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Keeping your graphics card driver up-to-date helps ensure you get the best possible performance in-game. It may even be necessary if you want to play some of the latest titles, which sometimes require a new driver before they will even run. That's why it's a good idea to periodically check for new driver releases and install them when available.

Whether your PC is powered by an AMD, Nvidia, or Intel GPU, this guide will help you find out which graphics card you have, show you how to check for new driver releases, and walk you through the installation process.

Check what GPU you have

If you're not sure what graphics card you have, you'll want to check first before starting any downloads. To find out what graphics card (or cards) you have, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the Start menu icon
  2. Select Device Manager.
    Right-click on the Start button and choose Device Manager
  3. Expand the Display adapters section to see all your GPUs.
    Screenshot of Device Manager showing the graphics cards installed on a computer

Typically, you'll see one or two GPUs listed here, especially on laptops. Many times, computers have a GPU integrated with the CPU and a discrete GPU, which you'll care about the most for gaming. Note the brand and model you have.

While you can upgrade the graphics driver using Device Manager, this isn't the best method for getting the latest drivers available. It's easier to stay up to date by downloading drivers directly from the GPU maker.

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How to upgrade AMD graphics drivers

There are generally two ways to update your graphics drivers for any of the three brands. You can use the official updater that will always detect the latest version, or you can download the latest version manually when you're ready.

Using AMD Radeon Software

If you already have installed AMD drivers in the past, the AMD Software is the easiest way to keep them up to do it. Simply open AMD software, and if there's a newer driver version available, you'll see it on the home page.

  1. Open AMD Software Adrenalin Edition on your PC.
  2. Click Check for updates near the top right if nothing is shown.
  3. If a new driver is available, click Download.
    Screenshot of AMD Software Adrenalin Edition showing a download button for new graphics drivers
  4. Once it finishes downloading, click Install to launch the installer.
  5. Click Install again when prompted.
    Screenshot of the AMD Software installer showing new AMD Radeon drivers available. The Install button is highlighted
  6. Wait for the process to finish and click Restart when prompted.

You'll now have the latest drivers available. You can repeat this process every few weeks to make sure you're up to date.

Download drivers from AMD's website

To manually download the latest drivers from AMD's website, follow these steps:

  1. Head over to AMD’s download center for drivers.
  2. Click Download Windows drivers near the top to download the automatic driver installer to detect your hardware and install the right drivers.
    Screenshot of AMD's support website with the Download Windows Drivers button highlighted
  3. Run the installer and click Install.
  4. The installer will detect compatible drivers for your PC. On the graphics drivers screen, select whether you want AMD to collect diagnostic data, then click Next.
    Screenshot of the AMD Software online installer showing new available graphics drivers. The Next button is highlighted.
  5. AMD may suggest you install additional tools. Click Skip to ignore them.
  6. Finally, you may see AMD chipset drivers, particularly if you have an AMD CPU. Click Install if you want them or Skip if you don't.
  7. Wait a few minutes for the process to finish. It will take longer if you selected the chipset drivers.
  8. Once the installer finishes, click Restart to finish the installation.

Alternatively, you can manually select the drivers for your GPU, so you have a full offline installer.

  1. Visit the same AMD download center above.
  2. Using the pane at the bottom to filter for the device you have. The choices will get increasingly specific until you see your product.
    Screenshot of the AMD support website when selecting a product for which to download drivers.
  3. Expand the view for your operating system and click Download to get the latest drivers.
    Screenshot of the AMD driver download website with the download button highlighted
  4. Run the installer.
  5. Click Install when prompted.
  6. Wait until the installer finishes, then restart your PC to complete the process.
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How to update Nvidia graphics drivers

For Nvidia graphics, you can use the Nvidia GeForce Experience software — usually included with Nvidia drivers, to update your graphics driver whenever a new version is released, but you can also download them manually.

Using GeForce Experience

If you've already installed GeForce Experience with a previous Nvidia driver, you can use it to update your drivers more seamlessly. You can also download GeForce Experience by following these steps:

  1. Launch GeForce Experience on your PC.
  2. Click the Drivers tab.
  3. If an updated driver is available, a banner will appear at the top of the page. Click Download to download the latest driver.
    Screenshot of Nvidia GeForce Experience showing a new driver is available to download. The download button is highlighted.
  4. Once the download finishes, click Express installation to install the driver while keeping all your settings. You can click Custom installation if you want to perform a clean install that deletes your old settings.
    Screenshot of Nvidia GeForce Experience after download a driver. The Express installation button is highlighted
  5. Wait for the installation to finish.

Nvidia doesn't require a reboot to finish installing drivers, but it's recommended that you do it anyway.

If you don't have Nvidia GeForce Experience yet, you can download it if you want to automatically detect and install the latest drivers, too.

  1. Head over to Nvidia's GeForce driver download page.
  2. Click Download Now under Automatic driver updates.
  3. Click Agree and install.

Once it finishes installing, you can follow the steps above to automatically get driver updates.

Downloading drivers manually

  1. Go to Nvidia's driver download center.
  2. Select the GPU, operating system and the correct type of drivers. For GeForce GPUs, you'll have Game Ready Driver and Studio Driver options, but there'll be other options depending on the GPU you have.
    Screenshot of Nvidia's driver download website with the fields filled in to choose the correct driver and product
  3. Click Search to find the latest driver available for your criteria.
  4. Click Download and then click Download again to begin downloading the driver.
  5. Run the installer and follow the steps to extract the Nvidia installer.
  6. When prompted, choose whether to install the Graphics Driver and GeForce Experience or just the driver itself. Click Agree and continue.
    Screenshot of the Nvidia installer asking the user whether to install the Nvidia driver along or include GeForce Experience.
  7. Choose whether to use an Express install with default settings or the Custom install if you want to change settings.
  8. If you choose Custom install, choose which components to install. You can also perform a clean installation to remove your existing settings.
    Screenshot of Nvidia installer asking the user to choose the driver components to install
  9. Wait for the process to finish and click Close.

Nvidia doesn't force you to restart your PC, but it's always recommended that you do so.

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How to update an Intel graphics driver

If you have an Intel GPU or processor with integrated graphics, there are a few ways to update its drivers, too. There's Intel Arc Control, the Intel Driver and Software Assistant, and a manual download option.

Using Intel Arc Control

If you have an Intel Arc GPU, you may already have the Intel Arc Control app, making updating tour drivers easier. To use it:

  1. Open Intel Arc Control on your PC.
  2. Click Check for updates in the bottom right corner.
    Screenshot of Intel Arc Control with the Check for updates button highlighted.
  3. Click Download near the top of the window.
  4. Select Express installation to update your driver seamlessly. You can also click More > Clean to perform a clean installation.
    Screenshot of Intel Arc Control with the Express installation button highlighted
  5. Wait for the driver to finish installing.

Intel Arc Control also gives you options for configuring automatic updates. You can choose how frequently it should check for updates automatically, whether they should be installed automatically, and what driver type you want to install.

Manually download

If your PC doesn't have Arc Control, you can use these steps:

  1. Go to Intel's driver download website.
  2. Click Get started to install the Intel Driver and Software Assistant (DSA) tools.
    Screenshot of Intel's driver download website with the Get Started laptop
  3. When the installer finishes, click Launch to open the driver download page.
  4. The page will show any driver updates that are available on your PC. Select the graphics driver and click Download.
    Screenshot of Intel Driver and Software Assistant with multiple drivers available
  5. Run the installer.
  6. When you get to this screen, you can click Start for a standard installation or choose Customize to choose the components to install.
    Screenshot of intel graphics driver installer showing the option to start the installation or customize it
  7. (Optional) If you selected Customize, choose the components you want to install. You can also choose to perform a clean installation to remove your existing driver and settings.
    Screenshot of Intel graphics driver installer showing multiple components to be selected or deselected for the installation
  8. Restart your system once the new drivers are installed.

After installing Intel DSA, you can always launch the app to go straight to the driver download page to find the latest drivers for your PC.

Manually download the Intel graphics driver

Finally, if you want to do a fully manual update, you can follow these steps.

  1. Go to Intel's driver download center.
  2. Choose Graphics.
    Screenshot of Intel's driver download website with the Graphics button highlighted
  3. Find the right driver for your PC. Most modern PCs will want to find the one called Intel Arc and Irix Xe Graphics - Windows. Click the Download button next to the driver name.

    You can also use the filters on the right side of the screen to find drivers for your specific product if you want to be completely sure it's correct.

    Screenshot of Intel's driver download center with the Download button highlighted for the latest Intel Arc and Iris Xe graphics driver
  4. Run the installer.
  5. When you get to this screen, you can click Start for a standard installation or choose Customize to choose the components to install.
    Screenshot of intel graphics driver installer showing the option to start the installation or customize it
  6. Once the installation finishes, restart your system to finish installing them.
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Update complete

That's all you need to know about updating the graphics driver on your PC. Keep in mind that each manufacturer provides "generic" drivers and many times, it might be better to use the drivers provided by your PC manufacturer (such as HP, Lenovo, and others). These drivers can contain specific optimizations for your hardware. However, they're also likely to not be updated as frequently, so you'll be missing out on the latest improvements.

Do note that while updating your drivers can help with performance, sometimes, the hardware is just too old to function as well as you'd like. If you need more performance, you may want to check out the best laptops you can buy today. Or, if you're into gaming and you don't want something too expensive, check out the best cheap gaming laptops you can buy right now.