Anti static wrist bands are used to prevent people short circuting thier computer components when installing them as one discharge of static electricity from yourself can fry the component.



Some more info on this







Always use an anti-static wrist strap when working on a computer except when working on monitors: more about that below. One end is an elastic band that fits around your wrist and which is connected to an alligator clip by a wire. The clip connects to a metal part of the computer chassis, which equalizes the voltage between you and the computer, thus avoiding static sparks.



Better anti-static kits also include a rubberized mat that is placed below the computer while you are working on it. This not only provides better anti-static protection, but also protects your table from scratches.



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Always grasp a metal part of the computer chassis with your bare hand before you touch anything inside. Do this even if you are wearing an anti-static wristband.



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Always handle electronic components by a non-conducting (non-metallic) edge. Don't touch the pins or other connectors.



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Never plug an ATX power supply into AC power unless it is connected either to a computer's motherboard or to a dummy test load.



•

Always use a UL-approved surge protector or an Uninterruptible Power Supply that incorporates surge and spike protection.



•

Never eat, drink, or smoke while working on a computer.







I would advise getting an anti-static wrist band. You can get them cheap from computer stores and do take away the risks if used properly





As to your second question as to weather nothing on screen will show, i highley doubt it unless there is a fault with the video card itself.



Ive installed many video cards and nevcer come across this. Make sure you install the new drivers that came with your video card as this will cause it to not function properly.|||I've put together several computers so far and never used one, but it's a safety measure. If you have it, you will avoid any danger of damaging chips on the card through static electricity. But as I said, the likelihood of that happening is quite low...|||i dont own one never used on and dont even touch the case before i do work and nothing ever happened|||You *should* use a wrist strap, but you don't have to buy one! You can easily make one out of tinfoil and attach it to the computer case, or make sure you are touching the computer case with a hand/exposed skin at all times. (It achieves the same thing as a wrist strap)



If you turn on the computer after replacing the video card and nothing shows up on the screen there are a few problems that could of occurred: 1. You did not install the card correctly, reinstall the card and try to boot up again. 2. The monitor is plugged into the wrong port. If you are upgrading from a motherboard GPU sometimes you need to go into the BIOS (search the net for instructions on how to do this) and disable the motherboard GPU (graphics card), then replug into your newly installed GPU and everything should work.



Keep in mind some newer graphics cards have a extra power connector that you need to hook up that is usually located on the top or back (when installed) of the card.



Good luck!

PCI Express Video card not working....?

OK, today I installed a new motherboard and processor (ASrock N68-S and a Phenom II x3 720), along with a clean install of windows 7. Everything works fine, exept for my 8800GTS video card. It was working fine before I did the upgrades. The motherboard has an on-board chipset, and that works good. But whenever I try and plug the monitor cable into the 8800GTS, the screen is blank and nothing happens (windows does boot up though because I can hear the start-up sound), and for some reason the GPU fan sounds like its on 100%. Ive tried everything to fix it, Ive set the Graphics card priority in the BIOS to PCI Express, and I've updated the BIOS to the newest version. Anyone have any ideas to what the problem could be? Thanks!|||Some PCs need you to turn off the onboard graphics in the bios & enable the dedicated card there as well. Then restart the PC & if windows pops up useing the PCI-E card, go to nvidia.com & download & install the newest driver for the new card & restart the PC again..|||Hey Joe i was wondering if you had solved the problem with your video card, i'm having the same problem and have the same motherboard as you. Thanks

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Minecraft Bad Video Card driver error help?

When I try launching Minecraft, the screen goes black and I get this error message:





Bad video card drivers!

-----------------------



Minecraft was unable to start because it failed to find an accelerated OpenGL mode.

This can usually be fixed by updating the video card drivers.







--- BEGIN ERROR REPORT 7fe0271 --------

Generated 7/29/11 12:48 PM



Minecraft: Minecraft Beta 1.7.3

OS: Windows 7 (x86) version 6.1

Java: 1.6.0_26, Sun Microsystems Inc.

VM: Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (mixed mode), Sun Microsystems Inc.

LWJGL: 2.4.2

[failed to get system properties (java.lang.NullPointerException)]



org.lwjgl.LWJGLException: Pixel format not accelerated

at org.lwjgl.opengl.WindowsPeerInfo.nChoose… Method)

at org.lwjgl.opengl.WindowsPeerInfo.chooseP…

at org.lwjgl.opengl.WindowsDisplay.createWi…

at org.lwjgl.opengl.Display.createWindow(Di…

at org.lwjgl.opengl.Display.create(Display.…

at org.lwjgl.opengl.Display.create(Display.…

at org.lwjgl.opengl.Display.create(Display.…

at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.a(SourceF…

at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.run(Sourc…

at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)

--- END ERROR REPORT 502cc756 ----------





I've tried Google, and I've tried re installing Java and updating my GPU's drivers, but still nothing.



GPU: ATI Radeon HD 3200

CPU: AMD Athlon Dual Core Processor BE-2300 at 2GHz

2GBs of RAM|||It is a problem with how Minecraft uses Java.



Try the fix on this page

http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/2740…



put your minecraft.exe in any folder, just make sure you copy the path, and rename it to minecraft.jar



then open notepad, paste this line



java -Xmx800m -jar "PATH\Minecraft.jar



paste the path to the folder where minecraft is into PATH



then click save -> save it as NAME.bat (NAME can be anything that you want)



then from now on, double-click this NAME.bat file to open minecraft... and do not close the cmd that will open...



example:



I put minecraft.jar on C:\



so on notepad I do this:

java -Xmx800m -jar "C:\Minecraft.jar





○ ○ ○ ○ ○



Try reducing Hardware Acceleration

Type

desk.cpl

in run

Settings Tab

Advanced button

Troubleshoot Tab

Move the slider down to half

Click Apply|||make sure you your video card is really ATI radeon HD3200 and not 3100 or something.

you can try uninstalling your driver and install it again.

make sure you have all the directx files.....

open up dxdiag, and make sure your OpenGl mode is turned on....

While playing video games, my computer freezes. I upgraded video card with no real luck. c?

AMD athlon XP with Windows XP, 512 ram, geForce 6200 video card with 256 mb ram, games hang up. tried updating drivers, worked for about a month.please help!!!!|||Get into your BIOS and check the temperature of your processor after your computer freezes. I was having this same problem, and it was heat related for me. It's a quick fix with a new processor fan (they're like $10).



So...



Next time your computer freezes up, restart it. Before it loads the Windows XP screen, hit the DEL (Delete) key a couple of times to get into your BIOS. It's usually DEL, but it could be something else. When your computer is starting up, pay attention to what it says and look for the "Hit <key> to enter setup." Hit that key to get into your BIOS. Your BIOS will have temperature information in it somewhere. Just look around until you find it. If memory serves me correctly, the Athlon processors should be running right around 100° F. If you're up at like 140 or 150, you'll know that heat is the problem. Like I said earlier, a new processor fan is an easy fix for that solution.|||it could be you need more memory on your computer. also try scanning for spyware or viruses (you never know!)|||whoa - just 512 of RAM ???



my game computer has 2 gig of ram - no wonder



games take a LOT of RAM - may want to consider upgrading that, too|||well it could be the amount of ram that the PC has and how many programs are opened|||it probably freezes up because you could of downloaded to many games or you just din't have enough memory|||Did u enable Direct 3d acceleration and everything in dxdiag? Did u fix ur refresh rate to 60 hertz? and finally upgrade ur RAM to atlest 1 gb otherwise ur PC is in bad shape.|||If your computer is not working properly while you are working on it, it could be a problem with device drivers, hardware or software.

Detailed instructions at http://tinyurl.com/yk5zpr

I have windows 7 ultimate so,How do i update the video card driver on my computer?

Go to control panel, System and Security, System, Device Manager, then find your Video card double click on it and click driver. Then update driver.|||First you have to find out the manufacturer of your video card by going to My Computer - right click - Device Manager - video adapter. After you know your video card model go to guru3d.com and download your drivers - it's much faster then going to the manufacturer's site.



Good luck|||First make sure you know the exact video card model, if you don't know it, you can use free software like CPU-Z, SIW or HWInfo to find it out. Then go to the manufacturer site and download the appropriate driver. It will come with a setup/install program, which you can run to install the driver.|||It should update and install it Automatically. If not, then visit its manufactures site and look under 'Support', . Windows 7 nearly always updates these kinds of drivers automatically though. Best wishes to you.|||Go to the video card manufacturers website and there should be a section for downloading drivers for your card.Find the latest driver and install it

Video cards and Physics cards?

I just bought Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 for the PC, and when it does the diagnostics screen (it will still run) the video card needs a update on drivers. I am going to look into this, but I have a question.



I have always wanted to get a Physics card. In case you dont know what that means, its a card that sits seperatly from your video card and adds graphics power to your video.

Example: on a normal video card if a mail box explodes, you see specks flying, representing mail. On a physics card, you see mail flying.



Now here's my question: My card is slightly old and i dont really want to spend the money to replace it if i dont have to.



But Id love to get a physics card.



Question: Can a physics card upgrade a regular card's standings, to qualify it for any problems with a game?



Or do i need to replace it and then get a physics?|||physisx cards are great if you need a little extra boost and already have a great vid card...but if you have an old card it's not really worth it...you would be much better off to spend the 200 bucks on a new video card verses the small improvements that you will see in the phyx' card...the fact is that it will only work with some games and the it ranges from slightly better colors to more detail...but replacing your existing old video card with say a low end 88xx for 250.00 would give you way more benefits in all games.|||what you computer hardware type?



test DX setup .|||the physics card should still make some difference, but they do costs a lot.



I think if I were you I would upgrade my graphics card before getting a physics card, the graphics card will improve the performance alot more then the physics card.



http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php…

Will updating my video card help if I get the blue screen of death from World of Warcraft?

If I play for 30 minutes, blue screen.

It's not eve that laggy, just the blue screen.

By "updating" I mean installing a newer driver. If this will help, what do I do to actually INSTALL the driver?

Thanks in advance.|||Yes, you have to update your computer drivers.Download them from official website.

But if you are not expert on this, you can try some utility.What manufacture of your laptop is? DELL? Google to find "DELL Drivers Update Utility". or find other driver utilities here http://www.dgtsoft.com.

It can scan your computer, listing and installing the newest drivers for your PC automatically.

Of course if you have further questions, you can write to me.

Good Luck.