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I was wondering whether it's necessary to re-install graphic drivers when switching from an older video card to a newer video card, considering my drivers are already the latest version.

I'm switching from Nvidia 8600GT to Nvidia GTX 560.

It's true that I could easily re-install the drivers in a matter of minutes and not need to ask this question, but I'm rather curious how it is.

When installing the drivers, do they detect the current card and install some specific set of files required for that card? In that case, a re-install would be necessary. Otherwise, if all files are always installed, a re-install wouldn't be needed at all, I guess. Where's the truth?

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Do you need to? You don't really need to do anything. Or are you asking if it's best practice? – surfasb Sep 16 '11 at 9:26
@surfasb I don't think this is philosophy.SE – RiMMER Sep 16 '11 at 12:10
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After all I found an answer on the nvidia site regarding this:

Driver files should always be uninstalled before updating to newer drivers or when removing an older NVIDIA card and replacing it with a newer card.

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Yes, you will have to install the drivers again.

NVIDIA graphics cards have different drivers for different series of cards. So saying drivers for 8400 GT will also work for 8800 GT.

The new card you are installing comes in the GTX 500 series. It has a different set of drivers which you can find here.

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