One of the most important components of any computer, regardless of its type (stationary or laptop), is a video adapter. Since its performance depends on the normal functioning of the PC. The video card is responsible for processing graphic information, as well as for displaying it on a monitor.
What parameters will we check
All video adapters have a large number of different parameters. Their analysis allows you to check her condition.
Many programs allow you to watch in real time:
- rotation speed of the cooler;
- cPU core temperature;
- power consumption;
- data bus frequency
It is also very important with the help of special applications to check the stability of operation, as well as the constancy of the video memory.
Video card processor
You should always start testing a video card on a computer with a video processor stability test. Since this parameter affects the functioning of the entire system as a whole. It is very easy to determine which processor is installed in the video adapter - just look at the surface of the board, the manufacturer's sticker should be attached to it. Also, in most cases, the processor itself is marked with the name of the manufacturer.
When checking, it is very important to analyze all indicators well. Since it depends on them the duration of the "life" of the board.
Three factors directly affect the mode of operation:
- dustiness of the room and the board itself;
- operating temperature inside system unit;
- power stability
The first two points are directly related to each other. Since the larger the surface of the board is dusty, the more it heats up. Stable power allows you to significantly extend the period of continuous operation. Since power surges can lead to premature failure of some electronic components.
The invariability of the video memory is a very important factor for the video adapter. Especially if monitors displaying a high-resolution image are connected to it. The considered devices can be equipped with both its own and virtual memory. Accordingly, faster data exchange is carried out with internal memory.
Video: see which graphics card is installed
Job stability
Normally, the video adapter works or not - it can be checked very simply. The stability test is performed by many applications. One of the best is Furmark. Besides, this program used by many manufacturers to test their equipment. Thus, it will be possible after the implementation of testing to compare the results with the factory.
To implement stability testing, you need to download and install Furmark. It is relatively small, its installation takes a very small amount of time. After installation, you must start it and click the button in the window that appears. "Burn-in test".
Before running the test, close all functioning resource-intensive programs so that the results are as accurate as possible. Testing itself should be carried out for at least thirty minutes in a row.
There are only two options for shutting down the application in question:
- as a result of successful completion of testing;
- as a result of failure during testing.
Regardless of the reason for terminating the application, the received data will be displayed on the screen. This will allow you to analyze the behavior of the adapter during testing.
Operation mode
It is quite simple to check the mode of operation of a video card, you only need to run some kind of graphical test program and observe temperature conditions. It is the temperature that allows us to say in which mode the device in question is functioning: normal or stressful.
Photo: graphic components of the program
You can check any program, almost all of them show the temperature of the video processor in real time. You can use the application called Furmark. After running the test, the graphic components are displayed on the screen, they act as a load on the processor.
Typically, for most video card models, the normal amount of heat is up to +70 0 С. If this parameter has risen more than 80 0 С during the test, this is a serious reason to sound the alarm. At 90 0 С, it is necessary to switch off the testing or the computer as quickly as possible in order to avoid damage to the PC hardware.
Unchanged action
Video memory is one of the most important components of a card that processes graphic images displayed on the screen. The performance of the entire computer as a whole directly depends on its quantity and quality of work. Therefore, periodically it is necessary to carry out testing of graphic memory.
The easiest and most convenient to use is a program called Video Memory Test. After launch, you can easily set the necessary settings, then simply press the "Start" button. Before you start it is important to remember to relieve the memory of the GPU.
The results of this test can be viewed in a special journal, it is conducted in automatic mode. Errors can be of various types, but most often they occur due to overheating.
It can occur for a variety of reasons:
- the surface of the board is covered with dust;
- contacts have oxidized;
- the card is not fully inserted into the slot.
All these problems can be easily fixed manually. Oxidized contacts can be easily cleaned with a regular eraser.
Critical temperature check
It is very important to check the board for overheating. Since the power consumption of this component of the PC is very high. The result is a high temperature that occurs during operation. For each model, the critical temperature is individual. For example, for models from such a well-known manufacturer as GeForce, it can differ by as much as 10 0 С, depending on the model. For example, for GeForce GTX 780 Ti, the critical value is 95 0 С, and for the GTX 470 model - 105 0 C.
Photo: GPU Temp Temperature Check
The main sign of overheating of a video card is the presence of artifacts of various kinds, arising even in the absence of at least some load. They can be a variety of points or other similar. You can check the temperature in any program that allows you to diagnose a video card. For example, in GPU Temp.
The main and only function this application is monitoring the temperature of the graphics accelerator. In addition, it is possible in this program to observe in real-time mode the changes in the parameter in question by the minute. It is also possible to see the CPU and memory usage of the video adapter.
How to check the performance of a video card on a computer in AtiTooL
One of the easiest to use and configure applications for testing the video adapter is AtiTool.
Check this program as follows:
After this time, it is necessary to observe the temperature of the graphics core.
It can be very different:
- less than 65 0 С - graphics core in excellent condition;
- more than 85 0 С - it is necessary to check the card for any faults.
It is important to monitor the presence of yellow dots. Their number should not exceed 10 pcs. More indicates either overheating or insufficient power supply.
If the previous test is passed successfully, you can proceed to the next stage - checking the kernel if you can control the correctness. To do this, click "Scan For Artifacts". The hairy cube will appear again, and the application should function for at least 15 minutes.
If after a quarter of an hour the errors are not found, the following message appears on the screen: "No errors for ... sec".
It is necessary to periodically check the performance graphic adapterThis will allow you to quickly identify problems. Thus, it is possible to avoid irreversible damage to the card, which leads to costly repair or purchase of a replacement.
Verifying the performance of a video card is a great way to avoid unplanned spending of funds.
Twenty years ago, such questions were simply not confronted by users. Most computers were equipped with a standard video system that displays only letters, numbers, and special characters on the monitor screen.
Although at that time video cards appeared, they were very rare, and besides, they were very well worth it.
Today, a computer without a video card of a particular model cannot be found. At least a built-in adapter, but there is. Otherwise, displaying graphic information on the screen would be, if not completely impossible, then rather laborious. Such graphics would have to be programmed through the VESA subsystem in the BIOS, which is very laborious. Video cards and drivers for them save us from the problems of this kind. How to find out the model of your video card in Windows 7 and why do you need it at all?
It may be necessary in different situations: you want to know more about the capabilities of your computer in terms of video output. For example, you do not pull the toy, and you want to understand whether the capabilities of the model of your adapter correspond to the requirements stated in its description. Or you have a video driver crashed and you need to know the device model to find a driver. And maybe you want to download and install a program that expands the functionality of the video card. In all these cases, you need to determine the name of the video adapter. How to recognize it - read below.
Three options
You can find out the video adapter model in Windows 7 in three different ways:
The first way: right-click on free space On the desktop and in the context menu that opens, select the item "Screen resolution". Another window will appear with a button. « Extra options» . Click on this button and you will see the third window, with the “Adapter” tab open. Here it is.
Unfortunately, few of the users know the specifications of your PC. Users often set themselves question how to find out what my video cardin various ways, whether it needs to be updated and “draws” the latest games and new graphics. In fact, it is quite easy to find out the model and parameters of the graphics adapter, and today we will consider the most simple and accessible options.
Before as find out and check what your video cardlet's clarify what it is. So, it is an electronic device that is installed inside the system unit and is used to convert a digital signal for output to a monitor. At the same time, the signal from the monitor can be output and printed out on the printer, for this you will need consumables, in particular, you will always be able to refill the cartridges and do it quickly and efficiently.
There are two types of adapters.in - integrated and as a separate component, mounted in a special connector on motherboard. Modern adapters can be additionally equipped with a graphics processor, which takes on some of the signal processing functions. Significantly reducing the load on the processor.
How to check the model of the video card
In order to find out what kind of video card you have, you can use the OS built-in tools or use special programs.
This article describes how to determine the characteristics of the graphics adapter in two OS versions:
- Windows 7
- Windows XP
How to find out what my video card is in Windows 7
* Method One - Control Panel
For this, you need to run the following sequence of commands:
- Start (bottom left)
- System
- device Manager
Select the tab and see the model of our map.
* Method Two - Command Line
In order to check which video card I have, use the “WIN + R” buttons, or execute the command Start - Run. In the input box, type "dxdiag" and click "OK".
The Windows DirectX diagnostics window opens, containing all the necessary information about our PC.
Open the button (above) and look at the parameters of the installed device. 
* Method Three - Desktop Context Menu
To use this option, you must call context menu Desktop - (right mouse button on the summary space) and select the option.
In the window that appears, select the item "Extra options", which will open before us the properties window of our device.
* Method Four - My Computer
How to determine which model of video card is installed, if the previous versions did not help? Use the option "My Computer", located in the "Start" menu
Enter the context menu of the “My Computer” shortcut (right mouse button), command;
Choose a team
Open the item and look at the parameters we need.
* Using ID
But how to find out which model of video card is installed if there are no drivers? This is very easy to do, the following method is the same for both operating systems in question:
Go in "Device Manager" (use any of the above);
Open the item;
In the device that appears, click on it with the right mouse button and activate the option;
How to know the graphics card Windows 7?
Via Device Manager
One way to find out the video card in Windows 7 is to use the Device Manager. Through the Start menu, open the Control Panel, find the System and Security section in it, and in it click the System link. In the left part of the window that opens, click the “Device Manager” link. In the dispatcher window, expand the “Video adapters” section and you will see the name of your video card. 
Through the "System Information"
The same information can be obtained in another way. Press the + [R] keys or select Run from the Start menu. In the window that appears, type msinfo32 and click "OK." The "System Information" window opens. Expand the “Components” section and select the “Display” item. The name of your video card will be shown first in the list.
Through third-party applications
To obtain information about the equipment, you can use third-party applications - for example, Speccy from Piriform. Free download the program from the official site, install and run. The name of your video card will be indicated 
in the item "Graphic devices".
It should be noted that all these methods, as a rule, provide only basic information about the video card. For example, if you have a Sapphire HD 7770 model based on an AMD graphics processor, in Windows 7 you will only see the name AMD Radeon R7 200 Series, and Speccy further clarify that the manufacturer - Sapphire.
17.02.2017
Probably everyone who reinstalled operating system, got into an awkward situation when you need to install drivers for a video card, and its model is unknown. Or just need to update the driver on the video card, not knowing its name. Usually in such situations use installation disk, which is necessarily sold with a video card. But what to do if for some reason such a disk is missing?
For stable work the video card needs not only to install drivers for it, but also to update them regularly when new versions appear. Moreover, the driver version sometimes affects the performance of the video card. Let's see, how do you know which graphics card and where to download the latest driver for it.
How to find out the video card model
There are several ways to find out exactly which graphics card you have installed.
Method 1: Recognize the video card model using the hardware ID
Method 2: Recognize the video card model using the DirectX diagnostic tool
If for some reason the mentioned site does not work, always get information about the graphics chip using standard Windows tools.
Method 3: Recognize the video card model using the System Information tool
How to download a video card driver
After you managed to find out the video card model, you need to install or update the driver for it. There are several ways to do this.
Method 1: Download the driver from the portal devid.info
As mentioned above, after determining the video card by the ID on the devid.info/ru portal, you can immediately download the necessary drivers.
Method 2: Download the driver from the official site
Installing drivers that were downloaded from official sites is the most correct and safe solution. On such sites information about updates and changes laid out in the first place.
- To do this, select the website of the manufacturer of your video card by clicking on the following links.
- In the appropriate fields you will need only to specify the type of your device, series, model and operating system. Quite often, these parameters can be determined automatically.
- Push button "Search" and in the page that opens, download the driver.
This is how the process of finding drivers for NVidia video cards looks like. 
In any case, after driver you need will be downloaded, you will only have to run the installer and wait until it finishes its installation or reinstallation operation. To avoid problems in the future, you can create a separate disk or flash drive with the necessary system programs. This is especially useful in the absence of the Internet, which also happens not infrequently.
