How to Update Graphics Drivers in Windows 10 or 11 to Latest

A step-by-step guide on how to update graphics drivers in Windows. Discover the simple methods on how to update GPU drivers to ensure that your PC smoothly runs with the latest graphics software:

Drivers are essential for running your devices to interpret signal devices convey to the computer’s operating system. Hardware devices such as sound cards, printers, and graphics cards communicate with your computer with drivers’ assistance.

Drivers are software programs designed to function across multiple hardware configurations. Drivers differ depending on the operating system (Linux, Windows, macOS) and the version of these operating systems installed.

The complexity of your computer depends on various software installed and different hardware configurations for device drivers to function effectively. Drivers should comply with the installed devices so they can perform efficiently.

Update Graphics Driver: Simple and Easy Methods

Drivers that are incompatible or have missing or corrupted files can cause performance issues or crash your computer. Drivers can cause damage to your computer for several reasons, such as conflicts with other drivers, faulty installation, outdated drivers, or corrupted/missing files.

About Graphics Drivers

Graphics Driver is a software program that instructs graphics cards to convert the computer’s digital code (in zeros and ones) into graphics, images, and videos. The global leaders in manufacturing Graphics Drivers are AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA.

You can compare the version number and the GPU model of your device with your graphics driver’s latest version to check if your installed graphics driver is updated or if you require them to update.

Graphics drivers, also known as Display drivers, are electrical hardware components known as semiconductors that manage an interface or linkage between microcontrollers and display for devices and interpret a computer’s digital code into graphics – videos and images.

These drivers regulate the voltages across the display panel of the devices, such as display adapters, graphics cards, or video cards for their proper functioning.

The demand for liquid crystal and light-emitting diodes display used in the graphical display of videos and images in the electronics industry used to view steaming videos, images published on social media, and webpages for computers, smart mobiles, and television. Display drivers are essential components across electronics industries worldwide.

The market share of display drivers in the USA by the year 2032 is expected to reach US$2.3 billion with a CAGR growth percentage of 1.7% from 2017 to 2021, with likely growth of 5.6% CAGR from the year 2022 to 2032. The number of smartphone users in the USA in 2020 was 296 million and is expected to reach 347.6 million by the year 2032.

The use of display drivers in manufacturing smartphones and televisions has reached significance in recent decades globally with major contributors to display drivers.

Reason to Update Graphics Drivers

Your computer with Windows, Chrome, or macOS operating system has been configured to automatically update the latest and compatible graphics drivers as part of system-wide updates.

It is essential to keep checking for updated graphics drivers made available online by their manufacturers and keep the automatic update option checked in.

Your computer will get an updated driver notification, where you can simply accept the updated version of the driver, and the system will download and update the latest driver in place of older drivers that may have become out of date, may contain missing files, or corrupted files that may prevent the current driver to function productively.

With the release of new builds or updated versions of drivers, manufacturers publish and inform with notification to all computer users to update their graphics drivers.

Use of graphics cards in playing games that have interactive high-definition images and videos for the players or for creating high-definition videos and images using image or media-creating software, your media files may face visual corruption of these files resulting in flickering of laptop screen brightness.

It is recommended to update your graphics drivers for RAM (random access memory) allocation, energy efficiency enhancement, and better power for processing.

Graphics Drivers, also known as Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) drivers or video card drivers, should be verified for the latest update regularly. There are multiple advantages of regular updates of graphics drivers for your computer, such as

• System optimization for gaming and compatibility with design software like AutoCAD, 3D modeling, and video editing are graphics-intensive activities.
• Reduce lag and improve the speed of your computer while watching videos or playing games
• Resolve flickering, blurry, or fuzzy images, and frequent crashes while running games or video editing software
• Prevent compatibility between installed hardware and software that can lead to malfunctioning.
• Reduce the risk of being exploited by cyber-attacks and vulnerabilities resulting in unauthorized access to computer systems.

Graphics Driver Update on Windows 7

Here are the steps to follow:

Updating driver using Windows Update:

• Click on the Windows icon at the bottom left corner.
• Select Control Panel from the list and click on it to open.
• Click on System and Security from other options.
• Click on Windows Update.
• You can click on the Turn on automatic updates button.
• OR click on the Check for updates link.
  • The system will check for updates
  • if the driver is found it will update the graphics driver

Updating Driver using Device Manager:

• Click on the Windows icon at the bottom left corner.
• Type Driver Manager in the Search text box provided.
• Driver Manager Interface will open.
• Expand Display adapters by clicking on the left of it.
• You will find already installed graphics drivers.
• Right-click on it.
• Select Update Drivers Software.
• You will get options to
  • Search automatically for updated driver software (automatic update) OR
  • Browse my computer for driver software (manually select graphics driver executable downloaded on your computer and download driver software)

Updating Driver manually:

• Right-click on the desktop screen.
• Click on Screen resolution.
• Click on the Advanced Settings link.
• Window with multiple tabs will open.
• You will find the Adapter tab (default) with the Properties button.
• Click on the Properties button.
• Select and click the Driver tab.
• Click on the Update Driver button.
• You will get options to
  • Search automatically for updated driver software OR
  • Browse my computer for driver software

Update Graphics Driver on Windows 10

Here are the steps to follow:

Updating driver using Optional Updates:

• Press the Windows icon + i this will open the Windows Settings dashboard.
  • Alternatively, you can click on the Start icon (Windows Icon) in the bottom left corner
  • Click on the Settings icon.
• Windows Settings dashboard will open, click on Update & Security.
• Windows Update screen will open.
• Look for View optional updates link and click on it.
• You will find Driver Updates sections, which will have updates listed.
• You can select one driver to install manually, in case you are facing an issue with it.

Updating Driver using Device Manager:

• Right-click on the Start icon (Windows) at the bottom left corner of your screen.
• Click on Device Manager from the list.
• Under Device Manager, look for Display adapters.
• Double-click on Display adapters to expand.
• You will find the list of installed graphic drivers here.
• Right-click on one of these drivers.
• Select the Update Driver option.

• Once you click on Update Driver.
• You have two options to select from.
• The first one is to search automatically for updated driver software.
• Second one is to browse my computer for driver software.

• Select the first option.
• The system will search the updated driver and display the executable file in case it finds an update. Clicking on the Next button will automatically install the updated driver.
• If the system cannot find the updated driver, select the second option.
• Here, you already have installed the updated graphics driver and you know the location of the downloaded driver in your system.
• System will ask to select the location and list of the available drivers.
• You can even select your disk that has graphics drivers installed for your future use.
• Select to install the driver and click Next until the driver has been installed successfully.
• On successful installation, you will be notified to restart your computer.
• After restart you will find your graphics drivers have been updated.

Updating Driver Manually:

The global leaders in manufacturing Graphics Drivers are AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA. You can visit their driver download page visiting their websites, download these drivers, and update your previous drivers with one of these display drivers.

Verify What Operating System is Installed on your Computer

You can check your operating system as per the below steps:

• Click on the Windows icon (Start) at the left corner
• Look for the Settings icon and click on Settings.
• Windows Settings dashboard will open.
• Look for System, and click on System.
• On the left panel, click on About.
• On the right panel, look for Windows specifications.
• You will get information like the edition, version, date of installation, etc. of the Windows operating system installed on your computer.

Update Graphics Driver on Windows 11

Updating Driver using Windows Update

• Press the Windows icon + A. This will open the Windows Settings dashboard,
  • Alternatively, you can click on the Start icon (Windows Icon) on the bottom left corner
  • Click on the Settings icon.
• Windows Settings dashboard will open.
• Click on Windows Update from the left panel.
• Click on the Check for Updates button.
• The system will automatically look for updates for the display driver and install suitable updates for the driver.

Updating Driver using Device Manager:

• Click on the Windows icon at the bottom left corner.
• Type Driver Manager in the Search text box provided.
• Driver Manager Interface will open.
• Expand Display adapters by clicking on the left of it.
• You will find already installed graphics drivers.
• Right-click on it.
• Select Update Drivers Software.
• You will get options to
  • Search automatically for updated driver software (automatic update) OR
  • Browse my computer for driver software (manually select graphics driver executable downloaded on your computer and download driver software)

Downloading and Installing Display Drivers Manually

As discussed under Graphics Drivers, The global leaders in manufacturing Graphics Drivers are AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA, you can select any one of the already installed graphics (display) drivers in your machine and download updates from their official websites.

Or, download Driver Updater which will scan your computer for display driver and update automatically based on its version, driver type, operating system, and other factors.

#1) AMD display drivers

You can update your graphics drivers to resolve display driver-related defects and performance optimized for games, video editing, and creating high-definition quality images using animation and designing software.

AMD graphics drivers come with an auto-detect and installation tool that scans your computer for compatibility with their drivers. AMD graphics drivers are suitable for Windows 10 – 64-bit computers, Windows 11 series 21H2 and later versions, and Linux-based drivers.

Click here for the official AMS graphics driver download page

#2) Intel display drivers

Intel Graphics Driver comes with support assistant software that scans your system, detects previously installed Intel display driver, and replaces/updates the latest version of Intel’s graphics driver.

Find Out Intel’s Processor Number Installed on Your Computer

Follow these steps:

• Click on the Windows icon (Start) in the left corner.
• Look for the Settings icon and click on Settings.
• Windows Settings dashboard will open.
• Look for System, and click on System.
• On the left panel, click on About.
• On the right panel, look for Device Specifications.
• You will notice information on Processor, and Processor Number mentioned that has been installed on your computer.

Download Intel’s Graphics Driver Compatible With Processor Installed

=> Visit Intel Website

Here are the steps:

• Enter Processor Number in the search text field, appropriate graphics driver specific to your processor download page will display
• Click on the Download button, and then click on the executable to install the Intel graphics driver on your computer

Here is the official Intel’s website for downloading display drivers

There are two ways to install Intel Graphics Driver on your computer:

#1) Auto Detect Intel Graphics Driver

You need to download Intel’s Driver & Support Assistant to scan your system and detect previously installed Intel drivers and update the latest version of the Intel graphics driver

#2) Selection of Driver based on the operating system of your computer

You can select what operating system is installed on your computer from the dropdown. It will display the list of drivers suitable for your selected operating system, from Windows 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11.

NVIDIA display drivers

Nvidia graphics driver can be downloaded manually or can be updated automatically by downloading from NVIDIA’s official download website

Also Read =>> Methods to Uninstall NVIDIA Drivers in Windows 10

Here you will find two options:

1. Automatic Driver Update where you can download your graphics driver directly.
2. Manual Driver Search where you can select any one or multiple filters, such as
   1. Product Type
   2. Product Series
   3. Product
   4. Operating System
   5. Language
   6. Download Type

& then click on the Start Search button.

• It will display Driver Results with an available list of drivers for you to download.
• Click on Get Download button.
• After downloading, you can click on the executable file and follow the steps to install the NVIDIA display driver successfully.

Avast Driver Updater

Avast Driver Updater allows you to find and install device drivers from over 1300 manufacturers for devices like routers, speakers, keyboards, scanners, printers, webcam, graphics (GPU)/ display drivers. You can download Avast Driver Updater from the link

Avast Driver Updater offers the following advantages:

• Update malware-free, secured, and fast drivers of your choice.
• Select drivers from a comprehensive database of 1300 + device driver manufacturers
• Helps scan your drivers from your accessories and suggest drivers so that your device works properly.
• Automatic detection of missing, vulnerable, outdated, and corrupted drivers

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Graphics Driver is a set of instructions or a software program that guides graphics cards and instructs in converting the digital code of the computer into images, videos, and graphics.

It is essential to update graphics drivers for improved energy efficiency, random access memory allocation, and enhanced power for processing. This article describes various options and steps for updating graphics drivers.