Ya, drivers, especially video drivers, are usually "late to the game" for a good reason: They're not fully tested/ready yet...
according to Micro$oft's definition of "ready."USUALLY
* windows updates will only provide a list of "Windows Hardware Quality Labs (
WHQL)"-certified driver updates. Video manufacturers don't like to wait for that to happen, and often release them based on only their own testing.
Does this matter? In my experience: Yes. (I have been bitten by manufacturer-released drivers only to find WHQL-certified drivers that were applied later in a windows update worked fine.... And the version number of the driver HAD been updated, as well....)
* This is why I DISABLE ALL AUTOMATIC WINDOWS UPDATES and apply them manually, and I NEVER use vendor-provided drivers (unless they were part of the kit for the new device itself. Then I install the enclosed drivers, and any newer drivers will show up when I request my next manual Windows Update. (And I
ALWAYS create a Restore Point to allow easy restoration of them if something fails with one of the new drivers I get in a download.)
Now for my question. Does anyone know of some reliable software that can review all my drivers and tell me if updates are available? I'd prefer not to spend any money but will if necessary. I've done some exploration and have found several brand names of software but I have no idea if they are reliable.
Nope, for the very reasons described above. By NO MEANS should you PAY for such a thing anyway, either!