I really don't have a defensible bias one way or the other when it comes to video cards. I've had everything from just about everyone over the past 2 or so decades.
Clock Speeds, Video RAM, Cuda Cores, it's all pretty much the same these days. Pick whatever works best for whatever you're doing.
Most people go the AMD route for Multiple Monitors ( as in 4 or more ) while the Adrenalin junkies pick Nvidia.
But that's not what this post is about.
No, it's not about Mantle or DirectX 12 or PhysX either. It's about the crap that gets left behind when after you upgrade your video card.
These days driver installations are pretty easy. Even Linux Distros give you an installer now. While Nvidia drivers can be considerably less portly than their AMD counterparts there's still enough cruft that comes along for the ride even in a minimal install.
Therein lies the problem.
Lately, I've been having some issues with my production PC. Games freezing up, crashing and even the dreaded blue screen of death.
Something almost unheard of since Windows 7 came along has been a regular plague to me. Especially when I'm playing Battlefield 3 and 4.
The stop errors are usually of the "1C" variety indicating that there's an unhappy driver somewhere.
But which one?
Even the most hygienic of Windows systems develop some registry rot over time as you add and remove things.
Which is the real core of the problem and dovetails nicely into my condemnation of AMD video drivers.
I've had my issues with AMD drivers before. In fact I did an entire video on how to get around the fact that HDMI ports on AMD Video cards seem to think they're always the default audio output. The net effect is silencing your PC until you either change the pecking order or disable them in your volume control panel.
This issue, however, is far more insidious.
Coincidentally, it's also the primary reason that I truly despise AMD drivers on a cellular level.
Their hardware is usually on par with Nvidia but their drivers are absolutely hideous in my view and now I have yet another arrow in my quiver of hate for them.
Catalyst driver installs are sloppy, there's no denying it. They leave crap everywhere on your system and claw their way into every nook and cranny like a virus.
And just like a virus, removing them isn't as easy as a simple uninstall from the control panel. Even AMD has to admit it since they've been regularly releasing new versions of their own "Clean install utility."
They're not really worried about Nvidia or Intel drivers,however, it's their own steaming pile of misery this thing goes after.
Except it doesn't...
So is the only solution a wipe and reload?
Not so fast.
There's a little utility out there that's been around for quite awhile called DDU. DDU stands for Display Driver Uninstaller and it does exactly what the name implies.
This little wonder will seek out display driver files and registry entries and allow you to remove them...completely.
This is a boon to anyone who's switched from say an AMD to Nvidia graphics card.
Or vice versa...Oh, I made a funny! No, Nvidia drivers don't even come close to the mess made from a Catalyst installation.
But I digress...again.
The program is simple to use and automates the process with a few simple clicks. Best of all it's harmless as it only goes after video drivers and nothing else. Meaning if you uninstall all your video drivers with it, the worst that will happen is your system using a default WDDM (Windows OEM) driver on reboot.
This was the only utility that actually removed all remnants of an AMD catalyst installation.
The Video below gives a demonstration. This is one tool that should be on every gamer's tool bag.
Check it out!
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