Proper Motherboard Drivers?

[Yayap7]

Hey there, so I recently built a new PC with the Asus Z170-A motherboard. I have Windows 10 installed as well with Steam and all the other main programs.  I have an EVGA GTX 780(from my old build, waiting to get Pascal) and have the latest Nvidia driver installed. I'm also using the Asus PG279Q and Razer keyboard and mouse and have their respective drivers installed. So I think I have everything covered but the motherboard. 

 

I have a lot of questions..

So my main question is do I need to get and install the drivers from Asus' support site:  https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z170-A/HelpDesk_Download/  Or is the board good the way it shipped? 

And if I do, which ones? How necessary are each of the motherboard drivers?   I updated the BIOS/UEFI to 2202 so that's good.  I know I should at least update the chipset but I don't know what to download. The MEI, Chipset, and the Software utility?  I don't want to install any more software utilities than I need..  Also why are the .zip downloads filled with so many files and .exe's??  All I want is the core diver. Not anything extra!..

 

If anyone knows how to manage motherboard drivers and what to look for, I'd appreciate some input! 

Thanks!

 

[Apollo Refugio]

2 minutes ago, Yayap7 said:

Hey there, so I recently built a new PC with the Asus Z170-A motherboard. I have Windows 10 installed as well with Steam and all the other main programs.  I have an EVGA GTX 780(from my old build, waiting to get Pascal) and have the latest Nvidia driver installed. I'm also using the Asus PG279Q and Razer keyboard and mouse and have their respective drivers installed. So I think I have everything covered but the motherboard. 

 

I have a lot of questions..

So my main question is do I need to get and install the drivers from Asus' support site:  https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z170-A/HelpDesk_Download/  Or is the board good the way it shipped? 

And if I do, which ones? How necessary are each of the motherboard drivers?   I updated the BIOS/UEFI to 2202 so that's good.  I know I should at least update the chipset but I don't know what to download. The MEI, Chipset, and the Software utility?  I don't want to install any more software utilities than I need..  Also why are the .zip downloads filled with so many files and .exe's??  All I want is the core diver. Not anything extra!..

 

If anyone knows how to manage motherboard drivers and what to look for, I'd appreciate some input! 

Thanks!

 

what i did when i got my new system, is i went into the motherboard's website page, the specific page, and downloaded all the drivers. my motherboard was ASRock, so they distributed the drivers and utilities each into their own sub-category. what i recommend is download all the drivers, and download the selected utilities you want. then once you download it, unpack the .zip files and launch the installer for that driver. seems confusing but you'll see it. that's only for drivers, i don't know how to download BIOS and Chipsets because i never needed to with my mobo.

[DunePilot]

Not all of them are needed, I usually only download a couple of the things usually. Read the the guide down in my signature if you want, it was written for the sole purpose of getting new builders up and running after a fresh Windows install asap.

[Yayap7]

1 hour ago, Apollo Refugio said:

what i did when i got my new system, is i went into the motherboard's website page, the specific page, and downloaded all the drivers. my motherboard was ASRock, so they distributed the drivers and utilities each into their own sub-category. what i recommend is download all the drivers, and download the selected utilities you want. then once you download it, unpack the .zip files and launch the installer for that driver. seems confusing but you'll see it. that's only for drivers, i don't know how to download BIOS and Chipsets because i never needed to with my mobo.

So the utilities are needed to install the drivers?  I really don't want extra software if I don't need it.. I can't choose the specific file from the Device manager driver updater?

1 hour ago, DunePilot said:

Not all of them are needed, I usually only download a couple of the things usually. Read the the guide down in my signature if you want, it was written for the sole purpose of getting new builders up and running after a fresh Windows install asap.

That's what I thought.. it just seems impossible figuring out which ones are actually needed/beneficial.

Chipset, audio, LAN, VGA, USB, SATA, utilities..

Everything's working fine, didn't need to update the lan or whatnot to get it to work but I'm just wondering if I should for better compatibility. Is there any way to get the core driver and not extra controller software?

[DunePilot]

Just now, Yayap7 said:

That's what I thought.. it just seems impossible figuring out which ones are actually needed/beneficial.

Chipset, audio, LAN, VGA, USB, SATA, utilities..

Everything's working fine, didn't need to update the lan or whatnot to get it to work but I'm just wondering if I should for better compatibility. Is there any way to get the core driver and not extra controller software?

Probably just depends on manufacturer, with Gigabyte boards and Asus I don't mind the extra software, you can use it to install all the things you want and skip over the ones you don't. You can easily use it once every few months to see if there are any updates to anything with a simple update scan. I only install things I want and need such as LED controls, Audio, LAN, etc..., just read the description and see if its something you want or need if its not then don't install it.

[Apollo Refugio]

59 minutes ago, Yayap7 said:

 

So the utilities are needed to install the drivers?  I really don't want extra software if I don't need it.. I can't choose the specific file from the Device manager driver updater?

no the utilities are not needed, they are optional. they are the "feature-set" of the mobo, which is basically what they advertise for the motherboard. personally, i only downloaded like 1 or 2 of the utilities out of 7-8

[Yayap7]

Thanks!  Narrows it down a bit.