New Intel graphics driver next week - claims +10% performance

[theefman]

Not normally news but Intel is claiming a 10% increase in performance while reducing power consumption. I havent been paying attention to driver updates on Windows 8 so not sure if it will be included in the regular updates but it may be worth grabbing for Surface Pro gamers.

Intel’s Latest HD 4000 Graphics Driver Improves Performance up to 10%, Reduces Power Consumption, Adds Features ? Ultrabook News and the Ultrabook Database

 

[Narse77]

Not normally news but Intel is claiming a 10% increase in performance while reducing power consumption. I havent been paying attention to driver updates on Windows 8 so not sure if it will be included in the regular updates but it may be worth grabbing for Surface Pro gamers.

Intel’s Latest HD 4000 Graphics Driver Improves Performance up to 10%, Reduces Power Consumption, Adds Features ? Ultrabook News and the Ultrabook Database

If so that is great news. Another 10% will give me enough performance to run my RC Heli sim on the integrated graphics while on battery on my Lenovo W530. The dedicated NVidia card is super fast but kills my battery lol.

 

[ninjaap]

When companies (not limited to tech) claim 10% more/less of something, to me, is a marketing scheme.

 

[theefman]

When companies (not limited to tech) claim 10% more/less of something, to me, is a marketing scheme.

Whether the improvement is 10% or not will be easily tested when the driver is released but even if its not as much as they claim any improvement is welcome, especially in the power consumption department. I would be surprised though if the improvements arent at least tangible seeing as they are making such a bold claim. More likely it points to Intel finally getting serious about sorting out driver performance considering the inroads ARM-powered devices are making. In any case, all the better for us Surface Pro users.

 

[Steve Ridges]

Is this driver out? I'm running the previous one from Intel that includes the little control panel app. I believe it's version 9.17.10.2867. The link above mentions going to Intel's page and running an analyzer that tells you if an update is available. That tool reported that I have a custom driver from the OEM and to go to them for updates (I didn't think this is the case because I installed the Intel driver package before).

At any rate, if I simply search for HD4000 drivers, there is one dated 12/18/2012 but its version is 9.17.10.2932. Has anyone installed it yet?

Edit...
I installed it without any problems but the release notes say it support OpenCL 1.1 instead of 1.2 so I don't think it's the latest and greatest.

 

[theefman]

Havent seen them yet either on Intel's site but this site claims these are the new drivers Intel GMA Drivers - Page 18 - Intel GMA releases - LaptopVideo2Go Forums. Maybe best to wait though, just a few more days at the most I would guess.

 

[theefman]

Drivers are now live https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=22605&lang=eng&OSVersion=Windows%208%2C%2064-bit*&DownloadType=Drivers

 

[Steve Ridges]

Interestingly, I installed the driver and it tells me I have version 9.18.10.3071 instead of 9.17.10.3071. I didn't try any games but I did notice a tiny stutter when scrolling tiles on my start screen. After playing with it a bit, I checked for driver updates and the MS driver got reinstalled...and the stutter went away. I think I'll wait for MS to release their version of this.

 

[theefman]

Not seeing any stutter on mine and it actually feels a bit smoother navigating the OS. Strange thing about the differing driver versions but everything else seems to be working ok for me.

 

[HYDR0SH0K]

I downloaded the driver and tried to play Slender the Arrival. It played more smoothly, but all the lighting was gone and too dark to see anything. Rolled back drivers and game worked again. I'll wait for the official MS driver.

 

[KingCrimson]

I'll wait for the Windows update.

 

[Talderon]

I did the manual update and I find that it is very responsive and nice now. The Modern UI Start Screen is REALLY snappy, I love with the driver control panel you can tweak the settings a LOT and have even more battery savings and performance or more quality.

Overall, I would say this update is well worth getting.

 

[vertigoOne]

When I ran the Intel driver update utility it gave me this message about the graphics driver:

Graphics Driver

Product Detected	Intel? HD Graphics 4000
Current Driver Installed	9.17.10.2867
A customized computer manufacturer driver is installed on your computer. The Intel Driver Update Utility is not able to update the driver. Installing a generic Intel driver instead of the customized computer manufacturer driver may cause technical issues. Contact your computer manufacturer for the latest driver for your computer.

Think I will wait along with the others. Any improvement at this point is just icing on the cake IMO. I was hoping to see this update in the patch Tuesday updates that occurred today, but that was just wishful thinking on my part.