The most recent CPU drivers that the OS requirescome pre-installedwhen you install Windows. One driver for eachthread in your CPU. This is why you see multiple processors under the Processor subsection inDevice Manager.

If you check the driver’s properties, the date is usually old. Take a peek at my driver’s date — it shows4/21/2009.

From personal experience, I primarily think of updating thechipset driverswhen talking about CPU drivers. And I suggest that you do the same.

Besides this, it’s also best to update the BIOS to avoid any CPU compatibility problems.

you may also update iGPU Drivers anddrivers of other componentsthat directly affect your CPU performance. I’m going to cover each of them in the next sections.

Update Chipset Drivers

The Chipset driver enables efficientcommunication between the CPU andmotherboard ports. you may find this driver on your manufacturer’s Support page:

Update BIOS

Well,updating your BIOSisn’t exactly updating CPU drivers. However, it doesupdate your motherboard’s firmware.

Thismakes your motherboard compatible with newer hardware components.

Let’s look at one particular scenario with motherboards that use the AMD Zen2 CPU or the AMD 3000 Series. Just with a BIOS update, these motherboards could support Zen3 or the AMD 5000 series.

Several CPU sockets are made to support newer CPUs. To enable this, all you need to do is update the motherboard firmware.

If you are looking for something like this, it is worth upgrading your BIOS.

The steps to upgrading the BIOS could get overwhelming, especially if you are doing it for the first time. Furthermore, anyinterruption during the update process could permanently damage the motherboard.

So, I recommend that you follow another article aboutupdating BIOSthat goes through the ins and outs of the process.

Update Integrated Graphics Drivers

The only driver that you may update in the CPU chip is the integrated GPU driver. But depending on the CPU, it may or may not have an integrated GPU.

CPUs on all laptops come with an integrated GPU. For desktop PCs, you need tocheck your CPU specificationto determine if it has an integrated GPU. If it doesn’t have an iGPU, you may skip this step.

Your CPU could either be Intel or AMD. The process to update iGPU drivers differs based on that.

All Intel CPUs have iGPU except CPUs with the suffix F or KF,like Intel I5 13000KF.None of the AMD processors has iGPU except one with the suffix G,like, AMD Ryzen 7 5800G.

There are exceptions though. So, it’s better to refer to the specifications online. If your processor has an iGPU, you may follow the steps below.

For Intel

Before you install the drivers, ensure that youuninstall previously installed iGPU drivers. you may useDisplay Driver Uninstallerto remove these drivers.

After you uninstall the driver, run the downloaded file as an admin. Then, follow the installation process to install the iGPU drivers.

For AMD

If you are using an AMD processor with iGPU, you probably haveAMD Adrenaline Softwarealready installed. If you do not, ensure you download and complete the installation process. This should install the latest iGPU driver automatically.

If you already haveAMD Adrenalinein your system, follow the steps below toupdate the drivers.

Update CPU Driver Via Windows Update

The CPU manufacturer might provide your CPU with a driver update someday. In that case, Microsoft will push the update to your system via Windows update. So you may tryupdating Windowsto update the CPU driver.

But some updates might be under optional updates. So, better to check that out: