Cannot update my graphics card

[jonezeen]

I have a Dell XPS M1710 which I currently upgraded to Windows 10.
On the dell driver support website, it shows that my laptop has either the GeForce GO 7950 GTX or the GeForce GO 7900 GTX
Both options only come with Win7 and Win8.1. Is it possible for me to run the Windows8.1 GPU drivers on Windows 10? Or Is there another way to do it?

 

[photonboy]

You must use drivers that are certified for Windows 10.

Have you tried the NVidia site?

Try to scan (need flash) or choose manually... you can download and run GPU-Z too which may tell you what graphics you have.
https://www.geforce.com/drivers

 

[photonboy]

No W10 (or W8) drivers listed at NVidia.

I don't know that there's anything you can do as again I don't think W8 drivers will work on W10 (for Video, many others do).

Also, W10 usually download video drivers if it supports them.

Probably you'll be stuck on the Intel iGPU and can't use the NVidia discrete GPU. Do you do light gaming? If not, guess it doesn't matter.

 

[13thmonkey]

gut feel, those are quite old drivers, possibly pre win10. In fact according to the nvidia site they only support up to win 8 (not 8.1) on that GPU.

 

[photonboy]

*apparently there are workarounds like this older one->
https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/895142/geforce-go-7950-gtx-running-on-windows-10-64bit/

It's hard to comment myself without actually testing various drivers etc.

 

[jonezeen]

Tried out the NVidia website again
I've tried the 'Auto-Detect your GPU' option which let me know that no NVIDIA products were found.
I've tried downloading the 'GeForce Experience' program and it said it no GPU was found.
I've did the 'Manual Driver Search' only to find my GPU doesn't support Windows 10. It only goes up to Windows 8.1.
I've installed the GPU-Z program and it says my graphics card name is 'Microsoft Basic Display Adapter' and GPU: 'G71 M'

I am positive that I have a NVIDIA GeForce 7xxxx on this laptop because I installed linux prior to installing Windows 10 and it had drivers for the graphics card.
I will mainly be using this laptop to browse the internet and to watch youtube videos from time to time. Would it be worth it to even try to get drivers for the GPU? Youtube videos seem to be working alright although it is very, very slightly choppy.
Will getting drivers for the GPU increase overall temperature? If so, I might just leave it as is.

 

[jonezeen]

Oh thanks for the replies. I didn't get to see them as I was trying to download drivers.
I don't plan on doing any light gaming at all. So it will be just fine if I just leave it as 'Microsoft Basic Display Adapter'?

 

[King_V]

I have, on an old HP (around 2006) managed to install Nvidia graphics drivers for its integrated Nvidia graphics (it had an Nforce motherboard) successfully on Windows 10 64-bit by using the Windows 7 64-bit drivers.

It may work, but no guarantees.

 

[jonezeen]

I have, on an old HP (around 2006) managed to install Nvidia graphics drivers for its integrated Nvidia graphics (it had an Nforce motherboard) successfully on Windows 10 64-bit by using the Windows 7 64-bit drivers.

It may work, but no guarantees.

I've tried installing the Windows 7 64 bit versions but upon installing, it said that it was incompatible with my hardware. (Something like that)
I didn't bother trying the Windows 8.1 Versions.

 

[photonboy]

For non-gaming the drivers you have right now should be fine unless there's some issue getting the correct RESOLUTION or you get screen-tearing or some other issue.

You most likely have an Intel iGPU and a separate graphics chip from NVidia.

Normally you run off the iGPU until something like a game that benefits from the NVidia GPU causes a switch (using the NVidia Optimus software).

So basically if everything's good for your needs just leave it alone.

 

[photonboy]

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/detect.html

In case Microsoft Updates don't find what you need, the above Intel driver tool may help identify a driver.

The MS Basic video driver, for my GPU at least, causes issues like minimal resolution and screen tearing as well as some video playback issues. Possibly some features like transparency for the Start Menu don't work.

(when reinstalling Windows I get the MS Basic driver with its limited support before installing the iGPU or dGPU driver)

Again, if there are NO OBVIOUS ISSUES leave things as is but if there are try the above Intel tool which may download and install a better Intel driver for the Intel iGPU.

(I checked for my dad's laptop with his "NVidia 8600M GS" and it turns out that series just made the cutoff and does have W10 support but nothing below has official support... having said that it appears to be running solely on the NVidia GPU which is worse perhaps than having no support since it consumes more power and he has no need for it except possibly video HARDWARE ACCELERATION as his older CPU can spike high so 1080p Youtube may not have worked well without the NVENC decoder)