I've installed the latest drivers for my notebook but then Windows update is suggesting 2 driver updaes for my NIC and my Wireless chipset......do you think should I leave the native ones or install the latest MS ones? They are Realtek drivers for both
They are just the updated drivers released by Realtek and served to u by Microsoft Update.... so u can install and use them....
if your system is running fine, i would ignore them. the newest drivers that windows update supplied for my wireless card kept making the internet disconnect (and was really slow) using the old drivers (not from windows update) the wireless internet was fine.
Always get NIC and mainboard drivers directly from the manufacturer if at all possible. Sound drivers aren't THAT important but it can make the difference if something is screwing up
I've found that a lot of the drivers from MS are crippled in some way & your better off using the drivers from the manufacturer. ie, you need to use adaptec drivers from adaptec to get management software working... etc..
I can only say this: I am using Realtek Sound and Network for approximately 8 years now and the only thing that comes to mind when i think Realtek Drivers is 'top quality'. They are one of the few hardware manufacturers who release updates nearly every month, even though they could do as many others do and leave the driver support entirely to the mainboard manufacturer. And that says a lot in my opinion. Thus in my opinion, if you have anything from Realtek, always go to their site and get their original drivers. The extra sound features you get for their Codecs are worth it alone.
I bought my first laptop about 12 years ago and little has changed in those 12 years in regards to notebook manufacturers getting newer drivers and software updates posted on their sites. New drivers are issued mostly to fix bugs or support new features. All my PCs have the newest drivers and software updates I can find. If you download new Realtek HD Audio Drivers directly from Realtek's site most likely when you install it the Realtek icon won't appear in the taskbar so you won't have the Realtek HD Audio Manager.I search around on many laptop manufacturers sites for the newest version I can find.There's one or two that update drivers quicker than the rest.There's no difference I ever found between Realtek Audio divers I downloded from varios manufacturer's sites. My newest addition(June'10) is an LG X140 netbook that came with Windows 7 Starter in a language(Korean) other than my native one(English). I erased the Starter and installed Home Premium 64bit. I searched LG sites all around the globe for 64bit drivers and software for my LG hardware/software finding a few on the LG Singapore and UAE sites. I get the newest Intel RST driver,Intel 3150 64bit Graphics Driver,Intel Chipset Driver,Intel Ultimate N 6300 64bit driver and the 64bit Touchpad driver from station-drivers.com.Except for the popups it's a very good site if you're looking for the very newest and/or older drivers. The only thing I couldn't ever find is the LG Smart Recover Software so I installed the Acronis Backup & Recovery.