The thing you must know before moving on is the exact hardware configuration of your computer. If you don't know it by heart, you should look for your computer's receipt. If you have lost it, you can open up your case and read, what is written on each piece of hardware or install a program like Sisoft Sandra Lite and Lavalys Everest.

Which hardware needs drivers?

Almost every piece of hardware needs suitable drivers to perform fast and flawlessly. The exceptions are so called plug&play devices such as monitor, mouse, keyboard etc., but even these usually need drivers for you to use their full potential (for example: you have to install mouse drivers to use all extra buttons). In this article we will focus on drivers important for gamers. These are:

Chipset is the heart of your motherboard and all the other hardware communicates through it. This is why it is crucial that you install the latest chipset drivers to squeeze the most out of your PC's potential.

These are the most important drivers for every gamer. Old video drivers can cause all kinds of problems, especially if your video card is a new model and all issues have not been resolved yet. Video card manufacturers often try to resolve graphical or performance problems by releasing new drivers and that is why video driver update should be on top of your »To do« list whenever you experience any problems.

If you have an onboard audio card, Windows will probably install its own drivers by itself - and they usually work just fine. But even so, we still recommend that you install the most recent drivers listed on your motherboard's manufacturer's web page in order to use all options your sound card has to offer.

It is different if you have a special PCI or PCI-E audio card. Then you must usually install drivers if you want to hear any sound at all - not to mention that these cards usually offer many extra capabilities, which can only be used after you have installed all the suitable drivers and software.

Audio drivers do not have much influence on frame rate in games, so don't consider these as a major reason for low performance. If you have recent audio drivers, do not get to changing them until you have tried almost everything else.

These drivers are needed to connect your computer to a network or directly to the internet. If everything works as it should out of the box, do not even bother installing original or newer ones, because it will be a waste of time. On the other hand, if Windows does not install drivers automatically or if you are having lan/internet connection issues, driver installation or update is the thing to do.

How to make an update?

Assuming you already know your computer's exact configuration, you should start with downloading the right drivers to your computer. This is a very basic step for anyone who can find his way around the internet. Just go to the manufacturer's webpage (of that specific piece of hardware) and search for "support" or "drivers" category. Pick the right drivers from the list and choose the right operating system.

If you do not know the address of the manufacturer's web page, just Google it...it will almost always be the first hit.

Once you have the drivers on your hard drive, you are ready. Just run the installer and follow the wizard - it will all be done automatically. The only thing I would like to add at this occasion is something about updating/changing your video card drivers. It is highly recommended to remove the current drivers properly before installing new ones (that becomes even more crucial if you have just bought a new video card). To do so, just read our Video driver removal guide.

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