Is it necessary to install chipset drivers?

[Ganesh Ujwal]

Is it necessary to install chipset drivers? what happens if i dont?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I'd be interested in the current info on this as well.

5 or 10 years ago, you heard about it constantly and it was considered a near necessity for anyone building their own PC.

But you rarely hear about it anymore. Maybe that's because fewer and fewer people are building their own machines.
I asked this question on this forum several years ago and did not get a clear cut answer. It was more along the lines of "it can't hurt" or "as far as I know" or "why not" or "recommended"--with no documentation supplied. Just opinions with no supporting evidence.


But I've never heard anyone say it's a major mistake not to install them on recent hardware and can't recall any issues clearly traceable to lack of chipset drivers. Surely there must be millions of PCs built without "chipset drivers", which I think is a somewhat outdated term.

 

[oscer1]

hi you should always install the chipset drivers for the computer. first driver you should install. the os will have the basic chipset driver for the computer so can work.

 

[ComputerGeek]

Back in XP and earlier days, if you couldn't find h/w drivers from a vendor, a lot of devices wouldn't work.

To avoid that anxiety Windows started doing 2 things:

1. They include MS generic drivers in Windows. The generic drivers often work for chipset, network, audio and web cams
2. Windows also started packaging a lot of popular 3rd party drivers in the Windows OS release on DVD. Again, this avoids a lot of user angst and frustration to get their h/w up and running

p.s. As I recall, my MS windows 7 Pro x32 came with several hundred (500+?. I forget) drivers built into the Windows install you get on DVD. As I recall the majority are non-MS drivers

So, yea, sure you can often get your system up and running using the Windows generic drivers. But if h/w specific drivers are available from the vendor, then you probably aren't getting full functionality from the device or possibly performance. Remember: generic means you can at least get basic function up and running. H/w specific drivers are written to take full advantage of the h/w device

So, it's always better to install h/w specific drivers from the vendor, if they're available. (Noting that some vendors these days build their h/w intending for it to rely on the generic Windows drivers so the vendor doesn't have to be bothered with s/w releases, patches, etc.)

 

[ComputerGeek]

p.s. If h/w specific chipset drivers no longer mattered, then you wouldn't have sites like the Intel Driver Update utility so Intel can easily provide you updates to their mother board chipsets

/* EDIT */
And note even then: Intel is providing its own generic drivers for its chipsets (though still better then MS generics). They advise get the chipset drivers from the m/b vendor as they may have modified the chipset functions and the drivers - though I've seldom seen that actually happen, that I'm aware of. Typically getting the latest from intel does the trick in replacing the MS generic for Intel

Intel provides generic versions of drivers for general purposes. Your computer manufacturer may have altered the features, incorporated customizations, or made other changes to your driver. Intel recommends you contact your computer manufacturer for the latest system specific updates and technical support information.

 

[RoasterMen]

With Intel you wouldn't need to download chipset drivers because Windows 7 itself have generic drivers provided for the system. All you need to do is to update the chipset so you wouldn't have any problems in the future about it.

 

[Ganesh Ujwal]

just tell, i need to install or not? i am using windows 7
i dont want theory answers...

 

[oscer1]

Yes install it

 

[ignatzatsonic]

just tell, i need to install or not? i am using windows 7
i dont want theory answers...

"Need" has more than one meaning:

It can mean required. If that is your meaning, then NO, it's not required.

It can mean important. If that is your meaning, then it's unclear and without overwhelming evidence. Maybe yes. Maybe no.

Maybe you mean no more than "should I". In that case, YES install it. If for no other reason than you'll feel better.

You might as well ask "how long is a piece of string?".

Opinions differ.

Do what you want.

If you can't stand an indefinite answer, then use your own method of making the decision--flip a coin, ask on another forum, etc.

 

[ComputerGeek]

just tell, i need to install or not? i am using windows 7
i dont want theory answers...

It's not theory. It's just one simple question:

Do you want to get the most out of your hardware? If yes, then install the chipset drivers