If your computer comes with a Nvidia graphics card you probably didn’t give it much thought and you used the drivers that are packed into the OS or you simply visited Nvidia’s official website and downloaded the drivers from there. While both methods are easy, you might want to install only the driver for Nvidia graphics cards.
The driver packages are quite large these days. Besides the driver itself, they include other components, which you might not need.
The Nvidia Graphics Driver also bundles GeForce Experience, an HD audio driver, 3D Vision and other components that are automatically installed unless you deselect them in custom installation mode. Even so, there are still some additional components which you can’t disable and will still get installed.
How to install only the driver for Nvidia graphics cards
If you want to install only the driver for Nvidia graphics cards, follow the method below which doesn’t require running the Nvidia installer. However, keep in mind you won’t have the option to install any additional components, so make sure you don’t need any of them.
The first step is to remove the old driver which probably includes those extra components. Once you’ve done that, go to the Nvidia official driver downloads website and use the provided fields to download the driver compatible with your operating system and graphics card.
You can use your favorite extraction software to decompress the archive to your local hard drive.
Now you will need to open the Device Manager. To do this, hit the Windows key and type hdwwiz.cpl and click on the first result or simply hit Enter on your keyboard.
You will find your video card in the Display adapters section. Right-click on it and select Properties.
In the Driver tab, click on the “Update Driver” option.
On the following window, select “Browse for drivers on my computer” and point the folder where the unpacked driver you just downloaded is stored using the Browse button. Hit “Next” to continue.
You will need to wait for a moment so Windows can detect supported drivers in the folder. It will automatically install the driver.
Assuming the operation was successful, you should receive a message showing the new driver for the Nvidia graphics card was installed.
An alternative way to install only the driver for Nvidia graphics cards is to run the Nvidia installer, deselect all components and clean the remaining ones from your system after the installation. However, doing it via the Device Manager is a much simpler and faster method.
