Driver Installation

Every Renderboxes workstation leaves our workshop with the correct drivers for its exact hardware configuration pre-installed and tested. For most users, you won’t need to think about drivers at all — Windows Update handles routine security and bug-fix updates, and you can get on with your work.

This page covers the cases where you do need to get hands-on with drivers.

When you should update drivers

A new GPU driver has been released that improves performance for a specific application you use (common with NVIDIA Studio and Game Ready driver releases).
You’re troubleshooting an issue and a driver update is part of the diagnostic flow.
You’ve added new hardware to the machine after purchase — a new GPU, a new NIC, a new capture card.
You’re migrating from Windows 10 to Windows 11 or rebuilding the OS from scratch.

When you should NOT update drivers

“Just to stay current” with no specific reason. Driver updates are not security patches — they can introduce regressions as often as they fix problems.
Immediately before a critical render, stream, or deadline. Always update with time to roll back.
Without taking note of what version you were on. If an update breaks something, you need to know where to roll back to.

Where to get drivers

Component	Source
GPU (NVIDIA)	nvidia.com/drivers — choose “Studio” for content creation workloads
GPU (AMD)	amd.com/support
Chipset (AMD)	amd.com/support — download the chipset driver for your specific platform
Chipset (Intel)	Intel DSA (Driver & Support Assistant)
Network / Wi-Fi / Bluetooth	Motherboard manufacturer’s support page (we can tell you which board is in your machine if you need it)
Audio	Realtek or the motherboard manufacturer’s support page
Windows updates	Automatic via Windows Update

Recommended install order

If you’re rebuilding the OS or installing a fresh Windows image, install drivers in this order:

Windows updates first — let Windows pull everything it’s going to before you start manual installs.
Chipset drivers — AMD or Intel, depending on your CPU. This is the foundation; many other drivers need an up-to-date chipset to install cleanly.
GPU drivers — NVIDIA Studio or AMD, matched to the card in your machine.
Network and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth — from the motherboard manufacturer.
Audio — usually already handled by Windows Update, but if you have issues, install the manufacturer driver over the top.
Any Renderboxes-supplied drivers — apply these last.

Reboot between major steps (chipset, GPU). Don’t skip the reboots — driver installers that don’t reboot cleanly can leave the system in a half-installed state that’s hard to diagnose later.

Before you update a GPU driver

If you’re updating NVIDIA drivers and want a clean install:

Use Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) in Safe Mode to remove the old driver completely.
Reboot.
Install the new driver fresh.

This is only worth the effort if you’re troubleshooting a specific issue — most normal updates can go over the top of the existing driver.

Rolling back a driver

If an update causes a problem:

Device Manager → find the component → Properties → Driver tab → Roll Back Driver (if the button is active, Windows kept the previous version).
If rollback isn’t available, download the older version directly from the manufacturer’s support page and install it over the top.
If neither works, contact support with your serial and a description of what changed.

Getting help

If driver installation is going sideways — a new card won’t show, a driver crashes on install, or you can’t figure out which file you need — open a support ticket. Your technical support warranty covers driver, software, and configuration issues as well as hardware faults.