HW205: Final Quiz: Expansion, Power, and Cooling Deep Dive

1.What should you check for physical card fit?

Driver readiness, firmware revision, and monitor mode support.Benchmark tier and VRAM capacity before adjacent-slot access.GPU generation, cooler branding, and fan count before clearance dimensions.Length, thickness, slot position, cable clearance, and nearby component access.

2.What does PSU headroom mean?

Additional wattage that reduces risk without replacing load and cable checks.Capacity margin that helps with transient GPU behavior and component aging.Reserve power that is useful when the required connectors are also safe.Extra safe capacity for sustained load, short spikes, aging, and future changes.

3.What makes airflow effective?

A case layout where cables, filters, and panels do not choke the air path.Fan placement that avoids recirculating warm air around the CPU and GPU.Balanced intake and exhaust that reaches the parts producing the heat.A clear path that brings cooler air in and moves warmer air out under load.

4.What should happen after an upgrade?

Check the new part while leaving system-level symptoms for later.Document the purchase details before testing thermals or driver behavior.Use a successful startup as the main evidence for workload stability.Validate boot, drivers, temperatures, noise, stability, performance, and documentation.

5.Why should a major GPU upgrade be treated as a system change?

It mainly changes graphics settings after the hardware support path is known.It shifts validation toward the card while leaving PSU and airflow unchanged.It can affect fit, power budget, cooling path, cables, drivers, and service access.It improves airflow enough to make power and thermal checks lower priority.