this post was submitted on 29 Dec 2025
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Linux Gaming
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The only thing reading something like this does for me is paint the linux community as completely inept and dishonest.
I swapped GPU in windows by downloading the new driver, shut down the pc, swap cards, boot pc that then loads a default windows driver, install the new driver I downloaded, done. If it asks for a reboot, that takes another 20 seconds.
Done.
I agree that the original post is dishonest, but your solution is exactly the same as what they said with the exception that you knew it would be a problem so you downloaded the driver beforehand. Had you not known that would happen the series of misfortunes could have happened to you too.
I didn’t come here to complain about linux, but the number of distros that give me a black screen after some hardware change or update is more than I can count on two hands. What this post is denying that both userbases have wildly different skill levels because linux generally requires a higher skill level. Windows is over a much more massive userbase that includes people who can’t set the time display on a microwave. And they don’t use linux.
Furthermore, pre-downloading the driver is completely unnecessary as the default windows driver would allow you to continue using the PC and download the correct driver after installation. No “series of misfortunes.”
This is, specifically, the workflow for changing graphics cards manufacturers on windows, e.g. nVidia to AMD. If you're just going from one AMD card to another, or vice versa, generally you can just toss it in and reboot a few times, yes.
GPU manufacturers are fucking awful about actually uninstalling their bloatware shit on windows, and it often (potentially intentionally) interferes with other manufacturer's drivers (and sometimes their own, though that's less common these days.)
Windows Update installed the bare driver for both Green and Red GPUs directly. There’s no additional software needed for either unless you plan to adjust clock and memory speeds or want something specific from the vendor’s software.