Switching between AMD and nVidia... do we still need drivercleaner?

R

Ruahrc

Limp Gawd
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Mar 8, 2009
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I just ordered a new nVidia 770 to replace my aging 6950. What's the easiest way to ensure a clean driver switchover?

I remember back in the old days we had to go through all this trouble with using some driver cleaner, or even reinstall windows, etc. is all that still true?

I'm hoping I can just do it straightforward like and uninstall AMD CCC/drivers via Windows control panel, reboot, then install new nVidia card and install nVidia drivers?

Ruahrc
 
Nothing beyond simply uninstalling the old drivers first is necessary. Honestly, even that isn't really necessary. There are many who operate GPUs from multiple brands simultaneously in their system these days, either for the purpose of extra displays, mining or whatever.

It hasn't really been an issue since Windows XP, and even then the issue was overblown IMO.
 
Don't think you necessarily "need" to run it but I still usually do just for peace of mind.
 
I noticed a lot of the recent driver packages (can't remember which brand, Nvidia?) do a clean-up already as part of the fresh install (delete all old files, then install new ones).

It was Quadro drivers though, not sure if that mattered.
 
It is impossible to say for sure.

Some people have no trouble

Some people are good, after they use a driver cleaner

Some people need to do a complete OS re-install (this has been my own experience, on two occasions, of switching from one side or the other.)
 
I just switched from a HD7970 to a 780ti. When I ran 3DMark11 my system hung @the start of test # 2. Reloaded Windows from scratch & haven't had any problems. Not conclusive but suspicious.
 
I never have trouble with these things for some reason. Haven't had issues since the days of 6800GT switching to X800 XT or something.

I also believe that driver cleaner is outdated and doesn't clean worth squat. The only solid way is to completely remove ATi drivers using the Cat uninstaller with an option that cleans out everything. Then install nVidia drivers with the option that do a clean install and you should be golden.
 
That's exactly what I did. Used the AMD option to uninstall all Amd s/w, then a clean install of the Nvidia drivers. Had problems, but can't draw a conclusion as it had literally been a year since a fresh install.
 
I'm in exactly the same boat - sold my 6950 for a 770. I'm planning on booting up, uninstalling CCC, and installing the latest nvidia drivers.

Bitcoins are making it a good time to get out from under a 6950, eh?
 
TechBlaster said:
That's exactly what I did. Used the AMD option to uninstall all Amd s/w, then a clean install of the Nvidia drivers. Had problems, but can't draw a conclusion as it had literally been a year since a fresh install.
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What kind of problems are you facing? I switched out my 7970 for a 670 and then went SLi. No issues.
 
Lol I've gone from x79 downgrade to Z68 and from 670 sli to 780 to 7970 to 7950 crossfire to 770 to 780 again all on same windows install with no issue. Great performance not a hiccup in any game. I should really do it as all my games are on storage drive anyways so it's pretty painless.
 
I am running AMD and Nvidia at same time.No problems here.No OS installs.
That being said I have seen years ago where you would need an OS install to get your machine running good.Today not so much.Just do clean installs of drivers.
 
Driver cleaner may not be out of date....but it isn't free anymore. Hasn't been for a long time.

For changing drivers on the same videocard, I personally use Driver Fusion---immediately followed by Display Driver Uninstaller. Then use 2 or 3 passes of Crapcleaner to clean out the registry.

For changing GPU brands; Sometimes you just gotta re-install the OS.
 
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Now I'm having trouble again. Fresh OS load, 780ti with the latest Nvidia non Beta drivers. Crashes in 3DMARK11 under Win 8.1. Worked fine under Win 8 before the 8.1 update. The new 3DMARK runs without issue under 8.1. I suspect that I didn't really need to reload the OS when I went from the 7970 to the 780ti.

Is anyone running a NVidia card (preferred a 780 or 780ti) under Win8.1 that runs 3DMark11 without a problem? Is this a 3DMark11 issue under 8.1 (with Tuesdays updates) or do I have a real problem?
 
Ryoohki360 said:
Did you try a game, BF4, Metro?
Click to expand...

Not yet, haven't had a lot of time with work going on. Will load BF4 tonight & try. I kind of like periodic OS reloads as it cleans out accumulated garbage. The bad part is it takes me 3 or 4 days to get everything reloaded & updated back to a good base level. Good image backup software for Win8 would be nice.
 
When I switched from my 6870s to a 660 Ti I didn't run a driver cleaner. It's been a year and I've not had any issues.
 
Haven't needed to use driver cleaner since I last used Windows XP in 2008, and even then it was rare. Vista/7/8 all work so much better in this regard. The new driver model helps, the OS's also take care of their registry so much better, and the companies are so much better at writing the software.

There are occasional hiccups where you might need a program like this, but I have yet to run into one in over 5 years. Simple uninstall->reboot->install new card and drivers has worked everytime for quite sometime.
 
I had no issues removing the amd drivers through the control panel, then installing NVidia's drivers. 290x to 780 Ti
 
Well, my 3DMark11 issue with the MSI Gaming 780 ti & Win8,1 seems to have gone away. I deleted, then reloaded 3DMark11. Just ran without issue. The new 3DMark completes without issue. After the upgrade from Win 8 to 8.1 the deletion & reload of 3DMark11 seems to have cleared whatever the error condition was. Not completely convinced the system is solid yet, but hopefully optimistic :)
 
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