OK, after getting sick of fighting ATI to work with 3D acceleration, I decided to pull it and install an Nvidia card. Now, during the install, Linux auto-detected and setup my card automatically.

When I pull that card, and install a new one, what exactly do I need to do to get the new one to work? I want to be ready for this before I do it. Is linux going to tell me it found a new card, or is it just going to flip out?

If it helps, I'm running Evil Entity Linux. I currently have a Radeon 8500 128MB, and replacing it with a Geforce 4 TI4200 64MB. My windows manager is Enlightenment.

BTW, please don't post about GATOS. I know of it's existance and gave up trying to get it to work. I am 100% switching to Nvidia!

Most likely you'll want to boot into Multiuser mode or runlevel 3. After logging in you'll just need to reconfigure X. Depending on what distro your using, most of the time you can run xf86config to reconfigure X with your new card.

I don't run Evil Entity but here are some general purpose tips in a nutshell:

Download the source files
Get the installation faqs just in case something doesn't work.
Install card.
Boot linux into text console mode
Compile and install the drivers.
Modify the XF86config file per installation guide.
startx

Alright, doesn't sound bad at all. Yay, 3d Accel time! No more artifacts when I minimize windows...