How to know what drivers to update.

[Drewski_U]

Not too long ago I built my first PC but I am now trying to figure out what drivers are necessary to update for my PC (graphics card, cpu, etc.) heck I don't even know what has drivers and what doesn't. Any help is much appreciated!

 

[Sedivy]

Always update your graphics card drivers. You'll never go wrong with this.
CPU should not have any drivers per se. When you first install the system, go to the manufacturer's support page for your motherboard. It'll list bunch of drivers there for you. Install the latest ones of all listed, appropriate for your operating system version.
That should pretty much be it unless you have additional hardware pieces (separate network card or audio card etc) which require their own manufacturer's drivers.

 

[aquielisunari]

Not too long ago I built my first PC but I am now trying to figure out what drivers are necessary to update for my PC (graphics card, cpu, etc.) heck I don't even know what has drivers and what doesn't. Any help is much appreciated!

I'd visit your hardware garage. It's also known as Device Manager. Should any of those have a ? or a ! it's very likely that you need to go to the part's website and download the latest driver. I have the MSI Z97 pc mate so I Google it and visit MSI's website. I scroll down and click support. That will be the norm for pretty much any motherboard's page. After I click support I will click driver and download the necessary drivers.

Generally the Ethernet/LAN, system and chipset, GFX card and the integrated audio hardware needs drivers.

 

[Drewski_U]

Not too long ago I built my first PC but I am now trying to figure out what drivers are necessary to update for my PC (graphics card, cpu, etc.) heck I don't even know what has drivers and what doesn't. Any help is much appreciated!

I'd visit your hardware garage. It's also known as Device Manager. Should any of those have a ? or a ! it's very likely that you need to go to the part's website and download the latest driver. I have the MSI Z97 pc mate so I Google it and visit MSI's website. I scroll down and click support. That will be the norm for pretty much any motherboard's page. After I click support I will click driver and download the necessary drivers.

Generally the Ethernet/LAN, system and chipset, GFX card and the integrated audio hardware needs drivers.

Ok im on the asus website looking at the drivers but after downloading them what do I do with the "cap" file?

 

[aquielisunari]

Not too long ago I built my first PC but I am now trying to figure out what drivers are necessary to update for my PC (graphics card, cpu, etc.) heck I don't even know what has drivers and what doesn't. Any help is much appreciated!

I'd visit your hardware garage. It's also known as Device Manager. Should any of those have a ? or a ! it's very likely that you need to go to the part's website and download the latest driver. I have the MSI Z97 pc mate so I Google it and visit MSI's website. I scroll down and click support. That will be the norm for pretty much any motherboard's page. After I click support I will click driver and download the necessary drivers.

Generally the Ethernet/LAN, system and chipset, GFX card and the integrated audio hardware needs drivers.

Ok im on the asus website looking at the drivers but after downloading them what do I do with the "cap" file?

cap? No clue. I can't see what you're seeing. Generally it's as simple as click download on the website. Let it finish and click that file in your browser or visit whichever folder you download to and click it. You then follow prompts. Always reboot after each successful driver upgrade.

 

[Sedivy]

CAP format is for BIOS. That's if you want to update BIOS. You need to follow manufacturer's instructions precisely if you do that, in order not to brick your motherboard so be careful.
Otherwise leave the bios files altogether if you're not having any issues.

 

[aquielisunari]

CAP format is for BIOS. That's if you want to update BIOS. You need to follow manufacturer's instructions precisely if you do that, in order not to brick your motherboard so be careful.
Otherwise leave the bios files altogether if you're not having any issues.

And to take this advice one step further - Only upgrade the hardware that is necessary. Downloading and upgring each and every driver isn't usually necessary. RAID? If you don't have a RAID setup those drivers aren't necessary. If it isn't broke, don't fix it and KISS.