Blurry images? Colours looking more grey than vibrant? Odd shapes appearing at random and games getting stuck? It looks like your graphics drivers are crying out for an update. Let’s find out how they work, why they’re essential for your visual enjoyment, and how and why you should always keep them current. For added peace of mind, choose the free Avira Software Updater for fast, hassle-free updates of your key apps, software, and drivers.
What is a graphics driver (and why should you care)?
Without it, you’d be left with long strings of binary code (zeros and ones), but when your computer waves a software wand called a graphics driver, that code is transformed into the graphics, pictures, and videos we take for granted. Unlike Cinderella’s fairy godmother, the graphics driver can’t take all the credit for this digital makeover. It works with hardware called the graphics card, otherwise known as the graphics processing unit (GPU) or display driver. This card is like a small graphics ‘machine’ and the graphics driver provides the instructions that the machine needs to operate. Find out here what a graphics card is and how you can check it.
Together, they bring visuals to life on your screen, so give silent thanks to your graphics driver and GPU team the next time you play a video game or scroll through your holiday photos. There’s always a graphics system inside your machine that powers the screen, whether you’re running a tower PC with cards you installed yourself or have a sealed laptop. Neglect your graphics drivers at your peril. If they’re reaching the end of their health span (or even lifespan), you could experience gradually worsening graphical glitches, crashes galore, flickering, frame drops…and even strange fan noises and the infamous blue screen of death. Let’s see why that happens.
Why do you need to update your graphics drivers—and what happens if you don’t?
Beyond drivers, you’ll want to ensure that your PC is updated, especially as zero-day (very new) online threats are always emerging, and security updates are regularly being released to help block them. It’s no different with your hardware and graphics components, and sometimes they even require some extra attention! Hardware manufacturers issue regular updates for their drivers to ensure that your PC components deliver optimal performance and to help reduce the risk of security vulnerabilities. Outdated drivers can lead to compatibility problems, whereby hard- and software stop working together, causing errors and malfunctions.
There are many things you can do to help speed up your laptop and other devices and help keep them running at their best—but here’s a quick overview of the advantages of updating your graphics cards.
- Gain enhanced performance from your hardware.
- Help keep software and apps running more smoothly.
- Enjoy optimised game and 3D graphics performance, with full resolution and greater colour depths.
- Support external displays for a more immersive visual experience.
- Add new features as they’re released.
- Help fix any bugs, errors and potential security hazards that could be exploited by hackers.
TIP: Did you know that if your computer keeps crashing, resetting your graphics driver via the Win + Ctrl + Shift + B keyboard shortcut may fix the issue? If you haven’t been keeping your drivers current, they’re most likely overdue for an update though. This should be part of your regular PC maintenance. Without them, you’re more likely to be a victim of malware, corrupt file systems, and maximum disk usage that saps performance.
How to find and identify your graphics driver
Windows Device Manager is the answer to your prayers if you need to quickly view key information about your GPU and graphics driver, including the brand, model number, and when it was installed. The following method should work with Windows 7,8, 10, and 11: Press the Windows logo key and the R key simultaneously to open a Run Box. In the field, type devmgmt.msc and then hit Enter or click OK.
If you don’t have a Windows logo key or really want to get to grips with your machine, there are other doorways to the Device Manager. Select your operating system below.
How to open Device Manager in Windows 10 and 11:
Click on the Windows Start icon, type in “device manager” and choose Device Manager from the menu. Alternatively, right–click on the Start icon and select Device Manager.
How to open Device Manager in Windows 8:
Access the Windows Start screen. Type “device manager” and press Enter. In Windows 8.1, you can also press and hold the Windows key and the X key to open the Power User Tasks Menu. Locate and click on Device Manager.
How to open the Device Manager in Windows 7:
Right–click on the Computer icon on your desktop, and choose Properties. Open Device Manager and then navigate to Audio, Video and Game Controller.
Once you’ve opened Device Manager, things look similar across operating systems. Look for Display adapters in the menu and expand this to see your graphics card/s. You may have one or more depending on your PC’s configuration and you’re looking for anything that says graphics, VGA, Intel, AMD, or NVIDIA.
Right–click or double–click on the graphics card and select Properties. Then navigate to the Driver tab and note the Driver Version.
Does your graphics card need updating? Find updates fast!
If you followed the above steps, you’ll now know when your graphics drivers were last updated and what version you’re running. Is your system current or does it have more holes than Swiss cheese? As a rule of thumb, most manufacturers update their graphics wares with bug fixes and optimizations for new games every 1-2 months. So, if yours is older than that, you might want to look for a new driver.
There are three main ways to find out and download the latest releases:
Want to find updates yourself? Download directly from the GPU manufacturer.
You can compare your model and number against the latest version of your driver by heading to your GPU manufacturer’s website.
- See the latest Intel graphics drivers. (You can also get automated help managing your driver updates and tune graphics performance with Intel® Arc™ Control).
- See the latest AMD RADEON graphics drivers. (If you’re running Windows 10/11 or Linux drivers, you can also use the AMD Auto-detect and Install tool to find compatible graphics or do a manual search on their website.)
- See here for NVIDIA driver updates (You can also opt in to receive automatic driver update notifications from NVIDIA so you can update your drivers directly without leaving your desktop. Choose from NVIDIA GeForce Experience for gamers and NVIDIA RTX Experience for workstation users.)
If you like the ease of a third-party tool, why not consider an auto-updater that offers more extensive coverage and helps to keep your software, apps, and drivers current? With support for multiple third-party apps, Avira Software Updater Pro works beyond ‘just’ drivers or Windows software. For a small subscription fee, it helps plug more vulnerabilities and helps optimise hardware and software performance—and does it all silently and automatically in the background.
Prefer help from a built-in tool? Head back to Windows Device Manager.
In addition to displaying your GPU details, the Device Manager lets you search for specific software updates (including new graphics drivers). Before you get started, it’s advisable to create a system restore point. This backs up all your current drivers so you can return to the previous state if anything goes wrong.
Is your backup complete and you’re ready to proceed? Follow these steps for your specific operating system.
- Update your graphics driver using Windows Device Manager on Windows 11:
- Head back into Device Manager using one of the methods outlined previously.
- In the dropdown menu, expand Display adapters, right-click on the GPU, and select Properties.
- Within the Driver tab, click Update Driver
- Click on Search automatically for drivers and Windows will search for and install the best available driver.
- The results of the search appear, usually within seconds. If Windows finds an updated version of your driver, you can install it now. If Windows can’t find a newer release, it advises you to head to the manufacturer’s website to hunt around yourself or to search via Windows Update. That’s the next tool—scroll down for more details!
- Update your graphics driver using Windows Device Manager on Windows 10:
- Open Device Manager and click on Display adapters to select your graphics cards.
- Open the Driver tab, click Update Driver, and select Search automatically for updated driver software. Alternatively, select Browse my computer for driver software to find a driver that you’ve already downloaded. Then click Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
- Click Have Disk and then Browse to navigate to the folder that contains the new driver. Click Next.
- Now you can explore the graphics control panel to learn about new features or adjust settings.
- Update your graphics driver using Windows Device Manager on Windows 7:
- Open Windows Device Manager and go to Audio, Video and Game Controller to look for your graphics card.
- Double–click on the graphics card and navigate to the Driver tab in the window that opens. Click on Update Driver.
- Select Search automatically for updated driver software.
- The results appear. If the search doesn’t turn up anything new, congratulations! Your drivers are up to date.
- You can also repeat steps 1-3 and instead select Browse my computer for driver software, provided you’ve already downloaded a graphics driver from the manufacturer’s website (see our section on that above).
Want to try a built-in tool with more functionality? Use Windows Update, pre-installed on Windows 11, 10, and 7.
Windows Update is pretty nifty. It downloads and installs updates for your OS and Microsoft programs, plus the main hardware drivers. You can rest assured that the drivers you find with Windows Update are fine-tuned and certified by the Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). These drivers aren’t always the latest versions as it takes a while for new releases to leap through the hoops of Microsoft certification loops, but they’re generally considered stable.
- Update your graphics driver using Windows Update on Windows 11:
- Open the Start menu and select Settings.
- Click on Windows Update.
- Click on Check for Updates. All available Windows updates, including graphics drivers, should now be installed.
- Update your graphics driver using Windows Update on Windows 10:
- Open the Start menu and select Settings.
- Select Update & Security and then click Check for updates.
- If any newer GPU drivers are found, they will now be installed automatically.
- Update your graphics driver using Windows Update on Windows 7:
- Open the Start menu and navigate to the Control Panel.
- Click on System and Security and Windows Update. Under the Windows Updater option, tap on Check for updates. A search for regular Windows updates plus new drivers will now begin.
- In the results, look for graphics card drivers (usually Intel, NVIDIA, or AMD) in the main view as well as in the Optional Updates category. If you find anything relevant, click Install.
Make life even easier: Automatically update your graphics drivers, and more
As you’ll have seen above, manually upgrading your graphics cards takes time, many clicks—and if you’re going it alone on the manufacturer’s website—it can be daunting. Plus, your work is never done as you’ll need to repeat the process every time a driver update is released. If you’re not using a Windows tool, you’ll also have to hunt online for the latest release, while making sure it’s a clean, official download from an authorised site of course.
Thankfully, there are easier ways to help you enjoy full image resolutions, wonderful colour palettes, and smoother game performance: Free Avira Software Updater scans your computer to help notify you of outdated graphics drivers—plus so much more, including software, apps, and other drivers (like those for sound, network, printers, and scanners). It then provides download links to help you easily and securely download the latest updates, ensuring your multimedia content remains top-notch.
Or you can take a life of (update) leisure even further: For a small monthly subscription or annual fee, there’s the premium Avira Software Updater Pro which can be set to autopilot. It silently downloads and updates your software and drivers in the background while you get on with your day and (hopefully) never have to see an update reminder again.