Simple noob question, upgrading GPU

Computer Forum Video Cards, Displays and TV Tuners
1

Ok, I think know how this works, I just have never actually done it before, and I don’t want to screw anything up.

I just ordered a new graphics card. I know that you pull the old one, insert the new one, connect the power source, boot up, then install the drivers.

My question, I guess is: Do you need to do anything about the old drivers for your other card? Uninstall them or anything?

AND (IMPORTANT): I’m assuming that the new card comes with enough driver information to boot up Windows so that I can then go to Nvidia.com and install the new drivers? Or do I have to use the driver disk that comes with the card before Windows comes up?

I have looked for instructions online but they are all really vague on these points; I just want to make sure I do this right.

2

This depends on the old card that you got into your PC. If your old card is from ATI/AMD and the new one if from NVidia (or the old one is from NVidia and the new one is from ATI/AMD), then you need to uninstall the graphics drivers. Then install the new card and download the drivers from the website of the manufacturer or with the CD that is bundled with the card.

You’re computer won’t need a driver to get an image from the graphics card, as it uses the internal drivers for the card for BASIC functionality. But you will only be able to get 3D when you install the full driver package, so you need to install the drivers when Windows is loaded.

So in steps:

  1. If your old card is from a different brand, uninstall the drivers.
  2. Insert the graphics card
  3. Turn on the computer.
  4. Install the graphics drivers, if you have removed the old drivers.
  5. If needed, change the screen resolution to your needs after reboot.
3

Ok, I um just upgrading an Nvidia to card to another Nvidia card. More specifically the GeForce 8800 GTS to the GeForce 9800 GTX+.

So in this case I shouldn’t need to uninstall you’re saying. Thanks for the help!!!

4

Hmmm… I would just uninstall the old drivers first regardless.

Whenever I have upgraded the drivers on my current ATI card, I have always uninstalled the older version of drivers. Moreover, the instructions from ATI have always specifically and clearly stated to do just that: 1. uninstall old drivers completely first, 2. then install new ones.

It seems totally unreasonable to me why there should be any exception to this when you upgrade to a new card (of the same brand). You’ll be getting new drivers for it, so I believe the same rules apply.

Now, I only have this experience with my ATI card; I have been using it forever and have never owned an nvidia card, actually. But I don’t see why nvidia cards would act much differently.

Most importantly, there is absolutely no downside to uninstalling video card drivers. None. So you will always be safe by doing that and then installing the new drivers once you get the new card plugged in. On the flip side, experimenting with whether you can get away with simply installing new drivers over the old ones might give you issues… Like I said, ATI, at least, always says to uninstall old drivers first. Thus, if I were to do this, it would make me feel much better to uninstall old drivers first, because then I have no fear of things somehow getting corrupted or whatever.

So my verdict is, just uninstall the old drivers regardless, and then put in new card, and then power up Windows, and then install new drivers.

Lay your doubts to rest. Yes, you will be able to load windows just fine without any drivers. In fact, it will probably look identical to how it looks under ideal conditions (with drivers), not because of anything the card contains, but because WinXP already has its own drivers for basic functionality (unless you’re dealing with win9x, then it will load up with very small resolution and only 16 colors, I think). It will only make a difference once you try to play games or watch a movie or something.

Sorry about the long-winded post. lol

5

It’s best to download and install the latest drivers from nvidia.com, so you’re sure that the new graphics card is supported. Then you can swap the graphics cards. It’s possible that you first see a low resolution (everything big on the screen), and that you see a message to reboot. If this would’t work, you can always reinstall the graphics driver without swapping back the old card.