Your GPU driver is the translator between your operating system and your graphics card. Playing on an outdated driver can mean missing out on optimizations for a newly released game, occasional crashes, or simply getting less FPS than you should. Updating usually takes less than 5 minutes.
How do you find out your GPU brand?
If you're not sure: open Device Manager in Windows (type "Device Manager" in the start menu), expand the Display Adapters section — you'll see the card's name there (e.g. "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070" or "AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT").
For NVIDIA cards
- Download and install the NVIDIA App (formerly GeForce Experience) — you can get the official download from nvidia.com.
- Open the app and go to the "Drivers" tab.
- If a new driver is available, click "Download" and then "Install."
- Checking the "Clean Installation" option prevents leftover settings from a previous driver from causing conflicts — use it if you're troubleshooting an issue.
Alternatively, you can download manually without installing any software from NVIDIA's driver download page.
For AMD cards
- Download AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition from amd.com/support.
- If the app is already installed, it will automatically detect a new driver under the "Updates" tab.
- Click "Download and Install," and restart your PC once it's done.
For Intel Arc cards
- Download the latest driver via Intel Arc Control or Intel's driver download center.
- Intel also uses Windows Update to check for driver updates — but checking directly on Intel's site is more reliable for getting the newest game optimizations.
When should you do a "clean install" (with DDU)?
A normal update is usually enough, but in these cases, fully removing the old driver and installing fresh (using the DDU — Display Driver Uninstaller tool) is healthier:
- You started seeing crashes or graphical glitches after a driver update
- You switched to a different GPU brand (e.g. from AMD to NVIDIA)
- The driver installation keeps failing every time you try
DDU is a free, unofficial-but-widely-used tool that you run after booting Windows into Safe Mode — it wipes out every leftover trace of the old driver.
Should you turn on automatic updates?
For most users, yes — both the NVIDIA App and AMD Adrenalin offer notifications and automatic downloads when a new driver is released. Competitive/tournament players sometimes deliberately stay on a stable driver and delay updating, since a new driver can, rarely, introduce an unexpected issue in a specific game. For the average user, this risk is low.
Does it actually make a difference?
In some games — especially newly released titles with a "Game Ready" driver — you can see a 10-20% FPS boost. An easy way to check: note your FPS in the same scene before and after updating, or compare the estimate in our FPS calculator against what you actually observe.
A common mistake
Not restarting the PC after updating the driver — some changes don't fully take effect until you do. Always follow through when the installer suggests a restart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does updating drivers delete my game saves or settings?
No, a driver update only replaces the software layer between your GPU and the operating system — it doesn't touch game files, save data, or anything stored in platforms like Steam or Epic.
Is the driver that comes through Windows Update good enough?
It's usually a few months behind and may not include "Game Ready" optimizations for newly released titles. For the latest performance improvements, downloading directly from the manufacturer (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel) is more reliable.
Is doing a clean install with DDU risky?
It's safe when done correctly (booting Windows into Safe Mode first) and has been a trusted method for millions of users for years. Just temporarily disconnect from the internet during the process so Windows doesn't automatically reinstall an older driver.