I remember the exact moment I truly understood the power of a driver update. I’d just built a new PC, my first one with an AMD card, a shiny Radeon RX 6700 XT. I was so excited. I installed my favorite game at the time, Apex Legends, and jumped into a match. It was a disaster. I spent a whole afternoon troubleshooting, swapping cables, reinstalling the game, everything. Finally, completely defeated, I was scrolling through a Reddit thread where someone mentioned a new “optional” driver from AMD that had specific fixes for the game. I had no idea what that meant, but I was desperate. I figured out how to update AMD Radeon drivers, installed that optional update, and rebooted.
That experience taught me a valuable lesson: your graphics card is only as good as the software that runs it. This guide is the culmination of everything I’ve learned since that day. We’re going to walk through every single step, from the simple, one-click automatic updates to the more advanced manual installations for when you need more control. You don’t need to be a tech expert; you just need to want your games to run better.
More in Graphics Optimization Category
What Is Ambient Occlusion in Games
Why is Updating My AMD Radeon Drivers So Important Anyway?
That’s a perfectly reasonable question to ask. If your computer turns on and your games launch, why go looking for trouble with an update? It’s that old “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. But when it comes to PC gaming, “not broke” is a pretty low bar. You want your machine running at its absolute peak. Think of your graphics driver as the conductor of an orchestra.
Your GPU has all this amazing power (the musicians), but it needs the driver (the conductor) to tell it exactly what to do and when to do it to make beautiful music—or in our case, render high-frame-rate, gorgeous graphics. An old driver is like a conductor who doesn’t have the sheet music for the new song the game wants to play.
Will I Actually Get More FPS by Updating My Drivers?
More often than not, yes. This is one of the biggest reasons to stay on top of your updates. When a hot new game is about to be released, AMD’s software engineers are working like crazy with the game’s developers. They create a special “Game Ready” driver that is specifically optimized to make that new title run as efficiently as possible. I’m not talking about a small 1-2 FPS bump, either. It’s not uncommon to see performance improvements of 10%, 15%, or even more in certain games, especially at launch. By not updating, you are literally leaving free performance on the table. It’s the cheapest and easiest way to get more frames out of your hardware.
Can Old Drivers Cause Games to Crash or Glitch?
Oh, one hundred percent. This is probably the number one cause of weird, unexplainable game instability. A game’s code is a living thing, constantly being patched and changed by its developers. If your driver is from six months ago, it might not know how to interpret the new instructions the game is sending it. This failure to communicate is what leads to those frustrating crashes to the desktop, bizarre graphical artifacts like weird colored textures, or character models stretching across the screen. If you’re pulling your hair out over a game that keeps crashing, your first port of call, before you do anything else, should be to check for a driver update.
What is the Absolute Easiest Way to Update My AMD Drivers?
Let’s start with the simple stuff. AMD has poured a lot of resources into making this process as painless as possible for the average user. You don’t need to be a computer whiz. The secret weapon here is the AMD Radeon Software, which should already be installed on your computer. This piece of software is the central hub for everything related to your graphics card.
How Do I Use the AMD Radeon Software to Check for Updates?
This is the method you’ll probably use most of the time. It’s designed to be foolproof.
Here’s all you have to do:
- Find an empty spot on your desktop and right-click your mouse.
- In the menu that appears, you should see an option for “AMD Radeon Software.” Click it.
- The software will open. Look in the top-right corner for a little gear icon for Settings and click on it.
- On the next screen, look for the “System” tab.
- This screen gives you a bunch of info, but what we care about is the section that shows your current driver version and has a button that says “Check for Updates.”
- Click that button. The software will connect to AMD’s servers and see if there’s a newer version available. If there is, it will give you the option to download and install it right there. Just follow the on-screen prompts, and it’ll handle the rest.
What’s the Deal with “Recommended” vs. “Optional” Drivers?
This is a point of confusion for a lot of people. When you check for an update, you might be presented with two different versions. Knowing which one to pick is important.
- Recommended: This is the main, official release. It has been through a ton of testing by AMD’s quality assurance teams and has been certified to be stable and reliable. For the vast majority of gamers, this is the version you should always install. It’s the safe bet.
- Optional: This is usually a newer, beta-level driver. It often includes day-one support for a brand-new game release or might introduce new features that are still being tested. While it can give you the best performance in a game that just came out, it also carries a slightly higher risk of having undiscovered bugs. I only recommend grabbing this if you’re an enthusiast who needs that launch-day support and you’re comfortable with the small chance of instability.
When and How Should I Manually Install My GPU Drivers?
The automatic method is fantastic, but there are situations where a manual installation is the better choice. Maybe you’re troubleshooting a persistent problem and need to install a specific older driver version that you know was stable. Or perhaps you’ve just done a completely fresh installation of Windows and need to get your graphics card working from scratch. The manual process gives you complete control. For anyone who wants to truly understand the nuts and bolts of how a GPU renders a frame, the University of Pennsylvania’s Computer and Information Science department has some excellent course materials available to the public that are incredibly insightful.
How to Update AMD Radeon Drivers by Downloading from the Website?
The most critical part of this process is making sure you download the correct file. Grabbing the wrong driver for your specific GPU model just won’t work.
Here is the foolproof game plan:
- Know Your Hardware: First things first, you need to know the exact model of your AMD graphics card (e.g., Radeon RX 7900 XTX). If you’re not sure, an easy way to check is to open the Windows Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc, clicking on the “Performance” tab, and then selecting “GPU” from the list. The model name will be displayed in the top-right corner.
- Navigate to AMD’s Support Page: Open up your favorite web browser and search for “AMD Drivers and Support.” The official AMD website should be the first result.
- Use the Product Selector: The website has a handy tool that lets you drill down to your exact product. You’ll select your product category (“Graphics”), then the series your card belongs to (e.g., “Radeon RX 7000 Series”), and finally your specific model from the list.
- Download the Correct Package: After you’ve made your selection, the website will present you with the driver download page. Make sure you select the correct operating system (e.g., Windows 11 64-Bit Edition) and then download the latest “Recommended (WHQL)” driver file.
- Run the Installer: Once the file has finished downloading, just find it in your Downloads folder and double-click it to run the installer. A wizard will pop up and guide you through the rest of the installation steps.
What is a ‘Clean Install’ and Should I Be Doing It?
You’ll see this term, “clean install,” mentioned all the time on PC gaming forums and in troubleshooting guides. All it means is that you completely uninstall every trace of your old drivers before you install the new ones. This is a powerful troubleshooting step that can solve a lot of stubborn problems that a simple upgrade install won’t fix.
The logic behind it is simple: sometimes, during a normal update, old files, and registry settings can get left behind. These leftover bits can sometimes conflict with the new driver, causing instability or bugs. A clean install ensures you’re starting with a completely fresh slate.
What is the AMD Cleanup Utility?
To make this process as easy as possible, AMD provides its own official tool called the AMD Cleanup Utility. It’s a small, standalone application that will automatically and thoroughly remove all AMD driver and software components from your system.
You should consider using this tool if you are:
- Experiencing persistent graphical glitches, crashes, or performance issues.
- Upgrading from a very old driver version (e.g., over a year old) to the latest one.
- Switching from an Nvidia graphics card to an AMD one (or vice-versa).
- Preparing to sell or replace your current AMD graphics card.
You can download it directly from AMD’s website. Just run the utility, and it will prompt you to reboot into Windows Safe Mode to complete the removal process.
How to Update AMD Radeon Drivers After Using the Cleanup Tool?
After the AMD Cleanup Utility has worked its magic, your PC will restart. When it boots back into Windows, don’t be alarmed if your screen resolution is very low and everything looks big and blocky. This is completely normal. It just means that Windows is using its basic display driver because there is no AMD driver currently installed.
From this point, the process is simple. You just perform a manual installation using the driver file you downloaded earlier from the AMD website. Run the installer, and since there are no old drivers to update, it will perform a completely fresh installation. After it’s finished and you’ve rebooted your PC one last time, your display will be back to normal, and you’ll be running on a perfectly clean driver install.
What Do I Do If a New Driver Causes Problems?
While it’s not common, it can happen. Sometimes a new driver might have a bug that causes a specific game you love to crash, or it might introduce some other weird instability on your unique system configuration. If you update your drivers and suddenly start having problems that you didn’t have before, the first rule is: don’t panic. It’s almost always easy to go back.
Is There an Easy Way to Roll Back to My Previous Driver?
Yes, there is! Windows has a wonderful, built-in feature that acts as an “undo” button for driver updates. It allows you to quickly and easily revert to the driver version you were using right before you installed the new one.
- The easiest way to get to the right place is to right-click on the Start Menu button and select “Device Manager.”
- In the Device Manager window, look for “Display adapters” and click the little arrow to expand it.
- You should see your AMD Radeon graphics card listed there. Right-click on it and select “Properties.”
- A new window will pop up. Click on the “Driver” tab at the top.
- You should see a button that says “Roll Back Driver.” Click it.
- Windows will ask for a quick reason why you’re rolling back. Just pick any option and click OK. Your screen will flicker for a moment, and then you’ll be back on your previous, stable driver.
This rollback feature is an absolute lifesaver and a critical tool for anyone learning how to update AMD Radeon drivers without fear. It gives you the confidence to keep your system up-to-date, knowing you always have a safe way to go back if things don’t work out.
Frequently Asked Question for How to Update AMD Radeon Drivers
What should I do if the driver installation fails or causes display problems?
If installation fails, check for error codes and consult AMD support. Disable antivirus software temporarily, and if the screen stays black, perform a hard reboot, then use tools like AMD Cleanup Utility or DDU to remove faulty drivers before reinstalling.
What is a ‘clean install’ of AMD Radeon drivers and when should I choose this method?
A clean install removes all previous driver files before installing a new one, which helps fix issues like crashes or bugs. Use it if you experience problems, change graphics cards, or want maximum stability.
How can I update my AMD Radeon drivers using the Adrenalin Software?
Open the AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition, go to Settings, click ‘Check for Updates,’ choose the appropriate driver (Recommended or Optional), and then select the ‘Express Install’ option to update your driver.
What should I do before attempting to update my AMD Radeon drivers?
Before updating, it’s wise to back up important files, ensure you have a stable internet connection, and close all other programs to allow a smooth installation process.
Why is it important to regularly update my AMD Radeon drivers?
Regularly updating your AMD Radeon drivers ensures better game performance, fixes bugs, introduces new features, and improves overall system stability. It allows your hardware to operate at its full potential.
