Just a question... about graphics

[trysil]

Hi!
I have a question about the difference between the standard drivers provided with windows and the specific drivers for the graphics cards (nVidia, ATI etc).

What's the difference between them? What does the specific drivers do that the
windows drivers doesn't?

/T

 

[huron]

The drivers that are built in to windows are for basic tasks - getting up and running and getting other things installed.

Windows 7 does pull drivers from the specific companies and can install them for you. These give you far greater performance, and can allow for appropriate resolution for the GPU and for the monitor.

Periodically the companies (nvidia, ATI/AMD) release new drivers to improve performance and add features.

 

[trysil]

Just wondering as I encountered a problem where the specific drivers made windows crash but the windows worked fine... Probably a faulty card but not
sure yet.

/T

 

[beltzy]

Driver issues can cause a lot of headaches. Typically you see people that have partial or old versions of a driver along with the more current ones. Guru3d has a software program called "driver sweeper" that is great for cleaning up drivers. Uninstall your current video drivers, then reboot to safe mode and run driver sweeper to clear anything left out. Then reboot and install your new drivers and you should be set.

It's also not a bad idea to download your drivers directly from the manufacturer site. If you have an older card the drivers on the cd can be out of date.