Installing a New Graphics Card and Drivers

[Matthew V]

I'll be upgrading from an NVidia gtx 770 to a gtx 1070.
The hardware I understand well enough, where to put it, compatibility, adequate power, etc.
It's the software side I'm unsure about. New Drivers will have to be installed for the new card, yes.

But will it work if I just take out the old gpu and put it in the new one, then install the latest driver? Or are there steps that must be done beforehand, (such as uninstalling the old driver first)?
Will uninstalling the old driver turn off my graphics?
I assume since I have to see my screen in order to install the latest driver, the new gpu should be giving me a display once I turn my computer on, correct?
If that's the case, can I do a clean install for the driver after the new gpu is in?

I just want to make sure I don't make a mistake that leaves me with no graphics and unable to turn them on.

 

[Shektron]

I think this is the correct order:

1. Remove old drivers with DDU.

2. Once the drivers are removed, most probably Windows will revert to some basic drivers.

3. Remove old GPU, insert new one.

4. Install new drivers.

 

[Antonis117]

There is no need for all these since Nvidia uses the same drivers for GTX770 and GTX1070. In the following link you can see from the download page of Nvidia drivers that in the support tab they are all listed as compatible with the latest drivers 397.93 WHQL.
http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/134624/en-us

NVIDIA TITAN Series:

NVIDIA TITAN V, NVIDIA TITAN Xp, NVIDIA TITAN X (Pascal), GeForce GTX TITAN X, GeForce GTX TITAN, GeForce GTX TITAN Black, GeForce GTX TITAN Z
GeForce 10 Series:

GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, GeForce GTX 1080, GeForce GTX 1070 Ti, GeForce GTX 1070, GeForce GTX 1060, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, GeForce GTX 1050, GeForce GT 1030
GeForce 900 Series:

GeForce GTX 980 Ti, GeForce GTX 980, GeForce GTX 970, GeForce GTX 960, GeForce GTX 950
GeForce 700 Series:

GeForce GTX 780 Ti, GeForce GTX 780, GeForce GTX 770, GeForce GTX 760, GeForce GTX 760 Ti (OEM), GeForce GTX 750 Ti, GeForce GTX 750, GeForce GTX 745, GeForce GT 740, GeForce GT 730, GeForce GT 720, GeForce GT 710
GeForce 600 Series:

GeForce GTX 690, GeForce GTX 680, GeForce GTX 670, GeForce GTX 660 Ti, GeForce GTX 660, GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST, GeForce GTX 650 Ti, GeForce GTX 650, GeForce GTX 645, GeForce GT 640, GeForce GT 635, GeForce GT 630

So turn off the PC, take out the old and replace it with the new. However if new drivers were required, you use a utility called DisplayDriverUninstaller that you can download and use following the instructions provided with it.

 

[Matthew V]

Both answers were good, and I'm sure DDU works when you have entirely different drivers for the cards.
I went with the second answer since the latest drivers were the same for the cards.
So I made sure the latest driver was already installed, then just turn it off and placed the new card in.
It went to slightly basic graphics at first, but simply restarting the computer put everything back to normal. Now to check out the performance difference.

Thanks.

 

[M3LL3TT]

did this work ok for you jw as im upgrading from a gtx 960 to a 1070 soon?

 

[Matthew V]

did this work ok for you jw as im upgrading from a gtx 960 to a 1070 soon?

Based on the advice from this thread, I replaced the graphics card without uninstalling the driver.

There were no major problems or errors of failure.
A minor issue did appear the first time I turned on the PC - the display appeared with more basic graphics and a reduced resolution. However, it went back to normal after restarting the PC once.

Based on Atonis117's list, the 960 and 1070 use the same updated drivers, so you should be able to replace your card in the same manner.

Some other things (in case you didn't know): Make sure your new card can physically fit inside your computer, and that your power supply and cooling is adequate (the 1070 uses a little more power when working).

 

[M3LL3TT]

did this work ok for you jw as im upgrading from a gtx 960 to a 1070 soon?

Based on the advice from this thread, I replaced the graphics card without uninstalling the driver.

There were no major problems or errors of failure.
A minor issue did appear the first time I turned on the PC - the display appeared with more basic graphics and a reduced resolution. However, it went back to normal after restarting the PC once.

Based on Atonis117's list, the 960 and 1070 use the same updated drivers, so you should be able to replace your card in the same manner.

Some other things (in case you didn't know): Make sure your new card can physically fit inside your computer, and that your power supply and cooling is adequate (the 1070 uses a little more power when working).

Just installed and have been running my 1070, fits in the pc just!, with some careful cable management. installation was a lot easier than expected. running most games 1080p 144hz at high/ultra.
Many thanks all