• Recommend:
• 0 Comments

Better Drivers Make Better Graphics Boards

A graphics board's software can be key to getting the best performance.

By Grace Aquino, PCWorld   

In our August issue, currently live on our site, we present a full roundup of AGP and PCI graphics boards (see "Whiz-Bang Graphics" link at right). And as we often find when putting together a large group of the latest and greatest, not all the review candidates were quite ready. While all the tested boards were production level, some cried out for better drivers--and their performance was less than the best.

Graphics boards depend as much on their software drivers to achieve tip-top performance as on their graphics chip sets. Even more than most software, drivers are often works in progress, getting tweaked well past the date that their accompanying hardware went on sale. In fact, it's typical for board vendors to post regular driver updates on their Web sites. Because of this, we commonly retest products when improved drivers become available.

That's the case with two boards that appear in Top 10 Graphics Boards in our upcoming September issue. While we can't reveal the products before the issue hits, we can say that the quality of their drivers made a sizable difference in their rankings.

A Free Image Makeover
You can use your knowledge of free driver updates to advantage. It's worth visiting your computer or graphics board vendor's Web site from time to time to see if there's a new revision available--especially if you're experiencing slow video performance or odd screen artifacts. A severe example of the latter might be that areas supposed to contain graphics or text on a colored background appear as solid blobs of color. Installing a new driver often corrects such problems, and you may also see an improvement in display speed in 2D or 3D applications.

Graphics board vendors are usually faster in posting revisions than PC vendors, so compare version numbers between Web sites before you download. Just make sure you get the correct driver for your board. If you're unsure which model of board you have, either call your PC vendor or open the case and look for yourself. Windows' Device Manager will often give you the name of your graphics chip set rather than the board name. (Many different boards may use the same graphics engine.) It's best to have the driver for a specific board, although if the software matches the chip set it will generally work.

For more information and buying recommendations on the latest PCI and AGP graphics boards see Top 10 Graphics Boards in the upcoming September issue of PC World.

Our August Top 10 Graphics Boards chart presents a summary table and ranking of the boards reviewed in the feature article "Whiz-Bang Graphics."