Fixing video display problems is probably one of the most important tasks to anyone, since you can't do anything on your computer without it. Your video display is what you are looking at right now, without it, your computer would be useless.

This is not an option for some, since most people know squat about computers, let alone changing a part inside of one. Also, there are an overwhelming smorgasbord of choices and brands of video cards to choose from, which is complicated for the average Joe.

You also mustn't forget that your monitor could have blown a fuse or broken down. If you have an LCD monitor, many people don't know this, but there is a bulb inside that goes out about every 5 to 7 years and you have to replace it.

Another factor when fixing video display problems is your monitors brightness and contrast. Those setting could be turned all the way down or up. Always check this at first, because if it is, you will save a bunch of time and money.

If your monitor is fine, and no picture can still be seen, then it is most likely your video card or motherboard has gone bad. Out of those two though, the chances are that your video card is the one, or is just not compatible with your motherboard. Whatever the case is, you need to get a new video card!

Video cards are also known as graphics cards just to let you know, and are located inside of your computer. The video card is actually a circuit board that looks like a big card, and slides right into a slot on your motherboard.

For those of you who really have no clue as to what a motherboard is, it is the big circuit board inside of your computer that ties everything together. Basically that means every part is connected to it, and without it, your computer would not work.

Okay, so you need a new video card, but which one do you need? First you need to find out what slots you can use for your video card. Do you have an AGP, PCI or PCI express slots on your motherboard?

The best way to find this out is to read your computers manual or just look at the slots directly and decide for yourself. You video card is the part that your monitors cable is attached too, just in case you have any trouble finding it.

PCI slots are white, and AGP slots are brown, but just because you see a white slot, doesn't mean you have a PCI express slot. They look like regular PCI slots, but they obviously aren't. You need to look at your computer or motherboards manual and find out which slot you have if you see a white one, PCI or PCI express.

Okay, so you may be thinking, I have an AGP and PCI, which one do I choose! Well if the PCI slot you have is PCI express, then you definitely want to get a PCI express video card. If you only have a regular PCI slot and AGP slot, then go for an AGP video card, since they are faster then regular PCI video cards.

Next we need to discuss the onboard RAM (Random Access memory) of your new video card. Of course the more the better, but just what amount is too much. Well as of right now, the year 2006, I say a video card with 256 MB of RAM is sufficient enough. In the future it will of course get larger as videos and graphics get more demanding, but for right now that is the perfect amount.

Now that we have slots and memory covered, you need to now which brands are the best. The top players in the video card market are ATI and NVIDIA. In my honest opinion, NVIDIA is the better brand.

They are always on top of new technology, and they have pretty good deals on their cards. ATI is a very attractive alternative though, since they were one of the first video card manufacturers around and have many different types of video cards for whatever you need to do on your PC.

Well, that about covers everything that needs to be done if your video display ever stops working for you. It may seem easier to just get a new computer, but if you do, you will be spending 4 times as much as you need to, plus not to mention the hassle of transferring all of your old data over to the new computer.