Drivers Update Confusion.

[Kayman]

I've read many posts concerning this subject. Some experts recommend to
update but some others insist to refrain if the PC is performing "normal".

How would I be able to check if my PC is running "normal" or is running at
"peak performance" considering that over time minor 'changes' in the system
are occurring which may not be detectable immediately as the "deterioration"
process is more or less of a gradual nature?

Am I wrong to assume that updating of drivers is just as important as
updating virus scanning engines?

The website <w3.DriverGuideToolkit.com> offers a DriverGuide Toolkit. Is
this a useful application?

What is the downside or upside when updating drivers?
According to "Driver Detective" <hxxp://www.drivershq.com/>: "Some updates
are needed and recommends updating the drivers in order to run my system at
peak performance".

The drivers to be updated are:-

IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
VIA Bus Master IDE Controller

Sound, video and game controllers
SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio

SCSI and RAID controllers
VIA Serial ATA RAID Controller

VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller

VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller

Should or shouldn't I proceed?

Thanks in advance for recommendations.

 

[paulmd]

I've read many posts concerning this subject. Some experts recommend to
update but some others insist to refrain if the PC is performing "normal".

This is correct. Some problems may be fixed by updating drivers, but it
is possible to case problems that way. Think of it like prescription
drugs: healthy people don't need them.

How would I be able to check if my PC is running "normal" or is running at
"peak performance" considering that over time minor 'changes' in the system
are occurring which may not be detectable immediately as the "deterioration"
process is more or less of a gradual nature?

If you can't tell, it's fine. If it takes more than 30 seconds to load
Word, or IE, thepre may be a problem.

Am I wrong to assume that updating of drivers is just as important as
updating virus scanning engines?

Yes. This is a mistake.

The website <w3.DriverGuideToolkit.com> offers a DriverGuide Toolkit. Is
this a useful application?

No. You can tell it's not because of the level of advertising at that
site, and how aggressively it is pushed. Driverguide is a useful last
resort to find a driver. It was once a much more usable site, but it's
gone completely to hell. The manufacturor of the device is the first
and best way to find a driver.

What is the downside or upside when updating drivers?

Upside: may fix a problem, downside: may cause a problem.

According to "Driver Detective" <hxxp://www.drivershq.com/>: "Some updates
are needed and recommends updating the drivers in order to run my system at
peak performance".

The drivers to be updated are:-

IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
VIA Bus Master IDE Controller

Sound, video and game controllers
SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio

SCSI and RAID controllers
VIA Serial ATA RAID Controller

VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller

VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller

Should or shouldn't I proceed?

Thanks in advance for recommendations.

Sanity check: is your computer crashing? Are you having issues with
your sound? Does the USB work? Unless you can answer yes to either of
the first two, or no to the last, then there is no need.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I've read many posts concerning this subject. Some experts recommend to
update but some others insist to refrain if the PC is
performing "normal".
How would I be able to check if my PC is running "normal" or is
running at "peak performance" considering that over time minor
'changes' in the system are occurring which may not be detectable
immediately as the "deterioration" process is more or less of a
gradual nature?
Am I wrong to assume that updating of drivers is just as important
as updating virus scanning engines?

The website <w3.DriverGuideToolkit.com> offers a DriverGuide
Toolkit. Is this a useful application?

What is the downside or upside when updating drivers?
According to "Driver Detective" <hxxp://www.drivershq.com/>: "Some
updates are needed and recommends updating the drivers in order to
run my system at peak performance".

The drivers to be updated are:-

IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
VIA Bus Master IDE Controller

Sound, video and game controllers
SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio

SCSI and RAID controllers
VIA Serial ATA RAID Controller

VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller

VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller

Should or shouldn't I proceed?

Thanks in advance for recommendations.

If it is running to your satisfaction, leave well enough alone.

If not, check the hardware drivers for those components you feel might
improve your particular performance issues and read their changes/updates
and make the decision on your own. Change said driver, wait for a few weeks
and see if the difference was made you hoped for. If there has been no
decrease in performance - leave well enough alone again. If a decrease in
performance is noted and all other items (spyware, resource hogs, viruses,
etc) check out - roll back to the previous driver.

I personally update a few of my drivers periodically (video mainly) on some
machines. Some never get updated because they perform as expected and the
stability of the machine is more important than the slight increase I might
gain in performance.

I do recommend that people update their drivers when doing cleanup because
it is highly likely most people coming to/searching for such advice have the
default drivers installed from the time of purchase. These are normally the
most compatible - but not necessarily the best performing of drivers.

I also recommend that users do not get their drivers from the Windows Update
web site. It is better to get them direct from the manufacturer of the
product.

Some drivers I hardly ever update.. Sound and network are two that I
generally leave alone except for fresh installs. Very few times have great
jumps in performance resulted from upgrading these - although there have
been times with the NIC updates - and additional features with the sound -
but I knew what I wanted in those cases.

Sometimes you need the updates to fix some problem.. But then you will run
into that as part of your troubleshooting. Sometimes (like video drivers
for example) you might gain some performance or some nice features that help
you in your particular situation.

In other words - like everything else - you should make an informed decision
to update your drivers or not based off your own needs and wants and for
your own particular situation. The "don't fix what isn't broken" mantra
will maintain stability in most cases.

 

[steam3801]

I've read many posts concerning this subject. Some experts recommend to
update but some others insist to refrain if the PC is performing "normal".

How would I be able to check if my PC is running "normal" or is running at
"peak performance" <snip>

"Normal" v "peak performance"??

Simple, if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it.

 

[Guest]

12:50 AM 5/28/2006

Hi Kayman.

You don't give much info about your machine or describe any particular
problem.

I don't believe regular driver updates are nearly as important as updating
your virus scanner despite what the two websites you visited are implying.
This is not to say that drivers are never an issue. I would suggest
researching the website of the companys who built the machine and
hardware(s). If there exists a critical issue, they would be aware of it and
should be glad to give you instructions. If there is no critical issue,
perhaps the most spritual, loving thing you can do for yourself is to forget
the driver updates in favor of a pint at the local.

I have a database of my current hardware and check the various sites once a
year. Even then one should be very selective in downloading drivers just
because they have a newer creation date. In three years with my current
machine, I have downloaded 3 driver updates, one of which I subsequently
removed because it caused issues. OEMs's are constantly improving products
and the drivers they list as "updates" may or may not be compatible for your
specific machine or component.

??Does anyone know if Windows Updates ever contain driver updates for it's
library?? I suspect it does. Then the question is, "are these forced into
the architecture without user input?"

If you are feeling brave and you have backed up, you might try the one site
you mentioned http://www.drivershq.com/Default.asp to create- for free- a
database of hardware and drivers and then do the research yourself rather
thann join their service.

Mark