How to properly change a video card from ATI to NVIDIA

[opticon]

Hello everyone!
I'm new here and I have a question.
Tomorrow I am going to change my current ATI Radeon X300SE PCI-E video card with a NVIDIA Geforce 7600GT.
My question is what do I have to do with the drivers?
What I plan to do is:

1. With my current video card uninstal the Catalyst Drivers
2. Turn off my PC
3. Change the cards
4. Turn on my PC
5. Install the Forceware drivers
6. Play Oblivion at a decen framerate and detail level

OK, seriously, I don't know if I'm missing a step. Especially between steps 4 and 5. Thanks a lot.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

I won't comment on your choice of cards for Oblivion other than that, but for a good card change you should add;

2b reboot in safemode
2c run DriverCleanerPro and get rid of all old ATi display drivers
2d power down

 

[maxpleasure]

Hi sorry to interup...

I am no computer expert.

How do you reboot into safemode?

As I concern safemode choice will be at the screen only when you are in trouble at booting up the windows. I experience it some time during my OC session.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Like mp says most installs should either tell you the option or default to F8 (I think mp's shift key got stuck 8) ).

The reason you want to do this is so that it doesn't load any additional driver junk (although it may still do this in XP).

The DriverCleaner documentation has a very detailed (with pictures) description of the method under 'instructions'.

http://www.drivercleaner.net/documentation/

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Yeah I know, I almost always spell Matrox as MAtrox, until I go back and change it.

 

[blade85]

I won't comment on your choice of cards for Oblivion other than that, but for a good card change you should add;

2b reboot in safemode
2c run DriverCleanerPro and get rid of all old ATi display drivers
2d power down

exactly what i would do aswell

 

[bourgeoisdude]

Hello everyone!
I'm new here and I have a question.
Tomorrow I am going to change my current ATI Radeon X300SE PCI-E video card with a NVIDIA Geforce 7600GT.
My question is what do I have to do with the drivers?
What I plan to do is:

1. With my current video card uninstal the Catalyst Drivers
2. Turn off my PC
3. Change the cards
4. Turn on my PC
5. Install the Forceware drivers
6. Play Oblivion at a decen framerate and detail level

OK, seriously, I don't know if I'm missing a step. Especially between steps 4 and 5. Thanks a lot.

That plan is safe.

Let me be brutally honest: I completely forgot to do any of that stuff when I changed my x700 to an 8800gts last night, and it worked flawlessly. After I noticed my ati icon was still in the taskbar (woops!!!), I uninstalled the catalyst driver and all was well.

Having said that, my situation COULD have been much worse and I am not recommending you try that, but I lucked out. Once per millenia computers forgive their user's mistakes I think :mrgreen: