Whether you’re a gamer or an average PC user, your video card is one of the most important parts of your computer. It displays the sharp graphics and crisp video playback that PC users love, and can help make a gaming experience that much more enjoyable.
But what should you do when your graphics card suddenly breaks down? If you’re experiencing weird textures on your PC, black screens, and other error messages, then these solutions should help you repair your video card.
Update your graphics drivers
Just like your software gets updated regularly, video card companies also release frequent updates to their drivers. While some driver updates are minor, others can significantly impact your performance, and, in some cases, fix the bugs that you have been experiencing. It’s a good idea to periodically check your video card company’s website to ensure that your computer is up-to-date.
To find out who made your graphics driver, open up the ‘Run’ function on your computer under the Start menu. Type in ‘dxdiag’ without quotation marks. This shows critical information about your PC, including your operating system, processor, memory, and more. Click on the ‘Display 1’ tab at the top, and then look below to find out the video card manufacturer and number. Go to that company’s website (or, just Google your video card’s name + driver) and download the required software.
This can fix a number of video card related issues, and it will also improve your performance in some of the latest games.
Dust out your computer
The video card can get hot while you’re using your computer, and that heat can become a problem if there is too much dust blocking the fans on your computer. To prevent your video card from overheating, periodically clean out these fans to allow more air to pass through. This can help cure a number of common PC issues, and is one of the easiest ways to fix your PC.
If you have an external video card, there may be fans directly on the device. Be sure to focus on these areas in particular.
Perform regular maintenance on your computer
You’ve probably heard about how important it is to perform regular maintenance on your computer. However, if you use your computer for intensive tasks like gaming, it is incredibly important. By downloading a good, multi-use program like PC Cleaner Pro, you may be able to fix many of the problems that your graphics card is experiencing.
In many cases, these problems are not occurring with the video card itself, and may be a problem with your computer’s operating system. A program like PC Cleaner Pro will eliminate these bugs and prevent them from reoccurring in the future. For that reason, it’s a very important tool to have on any PC user’s hard drive, especially if you’re experiencing graphics card problems.
