Can I change my graphics card without re-installing?

  • I know this might sound like a dufus question but is it possible to install a better graphics card without re-installing LibreELEC?

    I know you wouldn't do this on a Windows PC but I don't know if LibreELEC installs specific graphics card drivers during installation, or if it uses a 'one size fits all' sort of driver that would allow me to put a better graphics card in. The current card doesn't handle x265 very well hence, I want to upgrade it to something like a GT1030 which does.

    Part of the reason why I'm asking is that I can't seem to access the userdata folder on my HTPC to back it up and I always struggle to get my HTPC to access the media on my desktop PC which effectively acts as a server. Hence why I'm reluctant re-install LibreELEC if I don't really need to.

  • As far as I know you only need to (1) make a backup with the System menu option, (2) save the backup on an external USB drive, (3) do a clean install of the same LibreELEC version with the new hardware, and finally, (4) recover the backup of your external USB drive

  • LE uses Linux, and on Linux drivers are part of the kernel. So after changing hardware, the right driver should be automatically picked up from the kernel.

  • The "Generic" image should auto-detect the correct GPU, but audio card names will change so you'll need to revisit settings in Kodi to ensure things are selected again. I would not recommend an nVidia card unless your requirements are quite basic. Our mid-term plan is still to kill off the X11 image to focus on GBM and that still means no nVidia support (and under X11 there is no HDR).