[SOLVED] How to replace a pair of Radeon R9 280X cards with one 1060 6GB ?

[mrm198]

After a good discussion in this thread ([SOLVED] - Advice upgrading my GPU for the I7 3770k | Tom's Hardware Forum (tomshardware.com) ) I decided to buy a MSI GeForce GTX 1060 Gaming 6GB. This will replace a pair of Radeon R9 280X cards. I did not build/fit these two cards originally so I am learning from scratch.

From reading around here / you tube etc, I think the steps are:

Give the case a dusting/clean

BIOS

1. Carefully look through bios settings to see if there is anything graphics card related that I might need to change after the swap
2. Put the latest bios update file for my sabertooth z77 on usb stick (my version is 1708, there have been 4 updates since (SABERTOOTH Z77 - Support (asus.com) )
3. Update bios

Remove the 2 cards

1. power off/disconnect pc and cables. fully discharge power
2. take sides off tower
3. carefully remove the 2 cards (screws / catch on the motherboard/power cables). the cards might be connected to each other as well.

Install new card
1. in the right slot in the mother board, screw in/catch / power cable

Put PC back together inc. wires cables etc. and turn on pc (hopefully boots to windows and can interact with it)

Sort out the video card drivers - Follow this (How To - How to perform a CLEAN install of your video card drivers. | Tom's Hardware Forum (tomshardware.com) )

Questions:
Are the steps right?
Are there any special considerations making a 2 for 1 swap, rather than a 1 for 1?
I'm not sure about updating the bios, unless i need to if there is a problem. What would you recommend?

Thank you!

 

[KyaraM]

You should uninstall the GPU driver with DDU before switching the cards, then fresh reinstall afterwards. Can spare you lots of grief. BIOS update shouldn't be necessary for a GPU swap, but I guess it won't hurt. Not sure what you mean by full discharge, I just turn off the PSU, pull the plug, and take out the card when switching them. Never had anything happen. You should only need to take off the left side side cover, not both. Only cables inside the computer you need to worry about are those powering the GPUs, nothing else needs to be plugged for switching them out. The right slot to put the card in is usually the one closest to the CPU.

 

[mrm198]

You should uninstall the GPU driver with DDU before switching the cards, then fresh reinstall afterwards. Can spare you lots of grief. BIOS update shouldn't be necessary for a GPU swap, but I guess it won't hurt. Not sure what you mean by full discharge, I just turn off the PSU, pull the plug, and take out the card when switching them. Never had anything happen. You should only need to take off the left side side cover, not both. Only cables inside the computer you need to worry about are those powering the GPUs, nothing else needs to be plugged for switching them out. The right slot to put the card in is usually the one closest to the CPU.

All done, thank you. Took the two cards out carefully along with the connector between them and a spare power cable - as only replacing them with one graphics card. It's working great!