• PC World
• »Upgrading

Today's graphics-intensive business applications and mind-boggling 3D computer games push graphics cards to the edge. Swapping out your tired old graphics card for a hot new model can give even an older, slower PC a dramatic performance boost. The technology underlying the dedicated graphics processors used in today's graphics cards is every bit as advanced as the fastest Intel Pentium III and AMD Athlon CPUs.

AGP bus cards offer the most power and choice, and 32MB of on-board RAM has become standard, permitting more colors and higher resolutions. But don't despair if your PC doesn't have an AGP slot. PCI graphics cards are still available, though the selection and performance capabilities are relatively lean (16MB of on-board RAM is standard for PCI cards). Either kind of card should still make a big difference in performance.

Figure on spending $150 to $300 for an AGP card, $100 to $200 for a PCI card. The best card for you depends on whether you're a spreadsheet jockey, a game freak, or a user who falls somewhere between the two. (Check out the Top 10 Graphics Boards for buying tips.)

Swapping graphics cards is a popular, and usually easy, upgrade. But a few pitfalls lie hidden along the way. Here's how to perform the upgrade painlessly.