Part of CachyOS Wiki Notes. From the official CachyOS wiki (last updated 2026-09-15).

Switching Between NVIDIA and AMD GPUs

Prerequisites: the replacement GPU is properly installed and connected, and the system is fully up to date:

sudo pacman -Syu

NVIDIA → AMD, in order

0. Make a note of your username and password — you may need to log in via TTY.

1. Check which NVIDIA driver profile is installed:

   sudo chwd --list-installed

2. Remove that profile with -r:

   sudo chwd -r <profile-name>

3. Shut down and install the AMD GPU. If the system lands on a black screen, press CTRL+ALT+F3 to reach a TTY and log in (mind NUMLOCK).

4. After booting, let chwd detect the GPU and install the AMD packages:

   sudo chwd -a

5. Update the initramfs and bootloader config. CachyOS ships a pacman hook that rebuilds the initramfs automatically when drivers are added/removed, so the right drivers load at boot:

   • GRUB — sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
   • systemd-boot — sudo sdboot-manage gen
   • Limine — sudo limine-mkinitcpio

   See Boot Manager Configuration.

6. Reboot:

   sudo reboot

7. Verify the AMD drivers are active:

   vulkaninfo | grep "deviceName"

   or

   glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"

   If your AMD GPU is listed, they are working.

Caveat: the wiki page is a tabbed guide (“From NVIDIA to AMD” / “From AMD to NVIDIA”). Only the NVIDIA→AMD tab body was recoverable — do not assume the reverse direction mirrors it. AMD drivers are in the kernel, so going AMD→NVIDIA is mainly cleaning up old config, but check the page for its own steps.

Related: Managing Hardware with chwd, Dual GPU Setup.