How do I check to see if my laptop's video card is up to date?

I don't really know anything at all about this, so use simple directions please! I have no idea what card I have, or if it's a good one. I am fairly good with computers, just have never needed to know about this before. My games are showing up with terrible graphics, and someone suggested I update/replace it.|||I am assuming you are running Windows XP on your laptop, so the instructions are for that operating system. Other Windows operating systems (except Vista) will be basically similar (though not the same)



1. Find an empty spot on your desktop and right-click the mouse button

2. Select Properties from the popup menu

3. A "Display Properties" window will pop up. Click on the Settings tab at the top of the window

4. Near the bottom of the window there is a button marked Advanced. Click that.

5. Another window will pop up. Click on the Adapter tab



For decent game play, you should have a mimumum of 128 MB in the 'Memory Size' slot. From here it gets subjective. In the Chip Type slot, you're looking for ATI Radeon Xpress, GeForce Go, etc. Most of these will be good for basic gaming. To get details, look in the "Adapter String" slot. The modem number of the card should be there. The lower the number, the slower the card. I.e. A Radeon Xpress 200 will barely do, while a GeForce Go 9700 would be a screamer. All depends on the kind of games you are playing.



If you see any Intel Graphic Media Accelerator (GMA) 900 or 950, that's pretty much bottom of the barrel. Not a card made for gaming.



In the end, if it's too slow for you, you need a better card. Here's the catch though: You cannot upgrade video cards on most laptops. You can put in a better hard drive, memory, on some you can change the wireless card, optical drive, etc. In only very rare cases will you be able to install a new video card.



I see a noteook upgrade in your future :-)



Here is a link to a good article on notebook video cards which may help you as well:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2526|||You need to know the driver version that is currently installed for your display adapter. Go to Start > Control Panel > System > System Properties > Hardware > Device Manager > Display Adapter > select your primary adapter....right mouse click and select properties > drivers tab.

You will see the manufacturer and driver version of your display adapter.

Go to your manufacturer's website and download the most up to date drivers and follow their directions to install it.



Or....download Aida32.exe and run it....it will tell you all of your system specifications and current driver versions....even offer links to the manufacturer's website.



http://www.majorgeeks.com/download181.ht…

is a link to download it....or just search for it on Yahoo.



UPDATE: After reading your description.....I would say there is a good chance that the video card your laptop has is not sufficient enough to run the video game you are attempting to play....but give the driver update a shot. Install and run Aida32.exe and check the Display area....Memory size...(i.e. 128 MB) .will tell you how much if any memory your card has...now check the game system requirements for each game you are attempting to play.|||If you are still unable to find drivers go to driveragent.com it will search and find the proper driver automatically. 9 out of 10 times it works. but their is a charge $30 for a year it maybe worth it to you might not. If not goto the computer manufactures web site. if its an Emachine unforunatly most of the drivers they supply you are not correct. this helps them sell recovery discs! if it is an emachine call them and complain for me please :)