- You can download
Nvidia drivers directly from the Nvidia website or using an app called Nvidia GeForce Experience. - If you have an Nvidia GeForce card, you can install the GeForce Experience application to automatically install the correct Nvidia drivers.
- If you have another type of Nvidia card or don’t want to use the Experience app, you can manually download
Drivers from the Nvidia site. - Before downloading new Nvidia drivers, use Windows Device Manager to find out which graphics card you have installed.
For years, Nvidia has been a leader in the field of computer graphics. Most of the most powerful computers on the market use Nvidia graphics cards.
And like any part of your computer, the software in your Nvidia cards – also known as “drivers” – sometimes needs to be upgraded. Keeping your graphics card up to date is essential, as outdated drivers can cause all sorts of issues and bugs.
Fortunately, you don’t need to remove the card from your computer to update its drivers. You can simply download new drivers, much like updating a standard application.
There are two ways to download Nvidia drivers and keep your system up to date, but before you start, you need to know what type of Nvidia card is installed on your computer.
1. Right-click on the Windows icon in the lower left corner of the screen and select “Device Manager” from the pop-up window that appears.
2. In Device Manager, find the line “Display adapters” and click the arrow next to it. This will show you all currently active graphics cards on your computer.
3. You should see the name of your graphics card. Write it down for reference. If it doesn’t say “Nvidia” – it might say “Intel” or “AMD” instead – then you don’t have an Nvidia card and will need to download your drivers a different way.
How to Download Nvidia Drivers
In any case, note that when you download and install Nvidia drivers, your screen may go black or flicker erratically. This is normal – the graphics card is testing for new drivers, which can sometimes cause temporary visual issues.
If you have an Nvidia Ge Force card
When you looked at your graphics card, was it called an Nvidia “GeForce”? If so, Nvidia offers a free application that will automatically download all the drivers you need, much like Windows keeps your other computer files up to date.
Here’s how to use GeForce Experience:
1. Open the Nvidia website in a browser.
2. In the navigation menu at the top of the web page, click “Drivers”, then “GeForce Drivers”.
3. In the “Automatic Driver Updates” section, click “Download Now” to download the GeForce Experience application.
4. Install the program, then open it and let it identify the type of graphics card you have. It should now download new drivers whenever they are available and tell you how to install them – usually all it takes is the click of a button.
In some cases, the GeForce Experience application may be preinstalled on your computer. If so, find the application by searching for it and then check if it has any drivers ready to download or install.
If you have another Nvidia card
If you don’t have an Nvidia GeForce graphics card or just don’t want to install the GeForce Experience application, you can search and download the drivers manually.
1. Open the Nvidia website in a browser.
2. In the navigation menu at the top of the web page, click “Drivers”, then “All Nvidia Drivers”.
3. In the Nvidia driver download form, find your video card. Enter the product type (such as GeForce, Titan, or Quattro), product series, and specific product name. You should be able to get all of this information from Windows Device Manager.
4. When you are done, click “Search”.
5. When the search results appear, click “Download” to save the file to your computer. When the download is complete, you can open the file to install it.
If you are offered several types of drivers — “Game Ready”, sometimes called “WHQL” or “Studio”, you should generally choose the Game Ready/WHQL driver. This will help all programs run better, but focuses on video games
If you’re a creative professional who uses their computer primarily for graphics or video editing software and don’t play games, choose the Studio driver.
Game Ready drivers will work with both games and graphics software, but Studio drivers can sometimes cause problems with games.
