Video card upgrade, drivers question


Recommended Posts

I'm going to be upgrading from a radeon x600 SE to a radeon HD 3850 in the next few days. I currently have the ati 6.12 drivers installed. When I install the 3850, I will install the new 8.1 radeon drivers. My question is whether or not I need to uninstall the current 6.12 drivers before upgrading the card? Alternatively, is it a non issue, or do I need to install the 8.1 drivers for my old card and then it will be fine to swap in the new card? The fact that they use the same driver is the source of the confusion here.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/616317-video-card-upgrade-drivers-question/
Share on other sites

Uninstall your current drivers, plus go in to Device Manager and uninstall your current Video Card also. Then just shut down the machine, remove old card, install new one, power on, install new drivers.

Sounds reasonable; thanks!

@Raa: No, I'm not considering a nVidia card.

  • 3 months later...
I'm going to be upgrading from a radeon x600 SE to a radeon HD 3850 in the next few days. I currently have the ati 6.12 drivers installed. When I install the 3850, I will install the new 8.1 radeon drivers. My question is whether or not I need to uninstall the current 6.12 drivers before upgrading the card? Alternatively, is it a non issue, or do I need to install the 8.1 drivers for my old card and then it will be fine to swap in the new card? The fact that they use the same driver is the source of the confusion here.

The ROT on graphics drivers is you do NOT need to remove the existing driver if both of the following are true:

1. You are not changing graphics chipset manufacturers (you are going from one nVidia card to a newer model, for example, such as 7-series to 8-series; for ATI owners, upgrading from X1K series to HD 2xxx or HD 3xxx series)

AND

2. Both chipsets are supported by your current driver.

Anecdotal Example: Last year, I finally retired my AIW 9700 Pro (due to impending GPU failure, as I was using it strictly as a graphics card at this point) in my daily-use PC, running Vista Ultimate, with the latest Catalyst drivers (at the time, Catalyst 7.6 for Vista), and replaced with the ATI Radeon X1650PRO graphics card (also in AGP). I did NOT need to replace drivers (as I did not change manufacturers, or to a chipset that required a special driver). My upgrade process was therefore pretty darn simple.

1. Shut down the computer (and physically unplug the computer, either from the wall or PSU end, for safety reasons).

2. Take out old card (and disconnect auxilliary power cable running from PSU).

3. Connect new card to auxillary power cable (if the card uses the same connector as the old one, use the same cable) and insert in the same slot.

4. Reconnect power and restart the computer.

5. Windows *should* not only say that there is a new card in the computer, it should also detect the card and update the drivers automatically; it will then ask to restart the computer. Let it do so.

6. Welcome to increased graphical performance.

I also, for the same reasons, loathe changing VPU chipset *horses* in midstream (not just from ATI to nVidia, but from nVidia to ATI), as both companies are known to sneak nitpicky ATI-isms or nVidia-isms in places that graphics cards have no business being; therefore, I tend to recommend that if you have nVidia now, that you upgrade to nVidia when it's time to do so (naturally, the same applies to ATI owners).

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • "Samsung is shutting down yet another app used by millions" I will fix the clickbait title for you, free-of-charge: "Samsung shutting down it's Max VPN app"
    • Microsoft brings Planner Agent to all Microsoft 365 Copilot users by Ivan Jenic Image: Microsoft Microsoft has announced that Planner Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot is now generally available to all users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Planner Agent is the latest addition in the string of AI features that Microsoft is implementing across virtually all of its products. The agent lets you manage tasks through natural language prompts directly inside Microsoft 365 Copilot. You can create and update tasks, check priorities, and get insights about current entries without leaving the chat interface. The general availability release comes with a handful of new additions on top of what was available during the initial rollout. A new plan picker lets you search and filter your plans by name, then update task names, statuses, due dates, or priorities through the agent. There's also a goals bucket now, which lets you group tasks under specific goals. This builds on the Goals view, a feature that was introduced as part of the broader Planner refresh that rolled out earlier. Image: Microsoft | Planner Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot All AI-generated plans and tasks are created in draft mode by default, so you can review and approve changes before anything goes through. This is actually a thoughtful safety feature, because trusting AI to handle all your tasks without a human in the loop is usually a recipe for disaster. Having tasks initially saved as drafts is the best possible middle ground. Microsoft also says that not all tasks are executed equally. Simple tasks get processed quickly, while more complex ones, like building a plan from a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file, are handed to a more capable model. Microsoft says this approach delivers the best performance, but it could also help with usage management, as you won't have to waste tokens on performing simple tasks. Planner Agent is available now across Teams, Loop, SharePoint, and other Microsoft 365 apps for anyone on a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription.
    • To be clear I'm anti trump, the bigger point is why review this game at all?
    • Trillion dollar Microsoft has to reduce spending by hurting more people. Good job Microsoft. Good Job Asha.
  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      Cosminus earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Year In
      ThatGuyOnline earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      Jeroen Wilms earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      rolfus earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Leroy Jethro Gibbs earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      489
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      189
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      124
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      86
    5. 5
      neufuse
      73
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!