I built a computer... which drivers do I need to download?

Solution


Your motherboard usually has a driver CD that comes with it. This driver CD will install the motherboard drivers for those devices if you need them.

If you have expansion/add-in cards for something like a sound card, that should also come with a CD able to install those drivers.
Windows usually installs all the drivers for me. The only problem I have with that is that when I re-install Windows it automatically installs an older driver for my graphics card and I have to wait and let that finish before I can install the latest one.
 
Well, yeah, that's how it usually works. However, if you built the PC yourself, you should have the original driver discs (motherboard, GPU, etc.) that came with the hardware, in addition to what's on your Windows 7 CD. That way, you can at least run those right after the Windows install.

Barring that, what you can always do is make a list of the hardware (both on the motherboard & separate), then go to the websites & see if they offer stand-alone driver files or if they use a "scan your PC & download the detected hardware" app. For the former, load everything onto a USB stick & pop it in after installing Windows; for the latter, go to the website & run the app to update your drivers.
 


Your motherboard usually has a driver CD that comes with it. This driver CD will install the motherboard drivers for those devices if you need them.

If you have expansion/add-in cards for something like a sound card, that should also come with a CD able to install those drivers.
 
Solution