do i need to download drivers for my gpu How to Update Graphics Card Drivers (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel)? [Partition Manager] The essay will contain how to update graphics card drivers in 4 methods: in Device Manager, with Windows Update, from graphics adapter manufacturers’ official website as well as by reinstallation. Quick Navigation :

Do I Need to Update My Graphics Card Driver？ Yes, you are! Especially, for game players, it is essential to have an up-to-date graphics card driver for increasing their game performance. There are many advantages of upgrading graphics card: Improve PC’s capability, reliability, and security. Ensure the smooth function of software like MiniTool Partition Wizard. Gain the best performance out of the hardware. Maximize game performance. Optimize 3D graphics performance. Enable full resolution and increase color depths. Support external displays. Add new features. Fix bugs, errors and issues. …… Instead, if your current graphics card is out-of-date, you may encounter these problems: Blurry screen Dull grey colors Stuck games …… Solution 1. How to Update Graphics Card Drivers in Device Manager? The Device Manager is the most common place to upgrade device drivers. And, there are several entrances to trigger the driver update wizard in the Device Manager. Way 1. Update Driver from Top Icon Menu in Device Manager. Step 1. Input “device manager” in Taskbar Search , find and open the Device Manager . Step 2. Unfold the Display adapters . Step 3. Click on the graphics card that you are going to update and click the Update device driver icon (with a green arrow). Step 4. Select “ Search automatically for updated driver software ”. Step 5. If there is a driver update available, it will install it for you automatically. If not, it will tell you that the best drivers for your device are already installed or something like that. Just as you can see from the above screenshot, you can also get better drivers from Windows Update or from the device manufacturer’s website, which will be introduced later in this article. Way 2. Upgrade Driver through the Action Drop-down in Device Manager. Find the target graphics card in the Device Manager, and click on it to activate it. Then, click Action on the top menu and choose Update driver . Next, just follow the guidance of the above way 1 to finish how to update graphics driver . There are five security vulnerabilities found in Nvidia drivers for Windows. Nvidia urges Windows users to update GeForce, NVS, Quadro and Tesla Drivers now. Way 3. Update Graphics Driver by Action Menu in Device Manager. Similar to the above way 2, first of all, click the graphics device to make it active in the Device Manager. Then, click the Action on the upper panel and choose Properties in the pop-out menu. Secondly, in the pop-up sheet, switch to the Driver tab and click Update Driver button. Finally, follow the guide in the above way 1 to complete the task that how to update my graphics card . Way 4. Renew Graphics Card Driver with Right-click Option in Device Manager. This way is simple. Just right click on target GPU card and pick Update driver . Next, continue the process by following the instruction from step 4 in way 1. Way 5. How to Update GPU Drivers Relying on Driver Properties. This way is similar to way 4. Right-click on the target graphics and choose Properties in the drop-out menu. Next, follow the tutorial steps in way 3 to accomplish the task of how do you update your graphics card . Solution 2. How to Update Graphics Card Windows 10? Just as mentioned in the above content, you can also upgrade your graphics driver together with the Windows update. Step 1. Launch the Windows Settings (Start -> Settings). Step 2. Select Update & Security . If there is an update version waiting for installation, just install it on your PC. While installing the operating system update, the driver update will also be installed if there is one. You can also manually check for Windows update if there isn’t one displayed. Solution 3. Laptop Graphics Card Update: Download from Official Website. For some kinds of graphics card hardware that are integrated into laptops, they are called notebook GPUs. For those GPUs, you might not be able to take updated drivers directly from the vendors of the graphics adapter. Therefore, you should take the driver updates from the manufacturer of the laptop. Yet, the laptop vendors won’t publish driver updates frequently or regularly. Fortunately, you can manually get the graphics updated files from the vendor of your graphics card’s website. Part 1. NVIDIA Graphics Card Update. This is the official site for downloading NVIDIA graphics drivers: NVIDIA graphics drivers download site. Option 1. You can enter the details (product type, product series, product name, etc.) of your graphics card and search for the available driver updates. Option 2. You can use the NVIDIA Smart Scan to automatically find drivers for your NVIDIA graphics card. Or, you can allow the NVIDIA GPU Reader to identify your GPU and find the latest graphics driver for your GPU. Option 3. Make use of the NVIDIA GeForce Experience, which is a sort of software for updating graphics driver and game optimizing, to achieve GeForce graphics card driver update . Part 2. How Do I Update My AMD Graphics Card? Search for your graphics card product or select your GPU product from the list, and submit it to the website. It will select out the driver updates that fit your product. Or, you can just upgrade your AMD Radeon graphics card with AMD Radeon Settings. Part 3. How Do I Update My Intel Graphics Card? Find the graphics driver update that suits you in the driver list. Or, you can automatically update your drivers with the help of Intel Driver & Support Assistant (Intel DSA). Solution 4. How to Update Graphics Card by Reinstalling? This solution is also carried out in the Device Manager. Just open it by the method described in the above solution 1. If you are going to install a new graphics card in your desktop host, you should prepare a graphics card in advance. Step 1. Right-click on the graphics card and choose Uninstall in the drop-out menu. Step 2. Power off your machine, install the new graphics card into the PCIe slot and reconnect the power. If you don’t want to replace the old graphics card with a new one, just skip this step. Step 3. Restart your computer. Step 4. Windows will try to reinstall the newest version of the driver for the current graphics card. Until now, you have completed the mission of how to update your graphics card . Conclusion. Some of the above solutions are also workable for other brands of graphics cards (e.g. Gigabyte, PNY and Zotac) and other devices such as audio devices, USB devices and hard disks. No matter which graphics card you have, it won’t be supported forever. Its manufacturer will eventually release a stable driver for it and then stop its driver updating. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Reddit. ABOUT THE AUTHOR. Position: Columnist. Graduate from university in 2014 and step in work as a tech editor the same year. Writings involve mainly in hard disk management and computer data backup and recovery. Through the years of diving deep in computer technology, Helen has successfully helped thousands of users fixed their annoying problems. Personally, Helen loves poetry, sci-fi movies, sport and travel. And, she believes that all her life is the best arrangement from god. How to install a new graphics card (GPU) in your PC. Installing a new, more powerful graphics card can make a world of difference when it comes to gaming on a PC. And because you're not entirely rebuilding a PC, this isn't a terribly complicated task. However, it can still appear to be somewhat daunting for anyone who hasn't opened the side of a PC case before. Luckily, with a little help, the right tools, and a spare 10 minutes, you can be back in-game in no time. If you're interested in upgrading your GPU but don't have new hardware in mind, be sure to have a look at our best graphics card picks available now. Products used in this guide. Tackling all those screws: Rosewill 45-piece ($25 at Newegg) How to install your new GPU. The main parts of this task involve the case and PCIe slot on the motherboard. Most GPUs sold today are connected to the PC via this PCIe slot. A motherboard can have more than one slot, but we'll want to use the first (x16) slot, which usually has the most bandwidth available. An x4 slot is shorter and can be used for other expansion cards (Wi-Fi cards, for example), and secondary x16 slots are usually reserved for additional GPUs or expansion cards. If you need to buy a GPU. Source: Windows Central. Should you be researching just how easy it is to install a GPU yourself and need to buy one, we've got you covered with a breakdown of what you'll need to play PC games at various resolutions, depending on what you have your monitor and games set to. You'll be able to buy, install, and enjoy a powerful new graphics card. Preparing your PC for the new GPU. Before you install the new card, you need to make sure older drivers for the card you're replacing are uninstalled. If you're installing a new GPU and do not already own a dedicated card, you can skip this section. Both NVIDIA and AMD offer resources to complete this step. You can find them here: As well as following the advice in the links above, there is a handy tool that can aid in completely removing GPU drivers on Windows, called Display Driver Uninstaller. Using this utility isn't required but can prove useful in getting rid of all instances of drivers from Windows. After the drivers have been removed, it's time to open up the PC and get started. It's also worth checking your power supply (PSU) to make sure it can handle a dedicated GPU (if you don't already have one installed) or a more powerful upgrade. You'll generally want a 500W certified PSU from a reputable brand, though a 600W+ model would better suit overclocked configurations. Installing the new graphics card. Power down the PC. Source: Windows Central. If you do not already have a GPU installed, skip to Step 7. Remove the screws holding the GPU in on the rear bracket. Source: Windows Central. Hover the new GPU over PCI-e slot . Source: Windows Central. Connect any required PSU cables . Source: Windows Central. Now, all you need to do is to plug in the display connectors on the rear of the case, whether they're DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, or VGA. After that, hit the PSU power switch and boot up Windows. If the PC does not turn on or no signals get sent to the monitor, we'll need to double-check that all cables are connected correctly (both inside and on the rear of the PC), and the GPU is seated properly in the PCIe slot. Installing required drivers. Before the GPU can be used for intensive workloads like gaming, you need to get new drivers installed so Windows and software can effectively communicate with the card. Hit the links below to download and install drivers for a new NVIDIA or AMD card. What you'll need to get the job done. To remove and/or install a GPU, you'll need a Philips screwdriver. It's worth investing in a toolkit that contains numerous tools you'll make use of when tinkering with your PC. Everything you need. Rosewill 45-piece. Budget-friendly but has everything you need. Sometimes you don't need countless screwdriver tips, a brush, cable cutter, among other tools. This is what makes the Rosewill toolkit more appealing for someone who won't be tinkering with hardware too often. The Rosewill toolkit is perfect for those who only require essential screwdriver tips and spudgers. There isn't a flashlight, nor is there a wire cutter, but for absolute PC building essentials, you'll be able to do pretty much everything with this kit. It's also reasonably affordable, considering you will have not only tips for all manner of PC component and case screws but also more fiddly ones on laptops and smartphones. We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more. These are the best PC cases available for less $100. Looking to build a breathtaking new PC without blowing your budget on a case? We've got you covered with this selection of sub-$100 offerings. These are the best motherboards for AMD Ryzen 9 3900X. The Ryzen 9 3900X is a cracking CPU, allowing you to do pretty much everything on your PC. From video editing and intense gaming to enthusiast leaderboard competitions, this processor can almost do it all. So long as you pair it with one of these motherboards. These are the best motherboards for the AMD Ryzen 5 3600. The motherboard is the heart of your PC, connecting your CPU, RAM, GPU, storage, and all other devices together, allowing the OS to communicate between components. Here are the best motherboards for the AMD Ryzen 5 3600. Rich Edmonds. Rich Edmonds is a word conjurer at Windows Central, covering everything related to Windows, gaming, and hardware. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a device chassis. You can follow him over on Twitter at @RichEdmonds. GeForce Game Ready Driver. Game Ready Drivers provide the best possible gaming experience for all major new releases. Prior to a new title launching, our driver team is working up until the last minute to ensure every performance tweak and bug fix is included for the best gameplay on day-1. Game Ready for the Minecraft with RTX Beta The new Game Ready Driver provides the latest performance optimizations, profiles, and bug fixes for the Minecraft with RTX Beta. In addition, this release also provides optimal support for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered, Saints Row: The Third Remastered, and SnowRunner. Please note: Effective April 12, 2018, Game Ready Driver upgrades, including performance enhancements, new features, and bug fixes, will be available only for desktop Kepler, Maxwell, Pascal, Volta, and Turing-series GPUs, as well as for systems utilizing mobile Maxwell, Pascal, and Turing-series GPUs for notebooks. Following the posting of the final driver from Release 418 on April 11, 2019 GeForce Game Ready Drivers will no longer support NVIDIA 3D Vision or systems utilizing mobile Kepler-series GPUs. Critical security updates will be available for these products through April 2020. A complete list of Kepler-series GeForce GPUs can be found here. Those looking to utilize 3D Vision can remain on a Release 418 driver. Our software that enables the use of 3D gaming with 3D TVs, 3DTV Play, is now included for free in Release 418. It is no longer available as a standalone download. Our 3D Vision Video Player will continue to be offered as a standalone download, for free, until the end of 2019. NVIDIA TITAN RTX, NVIDIA TITAN V, NVIDIA TITAN Xp, NVIDIA TITAN X (Pascal), GeForce GTX TITAN X, GeForce GTX TITAN, GeForce GTX TITAN Black, GeForce GTX TITAN Z. GeForce RTX 20 Series: GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, GeForce RTX 2080, GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, GeForce RTX 2070, GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, GeForce RTX 2060. GeForce 16 Series: GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER, GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, GeForce GTX 1660, GeForce GTX 1650. GeForce 10 Series: GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, GeForce GTX 1080, GeForce GTX 1070 Ti, GeForce GTX 1070, GeForce GTX 1060, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, GeForce GTX 1050, GeForce GT 1030. GeForce 900 Series: GeForce GTX 980 Ti, GeForce GTX 980, GeForce GTX 970, GeForce GTX 960, GeForce GTX 950. GeForce 700 Series: GeForce GTX 780 Ti, GeForce GTX 780, GeForce GTX 770, GeForce GTX 760, GeForce GTX 760 Ti (OEM), GeForce GTX 750 Ti, GeForce GTX 750, GeForce GTX 745, GeForce GT 740, GeForce GT 730, GeForce GT 720, GeForce GT 710. GeForce 600 Series: GeForce GTX 690, GeForce GTX 680, GeForce GTX 670, GeForce GTX 660 Ti, GeForce GTX 660, GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST, GeForce GTX 650 Ti, GeForce GTX 650, GeForce GTX 645, GeForce GT 640, GeForce GT 635, GeForce GT 630. Do I Really Need to Update My Drivers? Dear Lifehacker, I recently updated my video drivers and discovered that a lot of my other drivers were out of date. Do I really need to keep them updated all the time? Will I notice any improvements in speed or features if I have the latest versions? Sincerely, Disorganized Drivers. Dear Disorganized, Drivers can be pretty confusing, and while we've talked about them a bit before , there are a few things everyone should know about how to manage their drivers and when to update them. Here's the most important stuff. De-Mystifying the Dark Corners of Windows: The Registry, DLLs, and More Explained. If your Windows chops extend in any capacity beyond novice, you’ve no doubt encountered the… The Golden Rule of Drivers: If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It. Before you go obsessing about up-to-date drivers, you should note that, while we always recommend you keep your software updated for security and stability, drivers are another matter. While you should keep an eye on any security updates that pop up, different driver versions can introduce stability problems, so if your hardware is working as expected, you're better off not updating, since you never know when it might cause problems. You'll rarely get big speed or feature boosts from a driver update, so unless you see in the release notes that there's something big, you're usually okay to just ignore it. Instead, only update your drivers if you're having a problem with your hardware. Say your ethernet connection drops occasionally, or your printer isn't printing properly. In this case, one of the first troubleshooting steps you should take is to update the driver, since these issues may be fixed in a new update. The main exception to this rule is video drivers. Unlike other drivers, video drivers are updated often and usually with big performance increases, especially in new games. Heck, a recent Nvidia update increased Skyrim performance by 45%, and the driver after that increased its performance by another 20%. If you're a Skyrim player, that's a huge boost. So, when you see that your video card has a new driver available, see what improvements the driver offers—if it offers system-wide performance improvements or improvements in a game you're currently playing, you'll definitely want to update. If it doesn't, stick with the current driver. Where to Get Your Drivers. So you need to install or update a driver, but you often have a few choices in where you get it from. When you first plug in a device, Windows will often install its own generic version of the driver itself, and your device will get basic functionality right away. For some things this is fine, but oftentimes you'll find that downloading the driver from the manufacturer's web site gives you lots of extra features. Sound drivers may give you things like virtual surround or room correction, while video drivers will usually give you a whole control panel of options that let you customize your graphics performance, features like Nvidia's PhysX , and more. In general, there are three different places you'll find drivers, and here's how they differ: From the chipset manufacturer's web site : This is the first place you'll usually want to look. The chipset manufacturer is the company that designed the original video or sound chip, e.g. Nvidia or Realtek. These companies often have the very latest drivers available before anyone else. Some drivers (like Nvidias) will come with extra features, while others (like Realtek) will only offer the latest generic drivers. From the hardware manufacturer's web site : If you find that you have problems with the chipset manufacturer's drivers, or that they only offer generic drivers with no extra features, your next stop should be the hardware manufacturer. This is the person who made the actual hardware, like EVGA or XFX for video cards, and companies like Gigabyte or MSI for motherboards (which often include things like sound and ethernet). If you have a laptop, you'll want to go to your laptop manufacturer's site instead, e.g. Asus or Lenovo. Directly from Windows : Windows' generic drivers are usually the bare minimum of what you need for something to work. It isn't ideal for most things, but in some cases—like printers—that's exactly what you want . If you visit your printer's web site, they'll only offer you a driver that includes a bunch of software that may include other features, but not necessarily ones you'll use. Regular printing and scanning is already built right into Windows, and you don't need photo editors, cloud services, and other junk bloating up your machine. So instead of getting drivers from the manufacturer, just get them right from Windows as described below. From the CD that came with your device : You'll almost never want to do this. These drivers are probably outdated by the time you get the computer up and running, so you should download the drivers from one of the above sources instead. The only exception: ethernet drivers, if Windows doesn't have them built-in. Obviously if you start up your computer and can't access the internet, you can't download drivers. So install the ethernet drivers from the CD, connect to the internet, and download all your other drivers online. How to Update Your Drivers. When it comes time to update, the process is very simple. Just open up Device Manager (by clicking on the Start orb and typing "device manager" into the search box) and right-clicking on the hardware you want to update. Click Properties and go to the Driver tab. Here, you can see your current driver version. If you're updating through Windows, click "Update Driver" to update it. If not, check the driver's version number and head to the manufacturer's web site. If their driver number is newer than the one you have, an update is available and you can read up on it, if necessary. Then, just download the installer from there and run it like you would any other program. When you're done, you should have shiny new drivers ready to help you get the best out of your hardware. How to install Nvidia drivers: how to get your Nvidia GeForce GPU up and running. Installing Nvidia drivers has been an easy process for quite a while. Unlike its rival AMD, Nvidia hasn't had a reputation for tricky video card driver installs, at least not to the same extent. When you're installing your Nvidia graphics card drivers, you want to make sure it goes off without a hitch, so even though the process is simple for the most part, we'll give you the exact steps for success. Preparing to Install NVIDIA Drivers. These easy-to-perform steps ensure your computer is ready for your NVIDIA driver installation. 1. Check your graphics card installation. As you're getting ready to install your NVIDIA video card drivers, you'll want to make sure everything is ready to go. Even if you think you've done everything right, check off this list to be sure: Is you NVIDIA card mounted securely in your case? Is your GPU seated fully in the PCI-E socket? Have you properly attached the power cables to your NVIDIA GPU? Before you can even think of installing drivers, you want to make sure your computer can recognize your card. Ensuring that it's installed correctly is the first step towards success. 2. Make sure your monitor is connected to your graphics card. This one might seem like a no-brainer, but when you're running on the thrill of getting a new graphics card, it's easy to forget to plug your monitor upright – trust us, we’ve all done it. Most motherboards come with an HDMI port, which allows you to use your CPU's video out if it supports that feature. However, the motherboard port doesn't output video from your graphics card. So, if you don't make sure your monitor is connected to one of the ports on your GPU, then you don't get any of the advantages of having a video card installed. 3. Remove any video card drivers that were previously installed. This step isn't as vital as it used to be, but it's still a good idea nevertheless. You can use the Display Driver Uninstaller tool from Guru3D to completely remove any graphics card drivers that were previously installed on your computer. This process ensures that none of the old files will be around to conflict with your new drivers once you install them. How to Install NVIDIA Drivers. Once you've checked off the list above, you're ready to install your NVIDIA drivers. This process is straightforward as long as you're careful to make the right choices. To get started, head to the NVIDIA driver download page . Here, you'll see a series of dropdowns that lets you input which product you own. We'll go through each of them below: Product Type: More than likely, if you've bought a video card for gaming or general use, this is going to be "GeForce." Product Series: If you've bought a recently manufactured card, this will probably be "GeForce 10 Series," "GeForce 16 Series," or "GeForce RTX 20 Series." If you're using a laptop, make sure you select the choice that has "(Notebooks)" after it. Product: This is where you select the actual model of your video card. Operating System: This is where you input which OS your computer is using. Windows Driver Type: We recommend choosing "Standard" here. Once you've installed the GeForce Experience software alongside your driver, it will automatically update to DCH if that's the type you need. Download Type: You'll want the "Game Ready Driver (GRD)." Once you've input your selections, click "Search," and you'll be taken to the appropriate page. From here, click "Download," then install the software. It will automatically install your NVIDIA drivers and the GeForce Experience program, which will be where you'll download updated drivers in the future. Alternatively, you could just download Nvidia GeForce Experience and install your drivers through there without having to deal with the dropdown menus.