What
is a driver?
A driver is a piece of software used by your computer to communicate
with a particular
peripheral. There are drivers for printers, the video, sound, modems,
etc. Drivers are
regularly updated and new versions can help fix problems and bring significant
performance
improvements.
Why upgrade
drivers?
There are two main reasons to upgrade drivers:
1. Problem fixing
Compatibility problems are the most frequent problems solved by a new
driver release. For
instance, certain software may not run correctly due to the way they
display information on
the screen: the problem can be solved either by a new video driver or
with a new release of
the software.
2. Support of
a new technology
Some peripherals rely on the processor computing power (for instance,
most inkjet
printers). Others peripherals integrate dedicated, specialized chips
(for instance, graphics
accelerator cards). New drivers optimize the communications speed and
task sharing
between the processor and the peripheral. A new driver can bring as much
as 50%
performance increase for certain tasks
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