Dell Driver Updates displaying outdated drivers

Question

Hello,

I have a Dell XPS 13 9310. Periodically I check the support page for new drivers. I checked today and saw that a new "Intel UHD Graphics Driver" was uploaded TODAY (3/31) to the pool of "latest" drivers for my system (27.20.100.9219). I then went to Intel's website's support page and found the EXACT same driver, uploaded almost a month ago. However the only difference was that the driver was a more updated version of the driver. (27.20.100.9316). Here's the link. https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/30266/Intel-Graphics-Windows-10-DCH-Drivers As you can see, Intel uploaded a newer version of the same driver on 3/3/21 than Dell uploaded on 3/31/21. This doesn't make sense and leaves me questioning whether I should keep using Dell SupportAssist or just manually search the internet for newer drivers for my system.

JOcean · Accepted Answer

I agree with Chris M in his forum post. I would use the manufacturer's (in this case Intel) drivers and if there are issues then install Dell drivers.

JOcean · Answer

You will find with many manufacturers that their drivers may not be the same as those of Intel for instance. I have an MSI MB and for the chipset I find that Intel drivers are generally newer than those on the MSI web site. Dell receives the drivers and may modify them slightly for additional compatibility with Dell hardware. This forum post by Chris M. may clarify the issue.

jarodabel · Answer

Thanks for the response,

So if you were to put yourself in my situation, having a Dell-made laptop, would you download the newer driver from Intel or would you stick with downloading the older driver modified by Dell?

Wooloomooloo · Answer

OEM's like Dell are always going to be slightly behind the manufacturer, simply because they will want to test the drivers with their devices before pushing them out. If you want the very latest drivers, simply configure windows to download them as soon as they are available. If you want maximum reliability and support from your OEM, only update when your OEM pushes them out.

Peterxxyy · Answer

I recently had Dell update a sound driver that gave me just a whisper. After a wasted day with Dell Support, I finally did a Windows optional update that installed a driver 10.x.x.x instead of 6.x.x.x and magically fixed it. So now I'm reluctant to let Dell do any updates. Particularly as they never admitted fault.

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Dell Driver Updates displaying outdated drivers

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