Turn the PC off first preferably
this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2025
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Yes!! :D
You didn't say which GPU! If it's all AMD, then just replace. That's what I did and everything worked fine. If you're going from AMD to Nvidia, them install the Nvidia drivers first, turn it off, replace, turn back on
Really only depends on how new the new GPU is vs. how old the Kernel is.
example: If you're running Debian Stable and trying to put in an RTX 5090, you'll likely have a bad time, since neither the kernel nor Mesa support blackwell on Trixie without backporting.
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If you're using a rolling release distro, just update first but you'll probably be fine already. If you're using a point release distro, make sure that release supports your hardware first.
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If you're buying some older (but new to you) hardware, you'll probably be fine.
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You'll be fine with anything AMD or Intel even on debian stable, since they're both active in developing their linux support, where nVidia doesn't support FOSS drivers.
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If you're buying nVidia that new/powerful, you'll be better served by their proprietary drivers you can install - just keep in mind you won't be able to run very recent (and certainly not bleeding edge) kernels with the proprietary nV drivers.
You’ll be fine with anything AMD or Intel even on debian stable, since they’re both active in developing their linux support, where nVidia doesn’t support FOSS drivers.
Not strictly true any more. There are Nvidia open drivers, but they may not be in Debian yet. In fact, Nvidia recommend using the open drivers for cards it supports, which if I recall correctly, is Turing and newer.
You're thinking of firmware, not drivers. To make a GPU work, you need new enough versions of the kernel, driver and firmware. The open source drivers for Nvidia GPUs are still slower and less featureful than the proprietary ones.
Not really.
If it's the same brand (AMD>AMD or Nvidia>Nvidia) the same drivers you were already using should pick up the new GPU.
If you're switching, you can uninstall the nvidia driver if switching to amd, and you'll have to install it, if switching to nvidia.
On some distros you may have to install vulkan-radeon to get vulkan support on amd.
I'm swapping a Radeon 480 with a 5700xt. It should have the right drivers.
If you're switching vendors it's not a bad idea to install the drivers beforehand. Otherwise no, just swap & cable.
Just curious, why change the drivers first (I'll be switching out my nvidia for amd in the future) will it save time or what?
You don't need to change drivers strictly, just add the new ones then remove the old ones later. It's just to avoid having issues with display output on your first boot - although you should pretty much always get some video out even without the correct drivers
Thank you
As a double check (or check before buying) you can search for your new GPU on https://linux-hardware.org/ to see if other users have it working without any issues. The hardware probe is also a handy tool to share your PC's specs if you should ever need to do so!