A definitive answer concerning GPU upgrade (Nvidia > Nvidia)

[pr3tchur]

First of all, with out this forum I would never had built my PC with confidence, so I respect it for its vast knowledge.

Second, when I did build PC's in the past (2001-ish), when upgrading hardware it was almost imperative that all previous drivers were wiped from the system for a fresh install.

I know now that building a system has become much more accessible these days, even with peripherals (Plug and play!? What witchcraft is this!?), so can fully accept that just ripping out a GTX 960 and slapping in a GTX 980 would work....but is it really advisable?

So that's my question. What is the "correct" way to upgrade from GTX 960 to GTX 980? Bear in mind that I like a clean SSD, with zero unneeded files or registries. If swapping out accomplishes this then I'm happy.

Thanks for taking the time guys.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

Both cards use the same GeForce driver package so it's just a straight swap.

 

[pr3tchur]

Both cards use the same GeForce driver package so it's just a straight swap.

Thats what I thought. Just hard to believe. I'm guessing that GPU performance wouldn't be affected either way then?

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

You can always install the card and let Windows boot up and detect it, then download the newest drivers from www.geforce.com and do the Advanced option and check Clean Install. That will remove the driver and re-install it for you. I do that option every time I upgrade to a new driver.