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How to Do an AMD Radeon Driver Update

AMD drivers must be updated on Radeon graphics cards for proper functioning and performance. You can update Radeon cards manually, automatically, or with the AMD Radeon update tool.

The following guide focuses on updating Windows 10 drivers but can be similarly applied across different versions of Windows.

How to do an AMD Radeon Driver Update

What Does the AMD Radeon Driver Do?

The AMD Radeon driver is a software application that allows communication between the video card and PC. Without the graphics driver, the PC would have no instruction on how to communicate with the graphics card and would not be able to draw the pixels you see on the monitor. Driver updates are usually a good idea when upgrading Windows.

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What Happens When You Don’t Update Drivers?

Contrary to belief, if there are no issues with your current graphics card, an update may not be required; however, if any of the following situations apply, you might consider upgrading:

  • New Software: Upgrade if you recently installed a newer 3D game, operating system version, or application.
  • Enhancements: Upgrade if you are looking for new features or performance improvements.
  • Poor Graphics: Upgrade if you are currently experiencing issues or driver conflicts.

Without the proper AMD driver updates, you’re more likely to experience crashes, graphics issues, and slow render times. Fortunately, Windows provides a quick and easy way to update drivers.

 

How to Update AMD Drivers with Windows

Through the Windows Device Manager, your drivers can be updated automatically. Windows will search your computer and the internet for the latest drivers and install them. Here’s how to update AMD drivers with Windows Device Manager:

 

device manager

  1. Go to the Start search bar, and look up Device Manager.
  2. Go to Display adapters and locate your AMD Radeon Graphics Card

update driver

  1. Right-Click your graphics card and select Update Driver.Search automatically for updated driver software
  2. Search automatically for updated driver software and follow the directions.

Update AMD Radeon Drivers Manually

As an alternative solution, you can update AMD drivers manually. It is more time-intensive than using the Windows update tool, but you’ll know exactly what you’re installing (Windows doesn’t always find the newest driver).

For manual installs, first identify the graphics card.

How Do You Identify Your Radeon Graphics Card?

You can identify an AMD Radeon card by its box, label, or through the PC.

Here’s how:

How to Identify the Graphics Card Through the Operating System

The graphics card can be identified through the operating system using the device ID and subsystem vendor ID.

Use this method if you cannot physically inspect the graphics card, as it offers an alternative way to identify it.
Here is how you identify your graphics card:

start and then device manager

  1. Go to the Start search bar, and look up Device ManagerAMD Radeon Graphics Card
  2. Go to Display adapters and locate your AMD Radeon Graphics CardClick Properties
  3. Right-click the graphics card and select PropertiesHardware Ids from the Property dropdown
  4. From the Details tab, select Hardware Ids from the Property dropdown.PCIVEN_1002&DEV_15DD&SUBSYS_84AE103C&REV_C5
  5. From the menu, we see that our AMD Radeon device ID string is: PCIVEN_1002&DEV_15DD&SUBSYS_84AE103C&REV_C5

From the string ID, we can deduce that the Device ID is 15DD, and the Subsystem Vendor ID is 103C. Use this list to determine the manufacturer.

Note: When determining the graphics card model and manufacturer, only the SUBSYS and DEV values are used. Use the list to determine the manufacturer:

Subsystem ID Manufacturer
1002 AMD
1025 Acer
1028 Dell
103C HP
1043 ASUSTEK
104D Sony
106B Apple
107B Gateway
1092 Diamond Multimedia
1179 Toshiba
1458 Gigabyte
1462 MSI
148C PowerColor
1545 VisionTek
1682 XFX
16F3 Jetway
17AA Lenovo
17AF HIS
18BC GeCube
196D Club 3D
1DA2 Sapphire

After you’ve located the Subsystem Vendor ID and Device ID you can proceed on to the AMD website to download the specific drivers for your device. Next step, you’ll learn how to install them.

How Do You Do a Manual Install?

After identifying the graphics card, the manual install of AMD drivers should be a breeze. Here is how you do it:

Device Manager

  1. Go to the Start search bar, and look up Device Manager.AMD Radeon Graphics Card
  2. Go to Display adapters and locate your AMD Radeon Graphics Card.
  3. Update Driver
  4. Right-Click your graphics card and select Update Driver.Browse my computer for driver software
  5. Browse my computer for driver software and follow the directions.

Use the AMD Radeon Update tool

If the manual install seems a bit involved, AMD provides an autodetect tool compatible with any Windows 7 and Windows 10 PC running Radeon graphics cards. The tool will detect the graphics card model and version of Windows installed on your PC and then allows you to install the most recent compatible AMD graphics driver.

Here is how it works:

AMD Radeon Update tool

  1. Go to the AMD support page and download the Auto-Detect tool for Radeon Graphics driversInstall the application
  2. Open the download and Install the applicationEnd User License Agreement
  3. Accept the License Agreementone click install
  4. AMD will find the latest drivers for your system, allowing you to install them with one click.

Note: AMD will only install graphics card drivers, for a more comprehensive driver solution: Driver Support will update all of your drivers.

Make Sure Your Radeon Drivers Stay Updated

The AMD Radeon graphics card may exhibit strange behavior when drivers are not updated. It’s best to keep AMD drivers updated to prevent graphics card issues and glitches.

Windows provides an automatic update tool (that does not always work the greatest). It’s best to consider automatic driver updates for the latest updates and to keep your system running smooth.

Trust Driver Support for all your AMD driver needs. Regular AMD driver updates should not take up all your time; let Driver Support track down and update drivers for you. Keep your graphics running smooth, and your system updates worry-free.