Which drivers do I need to install for my ASRock Z77 Extreme6 Mobo?

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oTradeMark

oTradeMark

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Aug 28, 2012
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I have an ASRock Z77 Extreme6 MOBO. I recently upgraded to Windows 8 and I went to ASRock's website to install the drivers and I'm not sure which ones I need and which ones I don't need. I would prefer to not install drivers that won't benefit me in some way so I would appreciate some help as to which ones will actually benefit me. I searched for information about each driver on google but aside from the basic ones like the audio driver I'm not sure what a lot of them do.

The following drivers are listed at ASRock:

  • Realtek high definition audio driver ver:6699
    CIR receiver driver ver:2.5.1003
    INF driver ver:9.3.0.1025
    Intel Management Engine driver ver:8.1.2.1318
    Intel Rapid Start driver ver:2.1.0.1002
    Intel Smart Connect driver ver:3.0.41.1571
    Broadcom Lan driver ver:15.4.4.1
    AppCharger ver:1.0.5
    Lucid Virtu MVP ver:2.1.119
    SATA RAID Driver (For system to read from floppy diskette during Windows installation)
    ASMedia SATA3 driver ver:1.3.8.0
    Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver and utility ver:11.6.0.1030
    Etron USB 3.0 driver ver:0.114
    VGA driver ver:15.28.6.64.2857

My PC specs are as follows:
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5Ghz
MOBO: ASRock Z77 Extreme6
RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600
GPU: GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 670 Windforce OC
SSD: Kingston HyperX 3K 120 GB Sata III SSD
OS: Windows 8 x64
Monitor: ASUS VS247H-P
Internet Connection: Fiber Optic 50/50 Mbps Down/Up
 
Solution
A
CIR receiver driver (some remote driver? not sure what remote) -- No need
INF driver (infrared maybe?) -- It's the Intel chipset driver. I would suggest downloading it from Intel's website for the latest update.
Intel management engine driver (no idea) -- No need
Intel rapid start (for speeding up windows boot time, necessary?) -- Only if you're using an HDD
Intel Smart connect (for outlook?) -- No need
AppCharger (for apple device charging) -- No need
Lucid Virtu MVP (has something to do with virtual-vsync?) -- MVP allows you to save power by only enabling onboard Intel GPU and powering down your discrete GPU when you're not using it. It is completely free (supposedly included in the motherboard cost) and you can install it right away...
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oTradeMark

oTradeMark

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Aug 28, 2012
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Well to give you an example, the AppCharger is apparently just something that makes apple devices charge faster through your USB port. I'm not sure why that is listed as a driver but I have no apple devices and have no need to install something like that.

The SATA RAID Driver says (For system to read from floppy diskette during Windows installation). Since I don't have a floppy disk drive I assume I don't need this?

So it seems that a lot of these are unnecessary. But let me be more specific.
The realtek driver is the audio driver, I will install that
The broadcom is the LAN driver, I will install that
The Etron USB is the USB 3.0 driver, I will install that
The VGA driver is the onboard GPU driver maybe?

But I don't know what these are or do:
CIR receiver driver (some remote driver? not sure what remote)
INF driver (infrared maybe?)
Intel management engine driver (no idea)
Intel rapid start (for speeding up windows boot time, necessary?)
Intel Smart connect (for outlook?)
AppCharger (for apple device charging)
Lucid Virtu MVP (has something to do with virtual-vsync?)
SATA RAID driver (only for floppy installation? Unnecessary?)
ASMedia SATA3 driver (to improve sata3 devices?)
Intel Rapid Storage Tech (unnecessary for SSDs? what about other HDD's connected?)
 
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oTradeMark

oTradeMark

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Thx, what is the VGA driver? Since I have discrete graphics I just need to download the Nvidia drivers right?

The Lucid Virtu MVP supposedly helps the following:
• Boosts responsiveness and FPS of any game
• Improves gaming frame rates 30-70%
• Increases Vsync frame rates - 120 FPS+
• Sharpens visual quality without tearing
• Works seamlessly with hundreds of games

I do game quite a bit on this PC but is this just marketing balogna or does it actually help?
 
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expl0itfinder

expl0itfinder

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May 20, 2013
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I believe Lucid virtue is a service you have to pay for. I doubt installing it will do anything except for take up space on your hard drive. You would here alot more about it if it was as great as it claims to be. As for the VGA driver, yes, if you have discrete graphics, those drivers negate the VGA drivers.
 
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antherion

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Mar 5, 2012
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CIR receiver driver (some remote driver? not sure what remote) -- No need
INF driver (infrared maybe?) -- It's the Intel chipset driver. I would suggest downloading it from Intel's website for the latest update.
Intel management engine driver (no idea) -- No need
Intel rapid start (for speeding up windows boot time, necessary?) -- Only if you're using an HDD
Intel Smart connect (for outlook?) -- No need
AppCharger (for apple device charging) -- No need
Lucid Virtu MVP (has something to do with virtual-vsync?) -- MVP allows you to save power by only enabling onboard Intel GPU and powering down your discrete GPU when you're not using it. It is completely free (supposedly included in the motherboard cost) and you can install it right away if you would use its benefits. I choose not to, though.
SATA RAID driver (only for floppy installation? Unnecessary?) Only if you're planning to do RAID.
ASMedia SATA3 driver (to improve sata3 devices?) The driver for extra SATA ports controlled by ASMedia instead of the Chipset (the ones that would say SATA Port A0, A1). Nothing wrong with installing this.
Intel Rapid Storage Tech (unnecessary for SSDs? what about other HDD's connected?) If you're using an HDD.
The VGA driver is for the Intel Onboard GPU. If you are using Lucid, then you'll have to install it—but download the newest one for Intel to get the max out of the onboard GPU.
 
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oTradeMark

oTradeMark

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Aug 28, 2012
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Thank you very much, in regards to the onboard GPU driver used with Lucid Virtu MVP, is it only for saving power? I read something about Lucid that it can also somehow use both your discrete and onboard GPU's combined to make it more powerful?

I have a GTX 670, if I won't get any noticeable performance boost with Lucid + VGA driver I won't install them.
 
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antherion

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I would say that's the best use of MVP.
It could help in video transcoding where the onboard GPU is faster than the discrete, but that's the only useful extent it would help other than power consumption.

I would say it's more of a nothing to lose case for gaming by installing Lucid, but I won't go further than that—3D productivity apps that I use usually encounter serious bugs.
 
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