How to Update Your Display Drivers for Peak Performance

Are you noticing washed-out or dull colors on your screen? Is your display looking a bit fuzzy, or are your games not running as smoothly as they should? These visual hiccups can often point to one culprit: outdated display drivers. Updating your display driver, also known as your graphics driver, is a crucial step to ensure your computer is performing at its best and delivering the sharpest, most vibrant visuals possible. Whether you’re a gamer chasing the highest frame rates, a creative professional needing accurate color representation, or simply want your everyday computing experience to be crisp and clear, keeping your display drivers up-to-date is essential. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about How To Update Display Drivers on your Windows PC, covering both manual and automatic methods to suit your needs and technical comfort level.

Why Keeping Your Display Drivers Updated Matters

Before diving into the how, let’s understand the why. Display drivers are software programs that allow your operating system and applications to interact with your computer’s graphics card (GPU). Think of them as translators, ensuring seamless communication between your software and hardware to render images, videos, and games on your screen. Outdated drivers can lead to a range of problems, impacting not just visual quality but overall system performance. Here are key benefits of regularly updating your graphics drivers:

• Optimal Resolution and Color Fidelity: Old drivers can restrict you to lower screen resolutions and a limited color palette. This results in blurry text, less vibrant images, and a generally degraded visual experience, potentially causing eye strain. Updated drivers unlock the full potential of your monitor, delivering the intended clarity and richness of colors.

• Smooth Gaming Performance: For gamers, up-to-date graphics drivers are non-negotiable. Game developers constantly push the boundaries of visual fidelity, and GPU manufacturers like NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel work tirelessly to optimize their drivers for the latest game releases. These driver updates often include performance enhancements and bug fixes specifically tailored for new titles, ensuring smoother gameplay, higher frame rates, and fewer graphical glitches. In some cases, games may even fail to run correctly, or at all, without the latest recommended drivers.

• Enhanced Compatibility with External Displays: Connecting your laptop to an external monitor for a dual-screen setup can significantly boost productivity. However, outdated drivers can sometimes cause compatibility issues, preventing your external display from working correctly. Updated drivers ensure seamless connectivity and optimal performance when using multiple monitors.

Automatic Display Driver Updates: The Quick and Easy Solution

Manually updating your display drivers can sometimes feel like a chore, especially with new driver versions being released frequently. For users who prefer a hassle-free approach, automatic driver updater tools offer a convenient solution. These tools are designed to scan your system for outdated drivers, including graphics drivers, and automatically download and install the latest versions.

While the original article mentions Avast Driver Updater, it’s important to note that various reputable driver updater software options are available in the market. These tools generally streamline the update process, saving you time and effort by automating driver detection and installation across various hardware components, not just your graphics card. This can be particularly beneficial if you’re not comfortable manually navigating Device Manager or searching for drivers on manufacturer websites.

Manually Updating Display Drivers Using Windows Device Manager

For those who prefer a more hands-on approach or want to update their display drivers without relying on third-party software, Windows Device Manager provides a built-in method for manual updates. Device Manager allows you to directly manage and update hardware drivers on your system. Here’s how to use it to update your graphics drivers on different versions of Windows:

Before you begin: It’s highly recommended to create a system restore point before making any driver changes. This acts as a safety net, allowing you to revert your system back to its previous state if anything goes wrong during the driver update process. To create a restore point, search for “Create a restore point” in the Windows search bar and follow the on-screen instructions.

Updating Graphics Drivers on Windows 11

1. Open the Start Menu by clicking the Windows icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen and type “Device Manager”. Click on Device Manager to open it.

2. In the Device Manager window, locate and expand the Display adapters category by double-clicking on it. This will reveal your installed graphics card(s).

3. Right-click on your graphics card (e.g., NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, Intel UHD Graphics) and select Update driver from the context menu.

4. In the “Update Drivers” window, you’ll be presented with two options:

   • Search automatically for drivers: Windows will search your computer and the internet for the latest compatible drivers.
   • Browse my computer for drivers: Choose this option if you’ve already downloaded the driver software from the manufacturer’s website.

5. If you choose Search automatically for drivers, Windows will attempt to find and install the latest driver. Follow any on-screen prompts.

6. If you choose Browse my computer for drivers, you’ll need to locate the folder where you saved the downloaded driver files. Click Browse… and navigate to the folder. Once selected, click Next to proceed with the installation.

Updating Graphics Drivers on Windows 10

The process for updating graphics drivers on Windows 10 using Device Manager is very similar to Windows 11:

1. Click the Start button, type “Device Manager,” and select Device Manager from the search results.

2. Expand the Display adapters category.

3. Right-click on your graphics card and select Update driver.

4. Choose either Search automatically for updated driver software for Windows to find drivers online, or Browse my computer for driver software if you have already downloaded drivers.

5. If you select Browse my computer for driver software, you can further refine the search by choosing Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer. This option is useful if you have multiple drivers and want to select a specific one.

6. If you have downloaded a driver from the manufacturer (and it came as separate files, not an installer), click Have Disk… then Browse… to locate the driver file (typically with a .inf extension). Click Next to install.

Updating Graphics Drivers on Windows 7

While Windows 7 is an older operating system, many users still rely on it. Here’s how to update graphics drivers on Windows 7:

1. Right-click on the Computer icon on your desktop and select Properties. In the System window, click on Device Manager in the left-hand menu.

2. In Device Manager, expand the Display adapters category.

3. Right-click on your graphics card and select Update Driver Software….

4. Choose Search automatically for updated driver software for Windows to search online, or Browse my computer for driver software if you have downloaded drivers.

5. If automatic search doesn’t find a new driver, repeat steps 1-3 and choose Browse my computer for driver software.

6. If you have downloaded a driver, browse to the folder containing the driver files (look for the .inf file).

7. Alternatively, you can choose Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer and then click Have Disk… to manually point to the driver files.

8. Click Next to install the driver. Your screen might flicker during installation, which is normal. You may be prompted to restart your computer after the installation is complete.

Downloading Graphics Drivers Directly from Manufacturers

For the most up-to-date drivers and sometimes access to beta versions with the latest features, downloading directly from the GPU manufacturers’ websites is recommended. Here are the official driver download pages for the major graphics card manufacturers:

• NVIDIA: https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx (For NVIDIA GeForce and NVIDIA RTX series cards)
• AMD: https://www.amd.com/en/support (For AMD Radeon series cards and AMD APUs with Radeon Graphics)
• Intel: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download-center/home.html (For Intel HD Graphics, Intel UHD Graphics, and Intel Iris Xe Graphics – often integrated into Intel CPUs)

Visit the appropriate website and follow their instructions to find and download the latest driver for your specific graphics card model and Windows version. Once downloaded, you can usually run the installer file directly. In some cases, you may need to use the “Browse my computer for drivers” option in Device Manager and point it to the downloaded driver files, as described in the manual update sections above.

Updating Display Drivers Through Windows Update

Windows Update, the built-in system update tool in Windows, can also sometimes provide graphics driver updates. Drivers obtained through Windows Update are typically WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) certified, meaning they have been tested for stability and compatibility by Microsoft. While these drivers might not always be the absolute latest versions released by the manufacturer, they are generally reliable and can be a convenient way to keep your drivers reasonably up-to-date.

Updating Graphics Drivers via Windows Update on Windows 11

1. Open the Start Menu and click on Settings (the gear icon).

2. In the Settings app, click on Windows Update.

3. Click the Check for updates button. Windows will scan for available updates, including driver updates. If graphics driver updates are found, they will be downloaded and installed automatically in the background.

Updating Graphics Drivers via Windows Update on Windows 10

1. Open the Start Menu and click on Settings.

2. In the Settings app, go to Update & Security and then select Windows Update.

3. Click Check for updates. Windows will scan for and install available updates, including graphics drivers, if any are available.

Updating Graphics Drivers via Windows Update on Windows 7

1. Open the Windows Start Menu and go to Control Panel.

2. Click on System and Security and then Windows Update.

3. Click Check for updates. Windows will search for available updates.

4. Look for any updates related to graphics drivers, often mentioning Intel Graphics, NVIDIA, or AMD Graphics. These may be listed under Optional Updates. If you find relevant graphics driver updates, select them and click Install updates.

How to Verify If Your Graphics Driver is Up-to-Date

To check the date of your currently installed graphics driver and confirm if it’s up-to-date:

1. Open Device Manager.
2. Expand Display adapters.
3. Right-click on your graphics card and select Properties.
4. Go to the Driver tab.

Here, you’ll see the Driver Date. If the date is recent (within the last month or two), your driver is likely up-to-date. If it’s older than that, consider updating to a newer version using one of the methods described above.

In Conclusion: Keep Your Display Drivers Current

Updating your display drivers is a simple yet powerful way to maintain your computer’s performance and visual fidelity. Whether you choose the convenience of automatic driver updaters or prefer the control of manual updates through Device Manager or manufacturer websites, regularly updating your graphics drivers is a best practice for any PC user. By staying on top of driver updates, you’ll ensure smoother gaming, sharper visuals, and a more enjoyable overall computing experience.