Driver Updates Really that important?

[S3nl4c]

Ok so I just purchased crysis 3 for my system, I'm packing an oc'd FX6100 crapdozer and a 7950, and when maxed out i was getting between 18 and 25 fps. Obviously i was a bit pissed, so I tried turning things down to high and got to 25-30 fps. As a last resort I updated from catalyst 12.9 to catalyst 13.1, and boom, 60 fps on high and 44 fps on Vhigh. Is it normal for updating drivers to have such an effect? I have never experienced this before in my life!
- S3NL4C

 

[manofchalk]

Type "Catalyst 12.11" into Google and you will see exactly why there was such a large performance difference.

But yes, it is important you keep your drivers up to date.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Generally speaking, no, you do not see such a performance increase. However, each time a hot new title comes out, there is a decent chance that the drivers available at the time of release are not optimized for the new game. Driver developers normally catch up after one or two driver releases.

While it generally does not hurt to keep your drivers updated (when I did, I let others test drive them first), I've come to the belief of, "if it's not broke, don't fix it". Of course, in your situation, it was broke.

-Wolf sends