Correct process for switching graphics cards

[Christopher Low 3,157]

I currently have a 2GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 GPU installed in my PC. However, God decided this weekend that it was time for an upgrade, and so I am now in the possession of a very nice 6GB GeForce GTX 980Ti That being the case, I would like to know the correct procedure to replace my old card with the new one. I suspect that I need to do the following....

• Download the latest set of Nvidia graphics drivers
• Uninstall my current graphics drivers
• Shutdown the PC
• Remove the old GTX 770 card
• Fit the new GTX 980Ti card
• Reboot the PC (in safe mode?) so that the OS detects the new card
• Install the new graphics drivers

Is that correct? I fso, do I need to uninstall the old graphics drivers with that DDU (Display Driver Uninstall) utility?

[Ray Proudfoot 3,133]

Hi Christopher,

Looks good to me. I would use DDU to uninstall the old drivers. Don't think you'll need safe mode.

Remember too that Prepar3d.cfg has graphics entries so renaming that and letting P3D generate a new one would be advisable.

Enjoy your new card. 👍

Edited October 8, 2019 by Ray Proudfoot

[lownslo 466]

On 10/7/2019 at 5:46 AM, Christopher Low said:

• Download the latest set of Nvidia graphics drivers
• Uninstall my current graphics drivers
• Shutdown the PC
• Remove the old GTX 770 card
• Fit the new GTX 980Ti card
• Reboot the PC (in safe mode?) so that the OS detects the new card
• Install the new graphics drivers

Is that correct? I fso, do I need to uninstall the old graphics drivers with that DDU (Display Driver Uninstall) utility?

Yes, you really should use DDU in Safe Mode to clean everything related to your 770.  Safe Mode insures all the registry entries for the old card are deleted.  DDU in Safe Mode really does a great job cleaning the registry!

• Make sure you have the 980Ti's manufacturer's drivers.  They should be installed after you first install the new GPU.  Then, if you wish, you can clean the manufacturer's drivers and install an appropriate version of nVidia's drivers.
• DDU has an option to clean the old drivers in Safe Mode and then shut the computer down so the new GPU can be installed.  Easy peasy!

No need to reboot the computer in Safe Mode for the first boot with the new GPU.  Definitely disconnect the computer from the Internet... MS loves making our driver choices for us when they are allowed.   Install the GPU manufacturer's drivers, then reboot, and then tweak the driver settings using nVidia Control Panel or nVidiaProfileInspector.

Have fun!

Greg

[vortex681 805]

22 hours ago, lownslo said:

MS loves making our driver choices for us when they are allowed.

It's easy to stop Windows update from installing driver updates: https://pureinfotech.com/exclude-driver-updates-windows-10/

[Christopher Low 3,157]

I have Windows 7 at the moment, so I do not need to worry. As for the drivers for the 980Ti, I will be installing the latest Nvidia drivers from the website. I do not have the DVD that came with the card, but I am reasonably certain that installing those specific drivers is not required.

On a side note, I am now intending to upgrade most of my PC at the same time. I had a fair bit of luck over the Cosford weekend, and I want to take advantage of the situation

Edited October 9, 2019 by Christopher Low

[lynchee_flys 0]

Is it necessary to reinstall FSX SE after installing a new graphics card? I just upgraded to an MSI GTX 1660 and my FPS are not what I expected. NVIDIA Experience recommends sliders all “right,” but flying an approach to Kansas City Downtown, my FPS was 5. I did scrub my fsx.cfg removing my past EVGA GT 760 entries, but I have not removed the old drivers.

[Bert Pieke 3,584]

You should not have to reinstall FSX, but reinstalling the nvidia drivers is definitely a good idea..

And sliders "all right".... where does that come from???

Edited July 11, 2020 by Bert Pieke

[lynchee_flys 0]

Thanks Bert. I will dump that previous driver. In NVIDIA Experience with FSX SE added to my list of programs, the NVIDIA recommended experience settings for FSX SE are “all right“ or “all to max.”

[Bert Pieke 3,584]

4 minutes ago, lynchee_flys said:

Thanks Bert. I will dump that previous driver. In NVIDIA Experience with FSX SE added to my list of programs, the NVIDIA recommended experience settings for FSX SE are “all right“ or “all to max.”

I have never ever been able to fly with all sliders maxed in FSX, and would suggest that you find your own set of settings that balance the kind of flying you do with what your system is capable of..  Lots of discussions of that on this forum.

Also, fps in FSX are largely limited by CPU load, not video card capability.

(P3D V4/5 is different in that regard..)

[lynchee_flys 0]

Thanks for the advice. I uninstalled my previous NVIDIA drivers. Things were a little smoother out of KMKC last night. I still feel like I am missing something. As if there is some setting I have missed that is acting like a valve or filter blocking my ability to break that consistent 30 FPS threshold. When is it a good idea to reinstall FSX/SE?

[vortex681 805]

On 7/13/2020 at 8:06 PM, lynchee_flys said:

Things were a little smoother out of KMKC last night. I still feel like I am missing something.

If you still think it may be something to do with the drivers, it's worth using Display Driver Uninstaller (https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html) to guarantee that there are no remnants of old drivers remaining before you install them fresh.