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Intel HD Graphics - 2 different drivers listed as latest - What's the difference?

idata
Employee
2,138 Views

Hello everybody!

I use a notebook with Intel`s Ivy Bridge chipset with its Intel HD4000 graphics. Now I tried to find the latest driver on Intel's Download-Center - but failed... please have a look at it:

I only want to know the following thing: what's the difference between the two drivers Intel's Download-Center lists as "latest"? I can "click" two different ways and get two different driver versions! The first way: Product family: Graphics --> Product line: Laptop graphics drivers --> Product name: Intel® Core™ Processors with Intel® HD Graphics. The now proposed driver version for Windows 7 (64-bit) is 15.22.57.64.2827.

The second way is the following: Product family: Graphics --> Product line: Laptop graphics drivers --> Product name: 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ Processors with Intel® HD Graphics 4000/2500. The now proposed driver version for Windows 7 (64-bit) is 15.26.12.64.2761. What's the difference? Why are both listed as "latest"? So why are there at least two different ways to get a driver for Intel HD Graphics and why are there two different final results?

By the way: does anybody know the meaning of the numbers? "2827" respectively "2761" is the build version, and "64" stands for 64bit. And the rest?

Thanks a lot for the enligtenment!

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1 Solution
ROBERT_U_Intel
Employee
817 Views

Hi

When you navigated: Product family: Graphics --> Product line: Laptop graphics drivers --> Product name: Intel® Core™ Processors with Intel® HD Graphics. The now proposed driver version for Windows 7 (64-bit) is 15.22.57.64.2827. You followed the path to the Intel HD Graphics driver for the Ironlake based chipset's.  

When to navigated to: Product family: Graphics --> Product line: Laptop graphics drivers --> Product name: 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ Processors with Intel® HD Graphics 4000/2500. The now proposed driver version for Windows 7 (64-bit) is 15.26.12.64.2761. You navigated to the Intel HD Graphics drivers for the correct drivers for your HD4000 graphics.

So you found the latest driver for 2 seperate generations of Intel HD Graphics.

When in doubt, you can always use the http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect?iid=dc_iduu The Intel® Driver Update Utility . It will find the latest drivers for your chipset automatically.

 

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6 Replies
MSchm21
Valued Contributor I
817 Views

There are three two different major versions for HD4000:

- 15.22

- 15.26

- 15.28

15.xx differentiates the driver series. 15.22 is the oldest, generally we can say 15.26 is better than this because faster in most games. 15.28 is the newest, it supports some new features like OpenGL4.0 and is the first driver series designed for Windows 8. The last four digits denotes the build number of the driver.

ROBERT_U_Intel
Employee
818 Views

Hi

When you navigated: Product family: Graphics --> Product line: Laptop graphics drivers --> Product name: Intel® Core™ Processors with Intel® HD Graphics. The now proposed driver version for Windows 7 (64-bit) is 15.22.57.64.2827. You followed the path to the Intel HD Graphics driver for the Ironlake based chipset's.  

When to navigated to: Product family: Graphics --> Product line: Laptop graphics drivers --> Product name: 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ Processors with Intel® HD Graphics 4000/2500. The now proposed driver version for Windows 7 (64-bit) is 15.26.12.64.2761. You navigated to the Intel HD Graphics drivers for the correct drivers for your HD4000 graphics.

So you found the latest driver for 2 seperate generations of Intel HD Graphics.

When in doubt, you can always use the http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect?iid=dc_iduu The Intel® Driver Update Utility . It will find the latest drivers for your chipset automatically.

 

idata
Employee
817 Views

Hello Robert_U!

Thank you ever so much!!! What you wrote answered my question(s) at 100% and brought the enlightenment I hoped to get. Thanks a lot

However an annotation: in my eyes these options (in Download-Center) - I mean the differentiation between "Intel HD Graphics" and "Intel HD Graphics 4000" - is VERY specific and especially hard to unterstand. I mean I am a "techie" and was not able to unterstand what the difference between both "Intel HD Graphics" should be. Obviously there's the necessity to offer different downloads for every CPU/GPU/APU generation. Of course that's okay... But then I would recommend to rename the "Intel HD Graphics " download-option. Cause "Intel HD Graphics " is quite a common expression. An IvyBridge iGPU is also called "Intel HD Graphics" - you understand what I mean? To make it more clear for everybody what Intel want to express by stating "Intel HD Graphics", the option in Download-Center should be called e.g. "Intel HD Graphics 1st generation" or "Intel HD Graphics 1000" or "Intel HD Graphics Ironlake/Arrandale/Westmere" or "Intel HD Graphics 900" or whatever. Just to name it "Intel HD Graphics" is in my opinion quite hard to unterstand. Now you explained it, it was clear to me at once - but without you expression..... puh 😉

I would appreciate if one forwards my "concern" to the appropriate department!

 

&# 13; &# 13; &# 13; But is it also correct what YUPS said? I mean the main version "15.22" is (due to Robert_U) the driver for the first generation of Intel's iCPUs/i-X Cores - so it should't be an (old) alternative for IvyBridge... ?! Or are both postings correct?&# 13;

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ROBERT_U_Intel
Employee
817 Views

Thanks for your input. We are working to simplify Download Center.

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MSchm21
Valued Contributor I
817 Views

Sorry I mixed up 15.22 for HD3000 instead HD4000. 15.22 doesn't work for HD4000. 15.22 drivers can be used for second HD generation Sandy Bridge based GPUs though not just first HD generation.

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idata
Employee
817 Views

Again: thank you very much for all of your postings. Helped me a lot

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