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Question

I need Help updating my Graphics driver

Feb 16, 2016 6:29AM PST

So my laptop is Dell Vostro V131, and it has core i5 cpu 2450M with intel HD 3000. However, the graphics chipset (which I know is weak by modern standards) is performing way poorly, even for an Intel card. I'm having difficulty even running LOL on minimum settings without FPS drops. Other games (which have low requirements) are giving me same results, games which supposedly should run acceptably still lag too much.

Someone on some forum suggested updating graphics card, however, that led to be utterly complicated and I'm here to ask help about it. So since my laptop is manufactured by Dell, I headed over to dell to update my driver from there. HOwever, over there, the latest driver was released in 2013, version 9.17.10.2843, A01.

This seemed quite old and out of date so I headed over to Intel site and found the page for Intel HD 3000 drivers (for windows 7 64-bit btw), and breathed a sigh of relief. https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/24971/Intel-HD-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-7-8-64-bit

The driver's release date is 6/5/2015, and the version is 15.28.24.64.4229 (Latest). So I downloaded, both the zip file and the exe file. I thought I'd try installing through exe method first. Somehow, while I was installing, the installer said that this version was even older than my currently installed version (whut??) and asked me to confirm if I wanted to proceed, which I did. After the reboot, I logged into device manager to look for my Intel HD 3000, and in the details, it said the version installed is 9.17.10.4229 (older), even though the date is 5/26/2015. I did not understand this, so I tried to update again, using the manual method (and the previously downloaded zip file which I extracted) however the system repeatedly told me that my driver was already up to date when I located the zip file's contents.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
You do have the latest. Why is complicated.
Feb 16, 2016 9:26AM PST

It has to do with the driver is not just for your HD 3000 but many other Intel HD models. So the package is updated for dozens of Intel HD models and yours in the package is now up to date.

-> Folk lose a lot of time over this so be sure to hit the LOL forums on how to optimize for your PC.

I won't write any more about optimizing as it's been done but common things I check for is if the BIOS allocation for graphics memory is set to max and then I see if the owner has done damage to the OS with registry cleaners or speed boosters.

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Thanks!
Feb 16, 2016 2:13PM PST

Thanks for your prompt reply. I have looked around at the BIOS, it does not seem that I can increase allocated video memory. HOwever, I think it's possible I may have damaged the OS, as I have used speed boosters AND registry cleaners -_-' (things like AVG Tune-Up). Are they harmful? And if so, how can I get my computer's optimal performance back?

THanks again

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There are too many prior posts or pleas.
Feb 16, 2016 4:33PM PST

If the machine isn't working any worse or better then I'd just uninstall what I can and save myself the trouble of a factory restore.