I'm confused about drivers

I am confused because I downloaded a driver updating program called Driver Genius which lists many drivers on my system as out of date.. But I have installed all of the one I needed that are listed on the Dell site. Are the drivers that you get on your manufacturers website the ones to trust or are there better ones that are found elsewhere?

 

Get rid of that POS driver updating program immediately and never install anything of the sort ever again

 

ok but can you tell me why?

 

Common sense computing. Only install drivers from official sources or Windows Update. System security, performance, and stability depend on it. Never use driver updating programs, which at best are adware that installs outdated drivers, and at worst compromise your PC by opening a backdoor to spyware, rootkits, and other forms of malware.

 

Once you've installed drivers for your system that Dell/Alienware has provided the only ones that really matter from that point forward are GPU drivers. If you're not an avid gamer that plays the newest titles, even that does not matter. Besides what @octiceps said, the best policy for most things, including computers, is "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" and where drivers and firmware are concerned, the latest often is not the greatest. Unless something needs to be fixed, just enjoy your machines and don't burn any calories thinking about driver or firmware updates. If your system is working perfectly right now, it may not be once you're done updating drivers. Conventional wisdom may lecture you otherwise, but stop and think about it... conventional wisdom has screwed up more stuff than you can shake a stick it. If an IT professional tells you that you need to do this, just remember... not everyone is good at their job, and some of them actually suck at their job.

 

How very true. Theres more to being a technical expert, there is also being realistic.

 

Not much more needs to be said that hasn't. Always download your drivers from the official site. Using a third party program just opens your system's security up to problems down the road.

 

yes, only download from official sources like the computer manufacturer like HP/DELL/Lenovo, companies that build the components like nvidia/AMD because they built the damn products you're using so they know what's best but not only that but if they're driver doesn't work you can always contact their support or go to their forums and ask for help. plus all drivers have been signed so they're known to be genuine drivers.

NEVER EVER USE DRIVER SCANNERS!!

 

And also because some of them want you to pay them to do it for you.