New to the separate graphics card world

Hi folks - I'm new to the separate graphics card world and need some advice.

I have physically installed a new GT 520 graphics card along with a clean install of Vista HP, and before installing the drivers from the included CD (says version 11-520-01-1 on the disc), I'm looking for an all-inclusive site/article/thread/ that gives information/options/answers/ on whether the install CD that came with the card is the best way to go - or should download the latest drivers - or exactly what is the best procedure for the install for my given situation. I've searched the web and haven't found what I would consider a basic primer on installing those drivers.

My goal in purchasing a graphics card is to make Vista run smooth without all the intensive ram and cpu usage that occurs using when using the onboard video. That of course also involves tweaking the s**t outta the clean install. lol. Gaming and other types of demanding graphics-type usage are not a factor at this time. Also, my goal in searching for advice is to not mess up this clean installation with unwanted, uneeded files etc., and end up with a great working system.

Thanks and any help will be much appreciated...

Vista Home Premium 32 bit
EVGA GeForce 520
Intel Core2 Duo E4500 @ 2.3ghz
2 Gig of Kingston RAM
Intell G33 Express Chipset (disabled)
Foxconn G33M02 motherboard
80 Gig WD SATA Hard Drive
Seasonic 350w PSU





 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Core 2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn
    Memory
    2 Gig Dell/Kingston
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 1907 FP
    Screen Resolution
    1280 X 764
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 80 gig
    PSU
    Core2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Seasonic 350 watt Fan
    Keyboard
    Microsoft

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
The cd ships with the newest version at the time it was packaged. That being said, they may be the newest, or they may be a year old. Gpu drivers chgange A LOT to tweak gaming performance, which is the main reason for the updates.

It's quite easy to update, so giver.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
Thanks - decided to run the PC in the basic vga mode as i set up this new install of the OS - it's running surprisingly fast. I like this better mostly than XP now.. I'll be back after downloading the new driver 280.27 and ...

Found an exhaustive link to (nearly) everything you need to know about graphics and cards. From a few years
back but there is enough to keep you busy for weeks:

http://www.playtool.com/pages/selectvid/select.html


Vista Home Premium 32 bit
EVGA GeForce 520
Intel Core2 Duo E4500 @ 2.3ghz
2 Gig of Kingston RAM
Intell G33 Express Chipset (disabled)
Foxconn G33M02 motherboard
80 Gig WD SATA Hard Drive
Seasonic 350w PSU
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Core 2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn
    Memory
    2 Gig Dell/Kingston
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 1907 FP
    Screen Resolution
    1280 X 764
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 80 gig
    PSU
    Core2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Seasonic 350 watt Fan
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
The one suggestion I would make, since the last few of my PCs have had NVidia cards.. download the last few drivers especially if the latest hasn't been out long enough for bugs to show up. Sometimes if you get weird behavior and back off one version it goes away. I've never had a problem where the PC wouldn't function. Just some hinky video now and then. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion m9515y
    CPU
    Phenom X4 9850
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Some Radeon Cheapie with 512 MB Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    CRT
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    750 GB SATA 3G
    2 SIIG Superspeed docks w/WD Caviar Black Sata II or III
The one suggestion I would make, since the last few of my PCs have had NVidia cards.. download the last few drivers especially if the latest hasn't been out long enough for bugs to show up. Sometimes if you get weird behavior and back off one version it goes away. I've never had a problem where the PC wouldn't function. Just some hinky video now and then. :)

I have to agree with that, once, i tried a beta version, whew, what an experience that was. wound up doing a restore to get back to where i was , and then getting a non beta latest driver .
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Emachine ET 1161-05
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 LE-1640
    Motherboard
    eMachines MCP61PM-GM (Socket AM2 )
    Memory
    2.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 387MHz (6-6-6-18)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Acer E181H (1280x768@60Hz) 128MB GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 (
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name Acer E181H on NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
    Screen Resolution
    1280x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    ST316081 5AS SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    MCP61PM-GM 9000 NVIDIA Chipset Model MCP61 Chipset Revisio
    Case
    Tower
    Cooling
    Fan Speed 1247 RPM
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    PS/2 Compatible Mouse
    Internet Speed
    http://www.speedtest.net/result/1538974261.png
€Unless you know what youre doing NEVER use a beta, and if you do, don't complain ifg you have issues.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
always have been adverse to early versions after some google beta crashed all over the place once..
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Core 2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn
    Memory
    2 Gig Dell/Kingston
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 1907 FP
    Screen Resolution
    1280 X 764
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 80 gig
    PSU
    Core2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Seasonic 350 watt Fan
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
I don't mean just betas. I've downloaded some NVidia drivers that were supposedly "stable" that sure didn't act that way. Downloading the last few versions just saves you hunting 'em down when you're annoyed. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion m9515y
    CPU
    Phenom X4 9850
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Some Radeon Cheapie with 512 MB Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    CRT
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    750 GB SATA 3G
    2 SIIG Superspeed docks w/WD Caviar Black Sata II or III
Hi again folks.

I installed the evga 520 video card's drivers (280.26) late last night, and so far so good. Everything is running faster and smoother and the card's fan is quiet and there is very little heat being generated. I know 'cause I had the PC set up to where it would be easy to slide the cover off after running with the new card for a few hours. Thanks again and I'll be here learning some more!

Vista Home Premium 32 bit
EVGA GeForce 520
Intel Core2 Duo E4500 @ 2.3ghz
2 Gig of Kingston RAM
Intell G33 Express Chipset (disabled)
Foxconn G33M02 motherboard
80 Gig WD SATA Hard Drive
Seasonic 350w PSU
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Core 2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn
    Memory
    2 Gig Dell/Kingston
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 1907 FP
    Screen Resolution
    1280 X 764
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 80 gig
    PSU
    Core2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Seasonic 350 watt Fan
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
You can use evga precision to monitor your temperatures btw.

Glad youre enjoying the new card. Its always great having new stuff.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
Thanks Patonb. This Vista is much more graphically interesting and fun, if laborious, to tweak. Hope to be of some help here on the forums. Take care!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Core 2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn
    Memory
    2 Gig Dell/Kingston
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 1907 FP
    Screen Resolution
    1280 X 764
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 80 gig
    PSU
    Core2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Seasonic 350 watt Fan
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
Hey folks - me again. I want to report back on my evga 520 graphics card install.

Well after running this card for a month now I'm very satisfied. The few games I have will now run without warnings telling me that I don't have enough video power to run the game. And the whole Vista system has settled down after the tweaking where it's running as well. or better, than my old XP system.

The only problem was the way my web pages were loading and scrolling - one big offender being Yahoo news and the photos on there - the pages would hang, my CPU usage was 75 percent and more, and the whole internet just ran like a huge mess.

Well, it was the browser - IE8. Switching to Google Chrome solved everything. I would recommend Chrome over IE anyday.

One question - I installed GPU-Z and the temperature reading for the gpu is always in the 37 degree Celsius range. Does that sound pretty much normal?
 

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My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Core 2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn
    Memory
    2 Gig Dell/Kingston
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 1907 FP
    Screen Resolution
    1280 X 764
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 80 gig
    PSU
    Core2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Seasonic 350 watt Fan
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
That is a good temp. 45 c and above is getting hot. 37 is fine. real fine actually.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Emachine ET 1161-05
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 LE-1640
    Motherboard
    eMachines MCP61PM-GM (Socket AM2 )
    Memory
    2.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 387MHz (6-6-6-18)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Acer E181H (1280x768@60Hz) 128MB GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 (
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name Acer E181H on NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
    Screen Resolution
    1280x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    ST316081 5AS SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    MCP61PM-GM 9000 NVIDIA Chipset Model MCP61 Chipset Revisio
    Case
    Tower
    Cooling
    Fan Speed 1247 RPM
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    PS/2 Compatible Mouse
    Internet Speed
    http://www.speedtest.net/result/1538974261.png
Thats you temperature while idle... Which is not bad.

If you crank up something intense, it should heat up.

glad to hear its working out
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
I just did some checking around and some gamers said they got as high as 90 , close to 100 while gaming. So, if you don't go up more than that , you should be fine. Enjoy .
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Emachine ET 1161-05
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 LE-1640
    Motherboard
    eMachines MCP61PM-GM (Socket AM2 )
    Memory
    2.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 387MHz (6-6-6-18)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Acer E181H (1280x768@60Hz) 128MB GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 (
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name Acer E181H on NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
    Screen Resolution
    1280x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    ST316081 5AS SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    MCP61PM-GM 9000 NVIDIA Chipset Model MCP61 Chipset Revisio
    Case
    Tower
    Cooling
    Fan Speed 1247 RPM
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    PS/2 Compatible Mouse
    Internet Speed
    http://www.speedtest.net/result/1538974261.png
For the record, ATI and Nvidia design their cards to throttle at 105C and shut down at 110C

I run my cards, 560ti, 8800, 260-216s at 80ish 24/7 365. I game on my laptops 9600 at 100ish C
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q6600 @ 2.8GHz
    Motherboard
    Evga NF78-CK-132-A 3-Way SLI
    Memory
    8Gb DDR2 Corsair Dominator @ 1066Mhz 5-5-5-15
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 560 GTX SC FTW 1GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC888 7.1 Audio, Logitech G35 7.1 Surround Headset
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell S2409W 16:9, HDMi, DVI & VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 7200rpm 250Gb SATA,
    Samsung 7200rpm 750Gb SATA,
    WD 7200rpm 1TB SCSI SATA.
    PSU
    Xigmatek 750W Quad sli quad core 80% eff
    Case
    Antec 900 Gaming Case
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9700-NT NVIDIA Tritium, Dominator RAM cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech generic keyboard
    Mouse
    Razor Lachesis Banshee V2 Blue, 4000DPI
    Internet Speed
    16Mb Sky bb
    Other Info
    Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows, Wireless Xbox 360 Pad, Wireless Xbox 360 Les Paul Guitar
Thanks again folks.

Everything working shipshape - except for a snafu with my internet pages loading and scrolling like molasses - Yahoo News and the photos there, and Toyota Nation and many others. Well, here it was my browser. Man, ya just can't think of everything when it comes to the world of computing! Well, suffice it to say that I went ahead and installed Google's browser, and now all my internet pages are lightening fast. I have a DSL connection at 3MB, and so far I'd recommend the Google browser to anyone having problems with IE. Will report back on game temperatures if I ever get enough time to play some!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Core 2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn
    Memory
    2 Gig Dell/Kingston
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 1907 FP
    Screen Resolution
    1280 X 764
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 80 gig
    PSU
    Core2 Duo 2.3 ghz
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Seasonic 350 watt Fan
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
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