Motherboard driver & win 10 question

[johnno]

Hi folks,

I was just thinking about 'upgrading' my PC to Windows 10 after successfully doing so on the Mrs laptop. I eventually want to do a clean install. Anyway, there are no Win 10 driver for my motherboard.

Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8Z68VGEN3/HelpDesk_Download/

I don't use Bluetooth or USB3 currently and have a PCI soundcard.

So I guess the only drivers I need are the LAN driver (easy from Intel) and the Chipset. This is the one I'm not sure on? are thee any windows 10 intel chipset driver?

cheers.

 

[mikeymikec]

Just download the drivers straight from the respective manufacturers' websites. It is pretty likely that newer drivers are available (e.g. Intel for chipset/AHCI/IRST).

Most of the time, board manufacturers will publish a 'known to definitely work with their hardware' driver, maybe one or two revisions after that, then they have newer/better things to work on.

 

[johnno]

There doesn't appear to be any windows 10 chipset drivers on the Intel website. Unless i've been looking in the wrong place.

 

[Dahak]

These are the latest drivers from Intel

Chipset - https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/20775/Intel-Chipset-Device-Software-INF-Update-Utility-
Although it does not really install anything anymore, other than probably name changes in device manager since Win8

Lan - https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/22283/Intel-Ethernet-Connections-CD

Intel Sata/RST - https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25165/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-RAID-Driver

Intel MEI (Management Engine) - Have to use the one on asus site for 8.1 or may be installed automatically

 

[vailr]

1. AFAIK, there is no distinct difference between Intel chipset drivers for Windows 7/8/8.1/10.
Of course: there will be different driver version required, according to the chipset of the motherboard.
2. The motherboard official support site is seldom the best place to find the latest drivers. The board makers tend to neglect updating older products.
3. The best source for finding the most recent device drivers:
www.station-drivers.com/index.php?lang=en
4. Devices that may (or usually do) require different driver versions between Windows 7/8/8.1 vs. Windows 10:
Video cards - (Windows 7/8/8.1 are all the same; Windows 10 requires a different driver)
Intel & Realtek LAN (Windows 7, vs. Windows 8/8.1 vs. Windows 10 - each may require different drivers)
Intel USB 3.0 (Windows 7 only; later Windows versions include a built-in Intel USB 3.0 driver); non-Intel USB 3.0 device drivers usually work on any of these 4 Windows versions.

There's also sub-variations, between 32-bit & 64-bit drivers, and (particularly for video drivers) between desktop and laptop drivers. Intel Atom and other "ultra low voltage" netbook & tablet drivers will require other specific drivers for those CPU's.

 

[Deders]

These are the latest drivers from Intel

Chipset - https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/20775/Intel-Chipset-Device-Software-INF-Update-Utility-
Although it does not really install anything anymore, other than probably name changes in device manager since Win8

I found this with my P55 i5-750 setup, but only with a 64 bit OS. I would have to force the install with the -overall switch to get more than a couple of drivers to install, and when they did, the date of the drivers were much more recent than the standard Microsoft ones which were dated before the motherboard existed.

On the other hand, when installing the newer inf drivers with the updated setup process (which was clearly taking time to install quite a bit) on my z170 board, I did a WIE test on windows 7 before and after, and there were significant performance improvments, up from a low 6.something in CPU and memory, to 7.8 and 7.9.

I have a vague recollection of forcing the drivers to install on someone else's machine, I think it was Ivy bridge, and doing the same WIE test, performance actually decreased. So I actually recommend experimenting for yourself with different methods, even if it means you have to go through the 15 minute windows install again to wipe the drivers clean.

I still don't know whether forcing them on my i5 made a difference, but I do know I wasn't having the issues many people had when maxing out games like Watchdogs or Arkham Knight, on a processor that was not only older and slower than most people's, but was actually below the recommended spec, and in Arkham Knight's case, below the minimum spec.

 

[johnno]

Ok thanks for the info guys. do i need the Rapid Storage Technology driver?