GPU drivers should always be up to date. This is especially so for gamers and others who engage in high-definition graphic-based activities. Whether it’s a video, photo, or text, the graphic driver controls what you see. If it is not updated, it might affect your computer’s performance.
Why You Should Update Your Graphics Driver
You should update your graphic driver to avoid or resolve graphics-related problems. If you are a gamer, you should update GPU drivers on Windows 10 regularly. Whether it’s NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel graphic cards.
Improvements to these graphic drivers are made regularly to significantly improve performance while gaming. It also aids the smooth functioning of newer software for multimedia applications like video and photo editing software. Updating your GPU driver also helps fix bugs and introduces new features and options.
But, note that you do not need to update your GPU drivers if you are not experiencing a graphics-related issue. Update your drivers only when your PC’s manufacturer recommends a graphics update, you are facing graphics-related issues, or are advised to do so by your graphic card’s customer support agent.
There are several ways to update GPU drivers on Windows 10. You can do so manually, automatically, or using device manager. Let’s take a look at the step-by-step method involved in updating GPU drivers in each.
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How to Update GPU Drivers on Windows 10 – Step 1
First, manually identify your GPU version.
- Right-click the Windows Start icon and select Device Manager
- If prompted for permission from user control, click Yes. If not, go straight to expanding the Display Adapter section.
- In the dropdown menu, right-click on your Intel Display adapter or something similar and select Properties
- On the displayed page, locate the Driver tab and click on it. From the page displayed next, you will see your driver version and other necessary information.
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Manually update GPU Driver on Windows 10 Using Device Manager – Step 2
- Right-click the Windows Start icon and select Device manager
- Then select Display Adapters by expanding it
- In the dropdown menu, right-click on your GPU driver and select Properties
- Go to the Driver tab and in the displayed page, click Update driver
- Then choose Search automatically for drivers
If an updated version is found, install it and restart your PC.
Read also: How to Overclock Laptop CPU and RAM on Windows 10
Manually Update GPU Driver Windows 10 Using Windows Update – Option 2
- Click Start menu, then the Settings icon
- Select Update & Security and in the dropdown menu in the left corner, select Windows Update. It will tell you if you are up to date or not.
- You can select Check for updates to see if there is a new one and install it. If there is no update, you will have to wait until there is one or go to the manufacturer’s site to confirm.
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Download GPU Driver from Manufacturer’s Site – Step 2.1
After identifying your graphic card’s version, go to its manufacturer’s website, locate the driver section, and enter the requested information about your graphics card to download its latest version.
Whether it’s an NVIDIA graphic driver, AMD, or Intel graphic driver, selecting the exact model will aid a successful search on the manufacturer’s website. NVIDIA adapter comes with a utility named NVIDIA GeForce Experience. This utility runs in the background on your computer. With it, you can automatically download and install the latest driver or it could let you know when an update is out.
When you do download from the manufacturer’s site, follow the steps under manually update GPU drivers on Windows 10 using device manager (step 2) but instead of choosing search automatically for drivers, click browse my computer for drivers. It will locate the driver downloaded and you can then install it.
Read also: How to Improve Gaming Performance on a Windows 10 Laptop
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