The best way to check if your graphics card is working properly is to use specialized diagnostic software or to perform manual tests.
Using Diagnostic Software
Diagnostic software usually comes built into your graphics card driver, so the first place to check is the driver settings. To do this, open up the graphics card driver’s control panel, which can be found in the system tray or Start menu on most modern computers. Once you locate the driver’s control panel, check for a setting called ‘diagnostics’ or something similar and click on it. This will open up the diagnostic software for your graphics card.
The diagnostic software will offer different tests for you to run and the results will be displayed in the software’s main window. If the tests come back with any errors or warnings, then your graphics card is likely not working correctly. It’s important to note that diagnostics software isn’t foolproof, as some errors and warnings may be due to other system components. In this case, further investigation is necessary to determine the source of the problem.
Performing Manual Tests
If you don’t have access to diagnostic software, then you can also perform some manual tests to check if your graphics card is functioning properly. These tests are slightly more involved than using diagnostic software, but they can still provide useful information.
One of the simplest ways to test your graphics card is booting your computer into safe mode. To do this, restart your computer and hold down the F8 key when the system starts up. This should bring up the advanced boot options menu and you can select ‘Safe Mode’ from there. When you are in safe mode, make sure that your graphics card is enabled and that you can see the desktop. If the graphics card is disabled or if you can’t see the desktop, then this could indicate an issue with the graphics card itself.
Another manual test you can perform is to check the video output of your graphics card. To do this, make sure your monitor is powered on and connected to your graphics card (via VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort, etc.). Then, turn on your computer and see if you can get a signal on the monitor. If you can’t get a signal, then this could indicate an issue with your graphics card or with the cable connecting the monitor to the graphics card.
Finally, you can also try running some 3D games or applications. If your graphics card can’t properly render the 3D graphics in these programs, then this could be indicative of a hardware issue.
Conclusion
There are several methods for checking if your graphics card is working properly, ranging from using diagnostic software to performing manual tests. Depending on the situation, any one of these methods could help you diagnose and troubleshoot any issues with your graphics card.