I'm new to PC building, and I recently created a USB installer for Windows 11. Do I need to manually add any storage drivers to recognize my SSD during installation? Also, after installing Windows 11, I'm looking to find out what drivers and software I truly need for gaming, but without any unnecessary background programs. Here are my specs: Ryzen 5 9600X, GIGABYTE B850 Eagle WIFI6E, Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming OC 16GB, SAMSUNG 990 EVO Plus 2TB NVMe M.2, CORSAIR VENGEANCE DDR5 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 6000MHz CL36, Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 CPU Cooler, and a CORSAIR Frame 4000D RS ARGB ATX Mid-Tower PC Case. My monitor is a Gigabyte M32UC, and I have a Logitech G G502 X LIGHTSPEED mouse, Corsair K70 PRO MINI WIRELESS keyboard, and Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 headphones. Thanks in advance!
3 Answers
Make sure to run all your Windows updates first. Then, get drivers for any hardware that Windows doesn't automatically detect.
You might need to manually get your WiFi or Ethernet drivers from Gigabyte's website on another PC, or else you won't be able to connect to the internet on the new one. After that, using Windows Update is usually enough for most drivers. For gaming, it's a good idea to download GeForce Game Ready drivers directly from Nvidia for better performance—they update more often than the ones provided by Windows.
I'd recommend against installing Gigabyte utilities like their "control center"; they can be unnecessary bloat. Stick with Windows Update for most drivers. If WU misses anything, then you can visit Gigabyte's site to download those drivers.
Great tips! What about Nvidia drivers and Logitech software? Should I just skip those too?
Exactly! Don't forget to grab the latest Chipset drivers from AMD and GPU drivers from Nvidia to ensure everything runs smoothly.