Finally have a new PC, unsure about all these new things.

EchoX860

New Member
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I finally got a brand new PC after having the same for many, many years. I'm unsure about a lot of these new drivers. I downloaded a Driver Utility program and it says that many of my drivers are out of date, such as PCI Root Complex, Realtek PCIe GEe, AMD Sata Controller. How important is it to keep these updated, and is there an easier, noob friendly way to keep things nice and clean?
 

My Computer

Don't bother, unless something is specifically not working because it needs the latest driver. Also, best to get them from your OEM's support page because they often customise the drivers for a particular machine.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 with Bing x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire ES1-512-CSYW
    CPU
    Intel Celeron N2840 @ 2.16GHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Aspire ES1-512 BIOS: Insyde Corps V1.07
    Memory
    4GB DDR3L SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD
    Internet Speed
    10Mb/s 3 Network HSPA+
    Browser
    IE11 and Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
:ditto:

Keeping your drivers up to date, especially VGA one, will help you to get the maximum from your hardware for new games, for example.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10.0.10122
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    My Build - Vorttex Ultimate
    CPU
    Core i7 @ 4500 MHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z87-Plus
    Memory
    32GB DDR3 @ 1822 MHz (OC)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon R9 280X 3GB @ 1180 / 6800 MHz
    Sound Card
    7.1 HDA
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD LG 22" + CRT LG 17"
    Screen Resolution
    1760 x 1320 / 1280 x 960
    Hard Drives
    1 x 240 GB SSD (System)
    3 x 500 GB HDD (Data/Media)
    1 x 2000 GB e-HDD (Backup)
    PSU
    ThermalTake 1000W PSU
    Case
    Corsair Carbide R300
    Cooling
    Corsair H60 (Push-Pull)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mouse
    Internet Speed
    60 Mbps (Down) 5 Mbps (Up)
    Browser
    IE, FF, Chrome
    Antivirus
    AVG Internet Security 2015
    Other Info
    Some wired stuff
I agree with both responders above and note that Windows 8 (and W7 too) is actually really good at letting you know when there is an update for your drivers via Windows Update if the current driver does not already do that.

Contrary to what some think, Microsoft does not develop drivers (except the native ones included in Windows, and for the few Microsoft hardware products like MS keyboards and mice). The driver updates provided by Windows Update are provided to Microsoft by the hardware makers. Microsoft then verifies they are valid (and not malicious fakes). So it is safe to install drivers via Windows Update.

So if the hardware already has a driver update checker (as most video cards do), I would use that. If not, just stick with Windows Update. In other words, I would not bother with (or frankly, trust) any 3rd party driver utility program.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
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