The best written drivers will search for the appropriate hardware and stop the installation if it is not found. Some hardware could be damaged by installing the wrong drivers. It all depends on the hardware and the driver.
Conversely, there are cases where hardware can be made to perform better with a driver specified for a newer model and/or flashing the firmware (BIOS) with a verion intended for another model, but it is not something to attempt if you don't know what you're doing.