Fortunately, there is a lot of driver update software available that works automatically. In this post we will introduce four of the best driver update tools for Windows.
1. IObit Driver Booster
This is one of the best driver update toops that has satisfactory features for both free and paid users. The free version of Driver Booster is more than enough to automatically download required drivers and install them. However, if you want to ensure all drivers are updated automatically including very old and rare ones, then the pro version is handy ($22.95). Driver Booster has support for over 200,000 driver types, and it keeps a backup of old drivers to ensure your system doesn’t break even if something goes wrong. Apart from updating drivers, it also fixes faulty and missing drivers if it finds any while scanning. Furthermore, it keeps a strict tab on drivers and components required for gaming to ensure you have the best gaming experience. Don’t worry about the source it uses to download drivers, as all the downloaded drivers are WHQL-passed.
2. Driver Talent
Driver Talent is another popular driver update software, but it isn’t really that fair with free users unlike Driver Booster. Driver Talent will scan and download the required drivers for free, but you will have to manually install them by browsing the files (very inconvenient). It has a dedicated game component downloader that will download all the components required by games. If you are willing to pay $19.95 for the pro version, then this could become your favorite choice. Driver Talent’s pro version offers automatic driver scan, downloads and installation along with automatic backups and restore. Additionally, it offers multiple versions of a single driver, built-in network drivers, maximum download speed, dedicated hardware profiles and much more. Driver Talent is definitely worth a look if you want the pro version; otherwise it can be a headache to use the free version as it requires too much manual interaction.
3. SlimDrivers
If you are looking for something with the least bells and whistles, then SlimDrivers is perfect. It uses a cloud-based scan system instead of a predefined drivers scan. This ensures all types of drivers get updated. With the free version of SlimDrivers, you can easily scan and download individual updates with the click of a button. You can opt for the pro version to download updates in batch and automatically complete the whole process, including backup. In our testing, SlimDrivers was fast and didn’t impose any strict restrictions on the free version, not even bandwidth restriction.
4. DriverIdentifier
This is a freeware driver update software with a unique feature that may beat all of the above-mentioned tools. If you did a clean install of Windows, there is a chance you might not have the network drivers to even connect to a network. In such a scenario, the above toops will be useless as they cannot download the updated network driver. However, DriverIdentifier lets you scan for the required drivers and gives you an HTML file with download links. You can take that HTML file to any other PC that has an Internet connection and use it to download the required drivers. Apart from this handy feature, it can also easily update drivers with the click of a button and create driver backups as well.
Conclusion
Keeping your Windows drivers updated is crucial, and the above software can take are of this easily. All of the above tools have some unique features that makes them perfect in different scenarios. Driver Talent was my first choice until they started forcing me to buy the pro version and limiting the free version. If you want a free driver updater, then Driver Booster’s free version does a great job. Let us know in the comments if you like any of the tools above.
