Win7/8 Drivers Help

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jcstiggy

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Mar 18, 2014
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I just built my first PC and I have a question about the driver installation for my motherboard and graphics card.

I installed a Windows7-64-bit OS, but I plan on immediately upgrading to Windows 8.1. Do I need to install Windows 7 drivers first, upgrade to Windows 8.1, and install the drivers again?

Or will the Windows 8.1 drivers work sufficiently for Windows 7 so I can just upgrade immediately?
 
Solution
gumbykid
Some drivers are cross-compatible (such as GPU drivers that work with 7, 8, and 8.1), however most are going to need to be re-installed. It's best to do a fresh install anyways just to ensure stability, so don't worry about getting them while in Windows 7.

As Don said, the OS install will do most of the driver work for you, however through my experience it often doesn't cover the GPU driver very well, and sometimes the chipset isn't covered. I did a fresh OS install just a few days ago and I had to download my own drivers.

TLDR; upgrade now and install the needed drivers in 8.1.
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gumbykid

gumbykid

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Jan 15, 2014
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Some drivers are cross-compatible (such as GPU drivers that work with 7, 8, and 8.1), however most are going to need to be re-installed. It's best to do a fresh install anyways just to ensure stability, so don't worry about getting them while in Windows 7.

As Don said, the OS install will do most of the driver work for you, however through my experience it often doesn't cover the GPU driver very well, and sometimes the chipset isn't covered. I did a fresh OS install just a few days ago and I had to download my own drivers.

TLDR; upgrade now and install the needed drivers in 8.1.
 
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