How to update video card drivers Windows 11/10/8/7 {Updated 2023}

How to update video card drivers Windows-You have downloaded the latest version of your favorite game and, full of enthusiasm, you have tried to play it… but, contrary to your expectations, you have found yourself in front of a window indicating that the game cannot be started due to the missing update of your video card drivers.

If this is your problem, I am happy to inform you that you are in the right place, at the right time! During this tutorial, in fact, I will take care to show you how to update the video card , by downloading the most recent drivers directly from the manufacturer’s website; for the sake of completeness of information, it will be my concern to give you some indications about the steps to take when, on the other hand, you need to completely replace the graphics hardware.

So, without waiting any longer, make yourself comfortable and carefully read everything I have to explain to you on the subject: I’m sure that, after reading this tutorial, you will have acquired the necessary skills to finally reach the goal you set for yourself. Having said that, there’s nothing left for me to do but wish you a good read and good luck with everything!

How to update video card drivers in Windows 11/10/8/7 64-32 bits

To begin with, let’s see together how to update the video card drivers on Windows PCs . On Macs , on the other hand, this operation is almost always superfluous, as updates for the drivers of the peripherals included in the computer are almost always delivered through system updates; therefore, if you own an Apple computer, I invite you to refer to the guide in which I explain how to update the Mac, in which you will find everything explained in great detail.

If, on the other hand, you need to operate from a Windows-based computer, you may need to download the most recent edition of the drivers provided by your manufacturer. Let me explain: the most recent editions of the Microsoft operating system work without problems with almost all the existing GPUs on the market – whether they are integrated or discrete – thanks to the generic drivers pre-installed by the big Redmond.

If you use these latest drivers, you can get all the available updates directly from Windows Update; to do this, open the Start menu, type the words check for updates in the search field that appears on the screen, and click on the first result received.

At this point, press the button or the Advanced options item , access the section dedicated to optional updates and click on the box dedicated to drivers finally, put the check mark next to any item relating to video card driver updates and press the Download and install button to apply them. When finished, restart your computer to enable updated drivers.

However, keep in mind that Microsoft’s generic drivers do not allow you to take advantage of the advanced features (if any) of your graphics hardware; in this regard, my advice is to download the device drivers and related updates available directly from the video card manufacturer’s website , provided you know the exact model of the graphics hardware.

Don’t you know this last information? No problem, you can trace it using the DirectX diagnostic tool , present in all versions of Windows. To access it, open the Windows Start menu , type the word dxdiag inside it and click on the first result received; then, choose whether to validate the driver signatures via the Internet or not (it doesn’t matter, for the purposes of this guide) and wait patiently for the utility to analyze your computer’s hardware.

When you see the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window appear, click on the Display tab (or the [1] display tab , if you were using multiple monitors at the same time) and that’s it: the specific model of video card you are using should be indicated in correspondence with the entry Chip type .

Where it is not possible to trace the exact model of the video card using dxdiag, you can deal with this by downloading and running a dedicated program, such as GPU-Z or Speccy ; in case of difficulty, take a look at the guide where I explain how to see the video card installed in the computer.

Once you have identified the exact model of video card, you can download the latest device drivers directly from the manufacturer’s website, in the ways you find below. I invite you, before proceeding with the driver update, to create a Windows restore point, to be used if something goes wrong.

How to update Nvidia video card for windows 11/10/8/7

The easiest (and safest) method to update your GeForce video card is to use the automatic recognition and download utility provided by NVIDIA, called GeForce Experience . The latter program not only allows you to get the most up-to-date drivers for your video card, but also to apply some graphic optimizations for games and programs on your PC; however, in order to take full advantage of the program, it is essential to sign up for the free NVIDIA platform.

Having said that, to get GeForce Experience, connect to this website and click on the Download Now button , to download the installation file to your computer; when the download is complete, run the package obtained (eg GeForce_Experience_xx_yy.exe ) and click on the Yes and Accept and install buttons , to complete the setup of the program, which should then start automatically.

Once GeForce Experience opens, you will need to enter your NVIDIA credentials and click the Sign In button ; if you don’t have one, press the Create account button instead and, if you want to create an account “from scratch”, enter the requested data (e.g. email address , name , date of birth and password ).

Subsequently, accept the terms and conditions of the service by ticking the relevant box, pass the captcha check at the bottom and complete the account creation by pressing the dedicated button. Alternatively, you can speed up registration on the platform by logging into your Facebook , Google or Apple account (just press the dedicated button and follow the instructions that appear on the screen).

Once logged in, choose whether or not to allow NVIDIA to monitor your usage habits, skip the various tutorials offered to you and click on the Driver tab at the top. Now, click on the ⫶ button at the top right and select the driver category of your interest, among those listed: Game Ready (GRD) , to get the latest version of the drivers optimized for games; and Studio (SD) , for downloading optimized drivers for running graphics, photography and video editing programs.

Once you have made your choice, press the Search for updates button and then the Download button ; then wait for the progress bar to reach 100% and then press the Quick installation button to start installing the selected drivers. The procedure (during which the screen may go dark several times) will be completed completely automatically and, upon completion, you will be asked to restart the computer .

If you experience problems using the GeForce Experience software (because, for example, your video card is not supported by the utility), you can manually download the latest drivers from the appropriate section of the NVIDIA website, after selecting the type of product , the series/family of the GPU and the type of driver required (GRD or SD); for even more in-depth information on what to do, I invite you to read my guide to updating NVIDIA drivers.

How to update amd video card Driver

Do you need to update Radeon video card or belonging to other families produced by ATI/AMD? Again, you can proceed using the automatic recognition software made available by the manufacturer. To obtain it, connected to the AMD website, click on the Search your product drop-down menu and type the exact model of the video card or processor with integrated GPU in the appropriate field (eg AMD Ryzen 5 5600U ).

Alternatively, you can search for your product by clicking on the category of your interest (e.g. Processors with graphics ) from the box on the far left and proceeding in the same way for the subsequent boxes that appear: just indicate the sub-category the product falls into (e.g. AMD Ryzen processors ), the series it belongs to (e.g. AMD Ryzen 5 Mobile processor with Radeon Graphics ) and, finally, its name (e.g. AMD Ryzen 5 5600U ).

Once you have made your choice, click on the Submit button , expand the section that best suits your operating system (eg Windows 11 64-bit ) and click on the Download button , corresponding to the most recent edition of AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition . When the download is complete, open the file obtained (e.g. whql-amd-software-adrenalin-edition-xx-win10-win11-yyy.exe ) and click on the Yes and Install buttons, to proceed with extracting and running the necessary files. Within moments, the AMD software should detect installed proprietary drivers (if any) and offer you available updates; if there is no version of the proprietary AMD drivers, you will be offered to install them “from scratch”.

In any case, if you have some experience and want to customize the installation of the necessary files, click on the Additional options button and intervene on the menus and boxes visible on the screen, to choose the installation type and path and to specify whether reset the drivers to factory settings and whether to keep the user settings or not. If you have no idea what to choose, leave the default options unchanged.

To start updating (or installing) the drivers, click on the Install button and wait patiently for the process to complete; during the setup phase, the screen may go dark a few times. At the end of the procedure, restart the computer by pressing the dedicated button and that’s it. For more information, take a look at my AMD/ATI driver download guide.

How to update intel video card

Now let’s move on to the Intel drivers : also in this case, a very convenient automatic detection software is available, the operation of which is very similar to that already seen for the NVIDIA drivers. To obtain the software in question (which is also supported by obsolete versions of Windows, such as Windows 7 and Windows 8.1), connect to the support area on the Intel site and click on the Download button to obtain the package containing the program .

When the download is complete, start the file obtained (eg Intel-Driver-and-Support-Assistant-Installer.exe ) and accept the terms and conditions of use of the software by checking the dedicated box; then click on the Install , Accept , Yes and Launch buttons to complete the setup and start the utility.

Within a few moments, a browser window should open, containing the status of the Intel drivers (not just those related to the video card) present on the computer; if there are updates, you can get them all at once by pressing the Install all/Update all button ; otherwise, click on the down arrow corresponding to the name of the component to update (in this case, Intel Graphics Driver for Windows ) and click on the Install button , to get it.

The installation of the drivers must then be completed by following the instructions that appear on the screen: generally, it is sufficient to click on the Next , Yes and Next buttons and wait for the setup to be completed; at this stage, the screen may go dark several times. In order for the drivers to become operational, prepare a restart of the computer by intervening in the appropriate box and press the Finish button .

Other useful solutions

Finally, I would like to point out that on some notebooks and pre-assembled desktop computers you can download updates for the device drivers, using the special software made available by the machine manufacturer. To give you an example, on the latest Lenovo-branded laptops, this program is called Lenovo Vantage and can be called directly from the Windows Start menu.

After opening it, click on the Device menu located at the top, select the System update item from the menu that opens and, having reached the next screen, make sure that the levers corresponding to the items Critical updates and Recommended updates are set to ON (otherwise do it you).

Finally, click on the Check for updates button , wait patiently for any available updates to be downloaded and examine the list of available ones (both critical and recommended); to install all the recommended software, put the check mark next to the item Select all ; otherwise, select only the box relating to the component of your interest (in this case, the video driver ). Finally, press the Install now button and, when and if prompted, restart your computer .

How to change video card

Wait, you’re telling me that your computer’s video card is now obsolete, that it no longer offers the performance it once did despite you taking care to update the drivers to the latest version available and that, for this very reason, you’d like to replace it completely ?

In this case, a very important clarification must be made. If you have a desktop computer (which however is not an all-in-one ) the thing is absolutely feasible, even by those who are not exactly experts in the field; Although installing a new GPU is relatively simple, it is imperative to purchase a card that is compatible with your computer configuration, especially your motherboard and power supply .

However, things get complicated when it comes to notebooks and all-in-ones: completely replacing the video card is an extremely difficult undertaking, as the graphics processing chip is almost always soldered near the processor (or in any case firmly anchored to the motherboard).

For this reason, in such cases it is advisable to combine a new external video card with the existing one, with or without the aid of a case: the performance in the data processing phase will certainly be lower than that obtainable from a video card internal (due to the absence of a direct bus for communication with the motherboard), but it’s still better than nothing.

If you need some more advice on choosing, buying and installing a new video card, I suggest you read my specific guide on the subject in depth, full of useful information on the subject.