Should I use AMD ATI setup for chipset drivers?

[ITPaladin]

Apparently asking this question on the MSI user forums is an instant ban, no message /notice / reason given other than "spam" offense (waited 3 days for a response, then added that I guess I will come here to get an answer, waited another day, logged in to ban notice for spam), so I am asking at my original home which probably would have given me an answer long before they never did:

I have the MSI970A-G46 AM3+ mb with Windows 8.1 x64.
I have an Nvidia gfx card.

Should I be going to the AMD website and getting the Catalyst installer for at least the chipset drivers?

 

[Insert_Nickname]

By "chipset drivers" I'm assuming you mean AHCI, RAID and USB3 driver?

http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/chipset?os=Windows

If you're running 8.1 x64, there is little need. Windows already contains drivers for everything, and the MS AHCI driver is just as good as the AMD one.

The only thing you might need is the RAID driver, if you're running that.

 

[mikeymikec]

Not so sure about Insert_Nickname's advice - there's a USB filter driver for USB 1.1/2.0 devices that if you don't have it installed on Win7 you may get intermittent crashes while using USB devices (I've seen it happen on a 700-series AMD chipset and Win7, and the driver is included when I install the chipset drivers for my 800-series AMD chipset on Win7). I would be surprised if Win8x included this driver.

I'm inclined to agree about the lack of necessity for the AMD AHCI driver, but I'm using it on Win7 in case it has better SSD support than MSAHCI on an AMD chipset.

 

[ethebubbeth]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but last I knew the AMD AHCI driver did not support passing the TRIM command to an SSD. If you have an SSD I would not install the AMD AHCI driver.

However, I would recommend installing the other official AMD chipset drivers.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Not so sure about Insert_Nickname's advice - there's a USB filter driver for USB 1.1/2.0 devices that if you don't have it installed on Win7 you may get intermittent crashes while using USB devices (I've seen it happen on a 700-series AMD chipset and Win7, and the driver is included when I install the chipset drivers for my 800-series AMD chipset on Win7). I would be surprised if Win8x included this driver.

The only thing the USB filter driver does is filtering out audio jack noise from the USB connection, if you're using a USB sound device. Its beyond useless, as it can cause all sorts issues and crashes...

 

[mikeymikec]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but last I knew the AMD AHCI driver did not support passing the TRIM command to an SSD. If you have an SSD I would not install the AMD AHCI driver.

However, I would recommend installing the other official AMD chipset drivers.

IIRC TRIM support came in later than it ought to have done. I did a quick google but didn't find anything conclusive, furthermore AMD's site doesn't mention a driver changelog of any sort and I can't find a readme in the driver either.

- edit - I just found this:

http://www.behardware.com/news/lire/11-01-2011/
Another couple of sites are presenting AMD TRIM support as news as well.

 

[ITPaladin]

Someone told me about http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/chipset?os=Windows+8+-+64

but I am not sure if those are for the chipset on the mb.

The mb download section only has audio, ethernet, and usb drivers. I just want to make sure I have everything needed as I used to have to get chipset drivers from past mb from Asus, Abit, and MSI.

My CPU is a FX 6 core. W8.1, no ssd.

 

[Towermax]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but last I knew the AMD AHCI driver did not support passing the TRIM command to an SSD. If you have an SSD I would not install the AMD AHCI driver.

However, I would recommend installing the other official AMD chipset drivers.

TRIM support was added some time ago. And on my 970 board with SSD, AMD's AHCI driver gives better performance than Microsoft's--not a lot better, but better.

 

[mikeymikec]

Someone told me about http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/chipset?os=Windows+8+-+64

but I am not sure if those are for the chipset on the mb.

They're basically chipset drivers.

The mb download section only has audio, ethernet, and usb drivers. I just want to make sure I have everything needed as I used to have to get chipset drivers from past mb from Asus, Abit, and MSI.

My CPU is a FX 6 core. W8.1, no ssd.

I have an Asus board and reinstalled Win7 recently. I went with the latest AMD chipset drivers then filled in the remaining devices with drivers from Asus. If I have a problem with any of the Asus drivers, I'll try to go straight to the manufacturer of the device for drivers (like say JMicron for eSATA drivers... which reminds me, I don't think I've installed an eSATA driver on my system yet!).

 

[ITPaladin]

I have to say this community is so much better than the reception I got at the user to user MSI forums. I figured I would get more focused, knowledgeable, and expedient attention there. I was wrong. This many responses within 24 hours of posting vs what I got there is crap.

I just basically slammed the door on my way out a few minutes ago from the second account I had to create in order to get any answers. Their description of "spam" is extremely vague and arbitrary: "all kinds of spam". Wow. Very descriptive. The mod that responded even lumped Anandtech into their statement of protecting users from "possibly damaging content". They disliked my linking Anandtech to clear up that I am not the frauds taking my name in recent years, noting I started in 2003. It was actually difficult to read their run-on sentences as I think they don't have English as a first language, using "reinvent" I think for "relevant".

They called my signature, "spam" when I have used it across dozens of forums, including major corporate forums such as Sony Online Entertainment (EQ, EQ II, Vanguard, EQ Next: Landmark forums), Cyan inc (makers of Myst/Riven/Obduction), without issue. Note that my post itself was not "spam" but who ever the person was that decided to ban me only after my 3rd post (1st one was a while ago), decided to ban me before sending a PM to me explaining what they considered to be "spam", despite their own rules not laying it out.

I am thinking there is not much of a gamer community in that MSI forum so they think that WTFast and game time code stores are "possibly damaging content" (btw using WTF is censored there too). MD has been in business with game developers and publishers for several years, providing the backend customer support for buying digital codes and consumables. I bought Eve Online GTC from him back when he owned Shattered Crystal ~2007.

 

[mikeymikec]

It's frustrating being banned from a forum without a good reason

My guess is that the mods there are a tad opinionated / over-zealous in their work. A second possibility is that if it's an official forum being run by a third party, the third party may feel very sensitive about ensuring that they're meeting the requirements of the employer (ie. a bit "jobsworth" like rather than using personal judgement and standing by it).

 

[ethebubbeth]

TRIM support was added some time ago. And on my 970 board with SSD, AMD's AHCI driver gives better performance than Microsoft's--not a lot better, but better.

Thank you for the update. Guess it's time to install the AMD AHCI driver on my HTPC!

 

[FAQdaworld]

The only thing the USB filter driver does is filtering out audio jack noise from the USB connection, if you're using a USB sound device. Its beyond useless, as it can cause all sorts issues and crashes...

Totally agree, I use a logitech g35 and was working perfectly fine until I installed (accidently) the usb filter thing. I'd say avoid using the amd chipset package if you are on 8.1. In general I wouldn't recommend installing new drivers unless you are having problems / unrecognized devices.

 

[ITPaladin]

Ok I will leave Catalyst chipset install alone then.
I had it on for a short time before reinstalling my OS and never noticed anything different.