This article is part of a directory: Complete guide to PC gaming
Table of contents

Key Takeaways

  • Use Nvidia's GeForce Experience software to easily update your graphics card drivers, optimize games, and record footage.
  • Set the app to automatically download new drivers so you always have the latest updates without needing to check.
  • Perform clean installations with Display Driver Uninstaller to remove old drivers and ensure smoother running, especially when upgrading or experiencing problems.

If you're the proud owner of an Nvidia graphics card, then you should always ensure that your drivers are kept up to date. The company regularly rolls out new drivers for its range of GPUs to help improve performance, especially when new games are released.

We've written about how to get more FPS out of your gaming PC and ways to get the most out of an Nvidia RTX GPU, but sometimes you just need to keep on top of updates. It's simple to do, and we'll tell you everything you need to know right here.

How to easily update Nvidia drivers

We find the easiest way to update your graphics card drivers is with Nvidia's GeForce Experience program. This is an extremely useful app to have on your system. It's able to capture and record footage with ease, optimize installed games so they run well, overclock your GPU for more FPS and more.

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One of the basic and most useful features of this app is its ability to download drivers. Open up GeForce Experience and click on the drivers tab, and you can see and easily download the latest drivers.

To make your life easier, you can also set the app to download new drivers whenever they're released automatically, so you don't even need to check.

To do this follow these steps:

  1. Click the Cog icon on the right-hand side of the app.
  2. Then, on the General tab, find the section marked Downloads.
  3. There, you'll find a tick box that says Automatically download driver updates and let me choose when to install.

Check that box, and you'll always have the latest drivers ready to go when you need them.

Clean installations equal fewer problems

Over time, you'll be installing a lot of different drivers for your graphics card. If you change your graphics card and upgrade to a new one, then this can be a problem. It can also be an issue even if you're running the same GPU for a long time. Things can get messy.

If you're experiencing problems or your usual games just aren't running as smoothly as they normally would, then it may be that you need a clean install.

A clean installation will remove older drivers and their remnants from your system. This will lead to fewer conflicts and smoother running. Luckily, there's a free tool that does that.

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Guru3D/ Pocket-lint

Fix issues by running Display Driver Uninstaller

Display Driver Uninstaller (aka DDU) is a free-to-download tool which can remove driver folders, files and more. It's best to use it in Safe Mode as this can ensure it's able to cleanly remove everything and get ready for installation of the latest graphics drivers.

There are various ways to get into Safe Mode in Windows. Microsoft has a handy guide that covers the various steps. Once there, you can just run DDU and follow the prompts. It'll then reboot, and you can then download the latest drivers and install them.

Try downloading drivers directly from Nvidia

Another way to get the drivers is to download them directly. Head over to the Nvidia website, and from there, you can choose your graphics card from the various dropdowns. Select your operating system, choose the right driver type (Game Ready Driver for gamers) and download.

Then run through the steps, install the drivers and enjoy your games. You can easily find out when the next driver is available by following this Twitter account and ticking to get notified when it posts.

Why should you keep your graphics drivers up to date?

Having the latest GPU driver installed is crucial to get the best performance from your PC. Most of us tend to use a graphics card for a number of years before upgrading - they are, after all, a pretty significant investment. Over the years, the way in which applications and games take advantage of your graphics card can evolve quite drastically, and an up-to-date graphics driver will ensure that you don't run into compatibility issues with newer software.

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Besides preventing issues and fixing bugs, graphics drivers can also add new features and optimize your hardware for the latest game releases. So, if you just purchased a new game, it's always worth updating your drivers to ensure that it runs at its best. At the end of the day, it costs nothing but a few moments of your time, and it could result in higher FPS. Sounds like a good deal to us.