Asus Z87-Plus General Driver Question / Mobo Manufacturer vs Chipset Maker

simmons33

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Nov 7, 2012
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I have a somewhat general question about drivers. I currently dont have a problem, but was pursuing the Intel Download site and found Drivers that appear to be newer than the ones offered by Asus. I normally just grab the latest drivers from the Motherboard Manufacturers website but Im curious...

Windows 7 SP1 64

Asus Windows 7 Driver Download page
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z87PLUS/HelpDesk_Download/

Intel Chipset Download Page
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/1145/Intel-Chipset-Software-Installation-Utility

Intel Network LAN Download Page
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/18713/Network-Adapter-Driver-for-Windows-7-

This Windows install is about a Month old so I have every recent driver available from Asus.

Lets take the chipset for example....
According to Asus, the most recent is V9.4.0.1026 (10/04/2013)
According to Intel, the most recent is V10.0.27 (05/07/2015)

Or the Intel Network Connections (For Intel I217-V)
Asus Driver V18.5.54.0 (10/14/2013)
Intel Driver 20.0 (03/17/2015)

As you can see, the Drivers provided by Asus are near 2 years old.

Ive read in the past that drivers from a site such as Intel or Realtek are general purpose and may not include customization made by the motherboard manufacturer

Should one use Drivers from Intel? Or the ones from Asus? If a Motherboard starts to become long in the tooth, and you're having to use drivers that are a few years old from Asus, Would you then consider Intel's newer drivers?
 
Solution
If there are newer chipset drivers that offer features supported by the motherboard you DO have, the manufacturer will generally list them on their website. Other drivers that might WORK with your chipset, but contain features that will really only benefit newer hardware, are what you're likely to find on the Intel or Realtek, for example, websites. Will they work, probably. Will they offer any additional benefit, maybe, but probably not. It probably doesn't hurt to try them, but if you start experiencing unexplained issues, I'd revert to the older drivers right away. In some cases there might be improvements even on older hardware.

If you install newer hardware that your current chipset or bios do not support, then it's usually a...
If there are newer chipset drivers that offer features supported by the motherboard you DO have, the manufacturer will generally list them on their website. Other drivers that might WORK with your chipset, but contain features that will really only benefit newer hardware, are what you're likely to find on the Intel or Realtek, for example, websites. Will they work, probably. Will they offer any additional benefit, maybe, but probably not. It probably doesn't hurt to try them, but if you start experiencing unexplained issues, I'd revert to the older drivers right away. In some cases there might be improvements even on older hardware.

If you install newer hardware that your current chipset or bios do not support, then it's usually a good idea to upgrade to the newest BIOS and chipset drivers. Unless the hardware is really old, I don't see a problem with upgrading unless there is a specific footnote saying it doesn't work with your chipset.
 
Solution
Not always newer drivers bring improvements in terms of performance. Sometimes they are meant to improve compatibility with newer devices. However, you can always install the newer ones and test. ASUS can't and will not keep their pages updated with newest drivers.