Best Driver for HD4xxx cards?

[gert21445]

Hello, so I have an HD4200 IGP card, which is suiting my needs of light gaming and HD video very well. However, I am wondering whether I should always update to the latest Catalyst Drivers Available. I've heard mixed responses, with some saying that old cards like 4xxx are "mature", and therefore will receive no improvement from driver updates, while others are saying to update just for the fixes and enhancements. I am currently using the AMD Autodetect-recommended 11.6b driver, and I'm wondering whether I should update my drivers, because the new flash player seems to drop frames in youtube ever since they upgraded to their new html5 player, not to mention that HD playback is moderately choppy (even though fps counter shows constantly high fps). So, should i upgrade from 11.6b to latest driver?

I would also appreciate it if other HD 4000series users and AMD IGP users (eg. HD3200, 3300, 4200, 4250, 4290) could contribute the driver version they are using now/their best experiences. Thanks!

 

[bloc97]

I have an HD 4250 on my 2nd computer and I can tell that I got a few fps improvements on the latest drivers (11.12) compared to my old ones (11.9), and It works great for some moderate gaming...

If HTML5 lags for you (It lags for everyone that has integrated graphics), you should disable it, and use the good old flash player.

Hope it helps!

 

[jyjjy]

For an IGP you should update occasionally but don't worry about it too much. If you are having a specific problem like you are talking about with flash and video playback then updating the drivers is certainly something to try.

 

[bloc97]

Usually AMD doesn't add performance improvements to any integrated solutions, but you should still update to the latest version since they do some code clearing regularly and it usually helps gaining a few FPS.

The people that were talking about mature "4xxx" are all probably talking about dedicated cards.

 

[scout_03]

if this is the only one you use then dowload the 11.12 for onboard from ati but if your using a pci-e use the pci-e driver

 

[gert21445]

Wow guys, thanks so much for answering so quickly. Above: Thanks for the tip about 11.12 having fps improvements. On Topic: So you guys recommend that I stay current with AMD Driver releases just for the bugfixes and stability?

 

[scout_03]

if everything work good keep them

 

[gert21445]

The other reason that I've hesitated to update was because in the AMD Driver Download page, I was not sure whether I should select "AMD Radeon™ Desktop Video Card Drivers" link on the side, "Desktop Graphics -> Radeon HD Series ->Radeon HD 4xxx Series PCI-E" from the drop down, or "Integrated Motherboard Graphics ->Radeon Integrated HD Series->Radeon HD 4200 Series". The former is more generalized, while the latter is more specific, and I'm not sure if the HD4200 classifies as "desktop Radeon graphics" or "Chipset/Motherboard" graphics per-say. So, to save me the confusion, I've been using AMD Driver Autodetect, which still recommends 11.6b as the best driver for HD4200. Thanks for your continued help guys, for I am new to this! =)

 

[scout_03]

the amd site suggest lower one it was the same for me when i check for the internal graphic

 

[gert21445]

Also, the last PC I had sported the Geforce 6150LE (also integrated), and I always upgraded to newest drivers, but their Driver download process was much simplier (more specific card numbers-so I never doubted that I got the wrong driver for my card), and their driver updates are more stable and smooth (always just installed over the previous drivers without ever having a problem - NVIDIA installer always removed old drivers automatically before installing new ones...unlike AMD. So long story short, ever since I got this AMD setup in June 2011, I've never updated, because it was so much of a hassle. Should I try installing over the old drivers like NVIDIA?

 

[gert21445]

the amd site suggest lower one it was the same for me when i check for the internal graphic

Sorry Scout_03, but I am confused as to what you mean by "the lower one". I'm quite new to the AMD GPU drivers update process as I have always used NVIDIA. Thanks!

 

[gert21445]

Too bad when Catalyst prompted me to update to 11.12, I pushed "Skip" so I have to wait till 12.1 to receive automatic update notification.

 

[scout_03]

no when you will try to install there is two box to one to instal lower one to uninstal the old one then install the new one do you need the internal one or you got another card and what is your os for 32 or 64 bits i will give you the direct link to 11.12

 

[gert21445]

Oh, my mistake. Thanks! But I've also heard to just install over?

 

[gert21445]

Oh sorry, I didn't read your question. I only use the HD 4200 (my primary graphics card), and I have Windows 7 64-bit.

 

[scout_03]

http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/Pages/radeon_win7-64.aspx

 

[gert21445]

Thanks so much scout! You have been so much help =). But now I'm wondering what I need to do after the update? Do I need to reconfigure/reset my CCC settings or will they be transfered over from my old version? Or should I just click "Load Factory Default Settings" from the CCC menu after install?

 

[scout_03]

they should be the same as before

 

[gert21445]

Thanks! Going to update now and see if I get any FPS improvements!

 

[scout_03]

your welcome come back if you need help there is always somebody around to help

 

[jyjjy]

Don't worry about if you are picking your specific card correctly in the driver dl page. All the drivers are the same.

 

[gert21445]

Hello again =) Just one more question before I update drivers. Should I uninstall old drivers first then install new drivers or just install the new drivers over the old ones? Thanks!

 

[scout_03]

unistall the old first

 

[gert21445]

Thanks! But some people recommend that simply installing over older drivers would generate less errors?

 

[bloc97]

Yes, but at least that you're not installing an driver that has too much difference, it should be ok.

8.7 to 11.12 = Uninstall the old one first.
11.9 to 11.12 = Ok to install over.