Questions about drivers in new PC

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Erudition

Reputable
Feb 26, 2015
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Newly built PC runs perfectly, save for some screen flickering (but I assume that's a driver issue). Ethernet is also up and running, so I have access to the Internet. I have some questions about installing drivers that I couldn't find definite answers to:

■ To install a driver, is it as simple as downloading the file and letting it update, or are there certain tools/programs that are necessary to use?

■ Do I have to delete an old driver before installing a new one? As in: before I update the GPU driver, do I need to somehow delete the old one? If so, how do I delete it?

■ Should drivers be installed in a particular order? As in: Motherboard-->GPU-->DirectX-->Everything else?

■ Do I need to update every driver, including BIOS, for my motherboard even if it's not seemingly necessary? Like audio, Ethernet, etc.?

■ Should I use the Windows 10 Device Manager to update drivers or should I get the drivers straight from the manufacturer websites?

■ Do drivers only install to the storage device with the OS on it, or can I put them onto another storage device like my HDD?

■ Are there CPU, SSD, and HDD drivers?


For extra clarity, here are my PC parts:

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/PXP323
 
Solution
R3PLAY
To install a driver, is it as simple as downloading the file and letting it update, or are there certain tools/programs that are necessary to use?

You can easily find the driver by just googling the name of your gpu and adding "driver" at the end of it.
For example the driver for your GPU can be found on this page: https://us.msi.com/Graphics-card/support/AMD-Radeon-RX-480-8G.html#down-driver

Select your OS and download the driver, run it and it will install automatically.
There are programs that let you know if there's a drive update, for NVIDIA this is GeForce Experience.
However, I do not know if such a program exists for AMD cards.


Should drivers be installed in a particular order?

I tend to use the following order:
Chipset >>...
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R3PLAY

R3PLAY

Commendable
Jan 19, 2017
160
1
1,760
To install a driver, is it as simple as downloading the file and letting it update, or are there certain tools/programs that are necessary to use?

You can easily find the driver by just googling the name of your gpu and adding "driver" at the end of it.
For example the driver for your GPU can be found on this page: https://us.msi.com/Graphics-card/support/AMD-Radeon-RX-480-8G.html#down-driver

Select your OS and download the driver, run it and it will install automatically.
There are programs that let you know if there's a drive update, for NVIDIA this is GeForce Experience.
However, I do not know if such a program exists for AMD cards.


Should drivers be installed in a particular order?

I tend to use the following order:
Chipset >> Video >> NIC >> Sound


Do I need to update every driver, including BIOS, for my motherboard even if it's not seemingly necessary? Like audio, Ethernet, etc.?

If you just got the PC I'd definitely suggest that you try and get the latest driver and firmware for EVERYTHING.

This might give you a performance increase. I'd also definitely suggest that you keep on updating the driver for your GPU, this will make it run smoother.
As for the other ones, I myself do not update them that often, but from time to time.


Should I use windows 10 device manager?

For graphics, I'd go to the manufacturer's website, for the other I personally would use the device manager.


Do drivers only install to the storage device with the OS on it, or can I put them onto another storage device like my HDD?

They store in windows\system32\folder. I'd suggest keeping them there.


Are there cpu ssd and hdd drivers?

I do not know about the CPU, but there are probably SATA drivers for the hdd and ssd
 
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