Intel's Windows FCU Graphics Driver Update Brings HDR, XR Support

The recent Windows 10 Fall Creators update introduced several new features to the popular operating system. Intel was a little late to the party with a graphics driver for the new version of Windows 10, but the company finally released one that has support for the new Windows features, such as the Windows Mixed Reality platform.

Microsoft believes that the Windows MR platform is the foundation for the future of computing, and it put a lot of effort into ensuring that Windows MR is accessible to as many people as possible. Unlike the Steam VR (HTC Vive) and Oculus Home (Rift) platforms that require high-end gaming PCs to function, you don’t need an expensive discrete graphics card to experience the basic functions of Windows Mixed Reality. The Windows MR platform supports the integrated Intel UHD or HD Graphics 620 found in 7^th generation Intel Core processors (Skylake).

You won't get the full experience out of Windows MR without a discrete GPU, but Intel’s HD 620 graphics hardware is powerful enough for productivity, passive entertainment, and basic games in the Windows MR platform. For example, we've seen Minecraft VR running nicely on an Ultrabook.

The new Intel Graphics Driver for Windows isn’t just for Windows MR. The driver also enables HDR video playback on HD Graphics 620 and UHD Graphics 620 hardware. And if you have a processor that supports Intel’s higher-end Iris Pro integrated graphics, the new driver includes performance optimizations for a handful of recent AAA games, including Middle Earth: Shadow of War, Pro Evolution Soccer 2018, Destiny 2, Call of Duty: WWII, and Divinity: Original Sin 2.

You can find the latest version of the Intel Graphics Driver for Windows at Intel’s driver download center.

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Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years.