This December, Realtek, Intel and AMD have rolled out new drivers for Windows 11 and Windows 10, packed with new improvements. At the same time, these new drivers also have several known issues, including game crashes in ‘Dead by Daylight’ and other titles when using the more recent Intel drivers.
It’s important to note that these drivers will eventually begin shipping via Windows Update if necessary for your system, so you can skip the updates if you don’t need these fixes.
Starting with Realtek, they’ve updated their PCIe network drivers for Windows 11 and 10. These updates include versions for NetAdapterCx and NDIS; notably, the power-saving feature is now turned off. Realtek hasn’t said anything about updating their USB drivers yet, and as usual, there aren’t any release notes to give us more details.
Realtek’s new PCIe network driver (version 11.0.2.1) and USB Ethernet driver (version 11.0.2.1_20) are the first for Windows 11. They’ve also updated the PCIe network drivers for Windows 10 (version 10.50). On the other hand, the USB drivers haven’t seen any change since June 2021.
Again, there is no point in downloading these drivers unless you’ve problems with the existing Realtek driver. But if you’re interested, you can find the offline installers on Realtek’s download page.
Intel’s December 2023 drivers
Intel has released versions 31.0.101.5084 (non-WHQL) and 31.0.101.5122 (WHQL) for Arc, Iris Xe, and Core Ultra graphics. The graphics driver has also been updated to version 31.0.101.4955 for the Intel Arc Pro.
Despite the large download size (over 1 GB), the release notes from Intel are vague, lacking specifics on new features or fixes.
The chipmaker highlighted ongoing issues with their Intel Arc Series, like game crashes in ‘Dead by Daylight’ and problems with ‘Topaz Video AI.’ Users of Intel Core Ultra with Intel Arc graphics might also face display errors in games like ‘Diablo 4.’
For those using Intel Arc Pro, the 31.0.101.4955 WHQL driver has one fix related to a temporary freeze in Bentley LumenRT and a couple of known issues with ‘Topaz Video AI’ and ‘Blender.’
In addition to GPU drivers, Intel has published new Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers with many fixes, including 6E Standard Power (AFC) support. Intel has also fixed an issue that causes wireless adapters to stop working when you exit hibernation mode.
Similarly, another issue has been fixed where some Intel products cannot connect to WPA3-Personal (WPA3-SAE) security.
To update Intel drivers on your device, you can use Intel’s support assistant app and follow these steps:
- Open Intel’s website and get the Driver and Support Assistant (iDSA) app.
- Open the Update Assistant tool from the system tray.
- Now, check for updates and begin installing the update.
AMD’s December 2023 update
Earlier this month, AMD released a new graphics driver, Adrenalin 23.12.1 WHQL, mainly to support ‘Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.’
AMD notes that the AMD Link driver won’t be supported after January 2024, but AMD Link can still be used. This update brings a new design to the software interface, particularly in the Home and Gaming tabs, and introduces energy-saving features with HYPR-RX Eco.
There are also improvements in DirectML for Topaz AI and DaVinci Resolve, among other updates.
You should be able to download the driver using AMD Radeon Software. Some of you might also find the drivers via Windows Update’s optional updates feature.
These new drivers from Realtek, Intel, and AMD may or may not improve the overall performance of Windows 11 and can be safely ignored if you do not need these fixes.