ATI newbie needs advise before new card arrives.

[BuckMaster]

First off sorry if any of these questions are stupid! Ive never owned a ATI card before now. I just finished reading many reviews and topics and want to make sure Im going to be setting up my card/drivers corretly.

I ordered the following below:

Sapphire ATI RADEON 9700 Atlantis PRO 128MB DDR,325/310, DVI/TV-out/CRT AGP BULK

I previously had a GeForce 4 4200 that went heads up and had to order a new card so I thought I would try a 9700Pro.
Im hoping I can just uninstall the previous drivers reboot and add the new card.

Anyhow first off after it detects the new card should I first install DX9 then the CATALYST 3.0 and Im assuming this is the video drivers? Also since I bought a Sapphire
brand it is ok to use the newest drivers from ATI? Also Ive read something on ATI control panel Software, should I install that after the CATALYST drivers or is it inculded?

Also is there a link to somewhere for the best optimal settings I should use?

Anything else important I should know before installing the new card or after? Im just trying to make this as painless as possible spending this much money on a new card and trying to avoid any problems before hand!

Thanks!
ATI Newbie

 

[Tates]

Delete the nVidia drivers

Catalyst Drivers and Instructions (the Sapphire board is "built by ATi")

The 9700 doesn't like AGP higher than 74MHz. The best option is to lock the AGP/PCI at 66/33.

Go here for all you want to find all things ATi..... rage3d.com

Enjoy

 

[warrenpeace]

rage3d.com has a TON of good info.

Do a search on "detonator destroyer" to find a way to TOTALLY obliterate the nVidia drivers from your registry or you will very likely have some performance issues.

You bought an excellent card. I just got the FIC 9700pro which as far as i can tell is exactly the same card (see my comments in the FIC thread).

Install directx9 first. You won't even be able to load the drivers otherwise. Then load the Catalyst3 driver. You will have no problem using the "Built by ATI" drivers on the ATI site. They will work perfectly. Then install Power DVD. You shouldn't need to use the driver disk that comes with the card if your using the Catalyst 3 drivers from ATI's web site, but i would still install PowerDVD from the included CD.

Word on the streets is that Sapphire manufactures the ATI retail cards for them, and it seems the FIC cards as well.

 

[Lonyo]

Guru3d has the detonator destroyers, and drivers for Radeons. Check there for any other tips you might need, plus you can get the tweaks and everythign else you might need for your spunky new card

 

[BuckMaster]

Thanks everyone!

 

[BFG10K]

(1) Add/remove programs, remove all nVidia software and drivers. Restart.
(2) Leaving the nVidia card in the system, search the registry for "nVidia" and "GeForce" and delete anything you find.
(3) Search your HD for "nV" files and delete anything that is nVidia's (careful, some are genuine Microsoft files, if in doubt leave them). Don't worry about files in the Windows driver cache.
(4) Shutdown, swap the cards, start the machine and install the ATi software as normal.

Also make sure you have the latest BIOS and chipset drivers installed for your machine, preferably before you swap the cards.