As a small business built by and for gamers and PC users, we take pride in delivering high-quality new and pre-owned
graphics cards and personalized customer service. If you have any issues with installation or the quality of your unit,
please reach out to us before opening a return!
Installing your new graphics card is usually straightforward
- Turn off your PC and unplug the power supply.
- Insert the card firmly into the top PCI-E slot, making sure the locking tab snaps into place.
- Secure the card to your case with 2-3 screws on the bracket.
- Insert power cables into ALL 6/8-pin ports. These are 100% required, or the GPU will not work!
- Plug the monitor cable into the new graphics card.
- Install the latest drivers from nvidia.com or amd.com.
- Enjoy!
A few notes
- It is completely normal for the fans to stop running a few seconds after startup! Most modern GPUs will stop the
fans entirely until the GPU starts to heat up after a few minutes of heavy gameplay. Idle fans would only be
indicative of a problem if they have not started running after the GPU reaches ~70C. - We test thermal performance on all our units and always re-paste if required. If it is a newer unit that is not
exhibiting thermal issues, we will typically opt against breaking the seal on the card to maintain the factory
warranty. We strongly recommend against pre-emptively repasting the graphics card – that’s our job, not yours. - Based on the design of your unit, your GPU will typically reach a temperature of 70-85C. Open-air units will
typically run in the 70s, but blower coolers may run in the mid to high 80s. This is by design and completely
normal. 85C is a perfectly safe temperature that will not reduce the lifespan of the GPU. Every GPU is trying
to strike a balance between temperature, power, and noise. Blower coolers will place a higher emphasis on
reducing noise and allow the GPU to settle at up to 86C rather than increase fan noise. - Even though we use the strongest boxes we can find, occasionally packages still get mishandled, and a common
symptom is a slightly bent I/O bracket. This bracket is very soft metal and can be easily bent back into shape by
hand. If this happened to your GPU, please let us know and we will send out a replacement bracket for you.
All of our GPUs are thoroughly tested, and the overwhelming majority of GPUs returned for being
“defective” are 100% working when we receive them back!
Please follow these simple steps to rule out the most common issues before returning. Even very experienced PC
builders can miss some of these, especially the first few – installing a GPU isn’t always plug-and-play!
- Many older GPU/MB combinations will require the CSM option in your UEFI/BIOS to be enabled. You will need to
use the onboard graphics without the GPU inserted to enable it because you will not be able to reach the
UEFI/BIOS on the GPU itself if this is the issue preventing startup. - In the UEFI/BIOS, make sure the primary graphics adapter is set to the PEG/PCI-E slot. If it is not, you will not be
able to access the UEFI/BIOS on the GPU, and you will not get a display in Windows until default drivers are
automatically installed, which may take 5-10 minutes. - Update your motherboard bios to the latest version. This may be required with older motherboards.
- 6/8 pin power cables are NEVER optional! If the ports are there, the GPU will not work unless the cables are
plugged in tightly and snap over the tab on the port. - Always use the top PCI-E slot, closest to the CPU.
- Ensure the graphics card is inserted firmly into the slot. The tab at the end of the PCI-E slot should lock the card
in place, and none of the pins should be visible above the slot. Sometimes screwing the unit into the case can pop
the other edge out slightly. - With a 4K or 120hz+ monitor over HDMI, a high bandwidth HDMI cable is REQUIRED. A low bandwidth cable will
not just display at a lower resolution – it often will not work at all. - If there are flickering/corruption issues, ensure that the cable is plugged in tightly to both the GPU and monitor
and/or switch to another port. These issues are often caused by debris in the port or a malfunctioning cable. - It is often a good idea to fully wipe out the old drivers before installing the new GPU. The best way to do this is the
program “Display Driver Uninstaller” (Google it!)