Proper way to install a new graphics card (NVIDIA)

[sodgian]

Hi all, I am going to upgrade by old NVIDIA graphics card but I am unsure about the procedure to remove and install the new graphics card and driver.

The command nvidia-msi displays "Driver Version 390.157" for my current GPU and the new graphics card does require NVIDIA's driver version 535.154.05.

What commands should I use to remove the current driver and install the new one so I can receive driver updates through KDE Discover? Should I first remove the current driver before unplugging my current (old) graphics card?

Thanks in advance

[Schwarzer Kater]

IMHO the most hassle-free way would be to remove (purge) the driver, exchange the Nvidia graphics cards and install the new version (from the *Ubuntu repositories).

[claydoh]

You should use the driver manager, found in Discover's settings area in the Software Sources tool.
Revert to the open source 'nouveau' driver there . Then, run sudo apt autoremove to remove any potential stray nvidia packages, to be safe.
You probably want to remove/rename your /etc/X11/xorg.conf if present. Purging packages won't remove this, iirc, or other customized files , if present.
Reboot to make sure that your graphics are working with the open driver.
THEN you should be able to swap the cards, and use the driver manager to install the drivers again.

[sodgian]

Can I use the same exact commands described here for Ubuntu?:

Completely Uninstalling the Official NVIDIA Drivers from Ubuntu Using the Command Line

Installing NVIDIA Drivers from the Command Line

Thanks in advance

[Schwarzer Kater]

Yes - or you could use the "official" Ubuntu way and install the new drivers with sudo ubuntu-drivers install nvidia:535 .

PS: I would only sudo apt clean when I am short of disk space - as this will remove all cached packages, not only the ones from Nvidia…

[claydoh]

Ya, this is essentially what the Driver Manager does on the command line when installing or removing drivers. Definitely more informative and hands-on.

[sodgian]

Can I use the same exact commands described here for Ubuntu?:

Completely Uninstalling the Official NVIDIA Drivers from Ubuntu Using the Command Line

Installing NVIDIA Drivers from the Command Line

Thanks in advance

For your information those commands worked like a charm

I plugged directly into the PCI slot the new card without making any changes in Kubuntu. As expected KDE didn't start. I shut down the PC and started Kubuntu using the recovery mode. Those commands effectively uninstalled the old driver and installed the new one. Once I restarted everything was working fine.