Drivers, latest from the manufacturer or Latest from OS developer?


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Hi.

 

I started writing a damn letter about this but I boiled it down to this, am I better using the manufacturers driver or Microsoft's if Microsoft tries to install its own just because it's newer? There is a later driver for my Asmedia SATA controller than what I have but it is still older than the one Microsoft wants to install. SO flat out am I better using the manufacturers driver or the Microsoft driver regardless of the date?

 

Thanks much,

 

BTW, thanks to all the help here my new system is running like lightning. Thanks to all who recommended the hardware and setup.

 

 

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The ones Microsoft offer are tested and certified to work with the OS, the ones manufacturers offer might be newer, but aren't tested by Microsoft.

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The ones Microsoft offer are tested and certified to work with the OS, the ones manufacturers offer might be newer, but aren't tested by Microsoft.

Ahhh, actually I though of that. So I am probably, for compatibility anyway, better with the newest Microsoft ones?

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The Microsoft ones are tested for compatibility but don't tend to be optimised as much for the hardware. With graphics drivers for instance you are better off installing the manufacturers if you want performance over compatibility.

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The Microsoft ones are tested for compatibility but don't tend to be optimised as much for the hardware. With graphics drivers for instance you are better off installing the manufacturers.

Ah, ok then that begs the question, what about the SATA driver? They seem to be quite important to be as optimized as possible. I guess I am asking for the opinion, what would you use?

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I've always used the latest manufacturer's drivers and have never had an issue with them, I see no reason to use the outdated ones MS has available 

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The ones Microsoft offer are tested and certified to work with the OS, the ones manufacturers offer might be newer, but aren't tested by Microsoft.

 

Actually all signed non-beta drivers must be WHQL approved so they undergo testing before being released.  :)

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Ah, ok then that begs the question, what about the SATA driver? They seem to be quite important to be as optimized as possible. I guess I am asking for the opinion, what would you use?

I'd used manufacturer drivers, they 'should' know the hardware better than Microsoft. The Microsoft ones are there to allow Windows to install any computer without too much effort.

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I'd used manufacturer drivers, they 'should' know the hardware better than Microsoft. The Microsoft ones are there to allow Windows to install any computer without too much effort.

Okie. I guess if I run into any glitches I can try the newer Microsoft one.

 

Thanks,

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Personally,

I tend to use MS's drivers most of the time.

I'll take the simplicity AND stability that seems to come with them.

 

Now, if I were a gamer, I'd probably want the manufacturer's drivers as they are usually easier/better to tweak.

 

Can't count how many times video card drivers from the manufacturer have been buggy/crappy over the long haul.

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Personally,

I tend to use MS's drivers most of the time.

I'll take the simplicity AND stability that seems to come with them.

 

Now, if I were a gamer, I'd probably want the manufacturer's drivers as they are usually easier/better to tweak.

 

Can't count how many times video card drivers from the manufacturer have been buggy/crappy over the long haul.

 

 

where do you think MS gets their drivers from? They are just badly out of date and can be just as buggy as manufacturer's releases, just because they come from MS means nothing at all

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I always stick with the drivers that come with Windows or are pushed through Windows Update except for video cards.  For video cards I always install the manufacturer's (nvidia) drivers.

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I was thinking about that. I also strictly use the official Nvidia drivers. I have tried many other "tweaked" drivers and quite frankly the suck. All were buggy and I lost performance. Anyway I found out Asmedia is actually no longer developing drivers for this chipset. Asus would only tell me it's not because it's too old but they have no developmental reasons. Asmedia AND Asus recommend updating to the Microsoft drivers as they are newer and address any OS issues.

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So, I queried for new drivers and Microsoft installed a new driver for both the Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller and the Asmedia USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller. Both listed as the vendor developer but "(Microsoft)" certified. After reboot I tested my 3.0 drives and saw better performance than even with that Asus USB 3.0 Boost program. Thanks for the tips. Just for the record I think both the Asus USB 3.0 Boost program and the Network iControl are junk. I lost a large percentage of speed over all the speed test sites with Network iControl and of course got better throughput with driver updates than with USB 3.0 Boost.

 

Cheers,

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Hi, I normally install the manufactures drivers as long as there WHQL certified... Especially graphics drivers as they sometimes include bug fixes for games in them.

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