Audio and Video Drivers

Do you use your computer to watch movies, play online games or other multimedia applications? Or maybe you’re more focused towards adding tunes to your IPod or burning CDs. Whatever you do on the computer that involves audio or video capabilities also involves audio and video drivers. It is to your benefit to be familiar with drivers and know how to update them as out-of-date drivers can cause poor performance or system problems.

What is a driver?

A driver is a “piece of software that tells the operating system how to ‘talk’ to a specific piece of hardware such as your printer, sound card, video card, etc.” (PC Nine One One) All devices connected to your computer require drivers. Although sound and video cards are internal components, not external like printers and scanners, they still require drivers. Drivers are the translators that allow your video and audio cards to interact with your operating system and actually produce images and sounds.

How do you get audio and video drivers?

If you buy a new video card or sound card, generally you will receive the driver for it on a CD-ROM or floppy. If you have a technician install a new card for you, they should also install the new driver. It is worth noting that particularly in the case of video cards, the driver you receive with a new card may no longer be the most current version. “It’s usually best not to use the drivers which came on the driver CD. Those drivers are almost always out of date by the time you get the video card.” (Playtool)

Most Windows operating systems contain a library of drivers for the most common devices. Windows XP/Vista for example “come with built-in drivers and often will automatically install a driver when a new device is added if the driver is already in the Windows driver library on the machine,” (Cyber Walker)

If you simply want to update the drivers for your current audio and video cards there are other options open to you.

Why would I need to update the drivers?

You may think that once installed, the drivers are permanent. But remember, they are software and like all software, they can contain errors or bugs. And there are a lot of device drivers on an average computer system. “Typically, about 70% of the operating system consists of device drivers, which have error rates 3 to 7 times higher than ordinary code.” (Computer.org)

Manufacturers are always improving and upgrading device drivers to reduce errors and improve functionality. “An updated driver can take care of erratic behavior or ‘bugs’ in a component.” (Wise Geek) Sound and video card drivers are among the most frequently updated drivers.

Video card driver updates are often driven by updates in gaming technology. “If you’re an avid gamer, installing the newest drivers for your card as soon as they’re released is a good idea, as those new drivers will probably improve the graphics card’s performance in your favorite games.” (Smart Computing)

How do you know if you need driver updates?

If you have been experiencing any type of problem with a device, it is a good idea to update the driver if possible. For example, “An old sound driver can cause applications (especially newer games) to freeze, crash or simply not play sound.” (Ehow)

If it has been some time (or never) since you have updated drivers, you may want to look into doing it. Most experts recommend updating drivers on an annual basis, however sound and video cards may need to be updated more frequently. One leading gaming site recommends updating audio drivers every 6 to 9 months and video card drivers even more frequently. They note “Video card manufacturers typically release free updated drivers every 3 to 6 months to fix certain issues and to add new support for software.” (Games 2 Download)

If you are not sure which driver version you have, on a Windows system you can check by following these instructions. “Go to Start/Settings/Control Panel, double-click on System and click the Hardware tab at the top, then click on the box which says Device Manager. Click on the plus arrow next to the type of hardware you want to check the driver for. For example, if you are checking video card drivers, you would click on the plus (+) next to Display Adapters (video cards). A list of any video cards installed will come up, right-click on the card you want to check, then click Properties and then the Drivers tab.” (Bleeping Computer) This will give you the date, manufacturer and version number of your current driver.

Once you know the make model and version number, you can check online to see if a newer version driver is available. “When developers create drives they assign a version number to it. Each time the manufacturer releases a new update to the driver, they increase the version number.” (Bleeping Computer) So, if your card has a driver version 2.3 and the manufacturer’s website shows a version 2.35 or 2.4 available, you know that you need to update to a newer version.

In most case, to update sound and video card drivers, you can just go to the card manufacturer’s website and check under “Support” or “Downloads” for driver updates. “It’s always better to use a driver provided by the maker of the device rather than use the built-in Windows driver. It is usually more up-to-date and better written.” (Cyber Walker)