Apple supplies outdated drivers with their Boot Camp ones?

[comics addict]

Just curious because I recently installed Windows 8 on my MBP and by chance checked out what driver version I had for my Intel HD Graphics card and noticed I had a older version. Once I dared do the update the graphics performance increased noticeably. Also found out I had outdated driver for Realtek audio and updated that too. Why does this happened and are there any other third-party drivers that I should look for an update ? I'm confused

 

[saturnotaku]

Why does this happened

Because the drivers Apple supplies are mostly for basic functionality. Boot Camp isn't exactly high on their priority list in terms of support.

are there any other third-party drivers that I should look for an update?

Not really. The only ones I update on my MBP are for the GPU. The audio, chipset, card reader, and the like all work perfectly fine with Apple's software.

 

[comics addict]

Thanks for your response. I'll be certainly keen on keeping an eye for new intel drivers for my graphics card. Do you by any chance pass through audio output to a surround sound system under windows ? I know to so under Mac OS X but so far windows 8 has been unhelpful in the quest to output surround sound to my home theater system.

 

[saturnotaku]

Thanks for your response. I'll be certainly keen on keeping an eye for new intel drivers for my graphics card. Do you by any chance pass through audio output to a surround sound system under windows ?

I use headphones primarily, and on those rare occasions when I connect the system to my TV, it's direct through a Thunderbolt/mini Displayport to HDMI adapter.

 

[pdjudd]

Because the drivers Apple supplies are mostly for basic functionality. Boot Camp isn't exactly high on their priority list in terms of support.

It’s also something that they can assert that it’s supported and can guarantee that it actually works. They don’t want to have to re-certify every release by every manufacture (especially when they do so at different times) so they just ship with what is tested to work based on the release of Boot Camp and when they update that majorly, they may test newer versions.

 

[comics addict]

That makes sense.

 

[IA64]

I've always thought that the drivers in bootcamp are customized. Aren't they ?

I mean Intel driver scanner doesn't find any compatible hardware since the board is made for Apple.

 

[VI™]

I've always thought that the drivers in bootcamp are customized. Aren't they ?

I mean Intel driver scanner doesn't find any compatible hardware since the board is made for Apple.

Some may be, but not all of them. And that doesn't mean that others are. I just installed a Broadcom ethernet card driver in a mini from Broadcom's site.

 

[saturnotaku]

I've always thought that the drivers in bootcamp are customized. Aren't they ?

I mean Intel driver scanner doesn't find any compatible hardware since the board is made for Apple.

Some are, some aren't. The Cirrus Logic audio chipset in my MBP is a custom unit, but the AMD GPU can use standard mobility reference drivers. Same goes for the Ethernet and WiFi cards, though the drivers Apple provides are more than adequate.

The Intel driver scanner isn't a good tool to go by as I've used it on non-Apple machines, and it's come back with similar results. Besides, the chipset driver is something that should never need updating unless there is a specific, major flaw that causes instability. As with the aforementioned networking drivers, the ones Apple provides are old, but they do the job flawlessly.

Except for the GPU, I don't install any other drivers because I've not run across a scenario that requires me to do so. Live and let live.

 

[Gav Mack]

Apple provide basic driver support end of. Aside from just updating the video drivers from elsewhere you can get improvements by updating some of the others yourself if you think are lacking. The Realtek audio can be updated but that applies to all PC's with the Realtek chips never mind just Macs. Certain MBP models work better with the newer broadcom bluetooth drivers and same applies to some of the wifi cards which do not offer the full N speed with the stock driver.

The Cirrus Audio windows driver though I believe is solely made for Apple so you're stuck with it until Apple release an update for them!

 

[IA64]

yeah but the difference is that if you update your mainboard with Intel utility, you should be able to use the Intel AHCI instead of Microsoft one.

Intel drivers provided by Apple date from 25-Feb-13, almost a year.

That means they probably the initial release or so.

Unfortunately there is no way I could tell which MainBoard series I'm using as it only shows Z87. There are many tho...

If you go through the Intel Z87 driver release note, you can see many improvements from transfer rate to power management handling.

It's just sad...

 

[IA64]

This is an example of the updates Intel did since my Board controller driver date :

Issues Resolved

Issues Resolved in Build 1026


ID

Description

1
Fixed USB INF files contain errors
2
Various string fixes
3
Updated "PDH" to "PCH" in readme.
4
Updated section names

Issues Resolved in Build 1022

ID

Description

1
Fixed missing newline after branding string.
2
Fixed Chipset INF files not signed issue.
3
Fixed device 33D1 display string.

Issues Resolved in Build 1017

ID

Description

1
Fixed AHCI bug filed in MSFT Database [REG:113011610144431] Intel CCG: BSOD 0x7B after uninstalling Intel RST software.
2
Fixed Sensor Co-Installer issue (Sensor hub is not working because of incorrectly installed by Intel chipset software)

 

[saturnotaku]

Again, unless you are experiencing specific problems, there is no reason to update the chipset driver. The version 5.0 Windows support software installs an Intel driver on my 2011 MBP. ACHI and TRIM are fully functional on my machine. My M500 SSD's speeds are well within specified norms, and the system is perfectly stable.

Also, please use the Edit button to add information to a post you've made. Do not make multiple consecutive posts.

 

[Gav Mack]

Again, unless you are experiencing specific problems, there is no reason to update the chipset driver. The version 5.0 Windows support software installs an Intel driver on my 2011 MBP. ACHI and TRIM are fully functional on my machine. My M500 SSD's speeds are well within specified norms, and the system is perfectly stable.

Also, please use the Edit button to add information to a post you've made. Do not make multiple consecutive posts.

The chipset drivers for intel products <2011 are bundled in 7 SP1. It can be worthwhile upgrading the Intel RST driver can which is the specific AHCI intel driver for SSD's. After dozens of MBR mods to enable AHCI on Mac kit with bootcamp I try to use the newest Intel RST have released for the particular SATA chipset controller.

I belieive your 2011 will support the current driver but my 2010 MBP was deprecated to a driver six months ago as Intel dropped support in the newer builds.

 

[KdParker]

The chipset drivers for intel products <2011 are bundled in 7 SP1. It can be worthwhile upgrading the Intel RST driver can which is the specific AHCI intel driver for SSD's. After dozens of MBR mods to enable AHCI on Mac kit with bootcamp I try to use the newest Intel RST have released for the particular SATA chipset controller.

I belieive your 2011 will support the current driver but my 2010 MBP was deprecated to a driver six months ago as Intel dropped support in the newer builds.

I had to get new drivers to get audio on Window 8.1 working at all. There were several drivers I updated from the internet.

Seems like the non custom drivers could at least be updated with the latest copies with the apple supplied drivers through bootcamp.

 

[Gav Mack]

I had to get new drivers to get audio on Window 8.1 working at all. There were several drivers I updated from the internet.

Seems like the non custom drivers could at least be updated with the latest copies with the apple supplied drivers through bootcamp.

Apple will certainly release 8.1 drivers for the Macs they currently offer BC support Win 8 but they are usually slow in doing it, though in fairness they have to put them through Microsoft WHQL which can take some time. With standard PC kit I've had this issue throughout the years trying to find drivers for a newer MS OS. Sony in particular are terrible, they certify only the OS that it ships with and if it's before a certain time frame they choose before the newer OS is released they do nothing leaving the users to fend for themselves to fix them. The sigmatel sound/Synaptics touchpad drivers for vista they used on a lot of their kit were a right PITA to find a 7 driver that worked right..

 

[saturnotaku]

It can be worthwhile upgrading the Intel RST driver can which is the specific AHCI intel driver for SSD's.

What is the incentive for doing so when AHCI is working properly and there are no issues with SSD speed or system stability on the Intel drivers supplied by Apple?

 

[IA64]

What is the incentive for doing so when AHCI is working properly and there are no issues with SSD speed or system stability on the Intel drivers supplied by Apple?

You are confusing " working properfly " and "optimum performance"

A 350 hp car can do 5.5 seconds from 0-60. A software update for transmission can shave half a second.

In both cases, the car drives fine.

 

[Gav Mack]

What is the incentive for doing so when AHCI is working properly and there are no issues with SSD speed or system stability on the Intel drivers supplied by Apple?

I have seen large increases in performance with intel RST SATA drivers across both Macs and PC's with SSD's. Your 2011 was certainly not shipped with rst drivers optimised for your SATA controller to work optimally with the m500, a drive launched two years later which coincidentally needs 03 firmware flashing to work properly with many MacBook Pro models. Apple only support their own SSD's and not yours (which is identical to mine btw) so I reckon in your case it's prudent to upgrade it. Intel will have fixed any bugs related to newer SSD's and not Apple!

 

[saturnotaku]

You are confusing " working properfly " and "optimum performance"

A 350 hp car can do 5.5 seconds from 0-60. A software update for transmission can shave half a second.

In both cases, the car drives fine.

I have seen large increases in performance with intel RST SATA drivers across both Macs and PC's with SSD's. Your 2011 was certainly not shipped with rst drivers optimised for your SATA controller to work optimally with the m500, a drive launched two years later which coincidentally needs 03 firmware flashing to work properly with many MacBook Pro models. Apple only support their own SSD's and not yours (which is identical to mine btw) so I reckon in your case it's prudent to upgrade it. Intel will have fixed any bugs related to newer SSD's and not Apple!

I suppose you both missed this part:

My M500 SSD's speeds are well within specified norms

 

[Gav Mack]

I suppose you both missed this part:

How do you know exactly that your SSD, a drive not supported or supplied by Apple or via its RST driver either is performing to its specified norms? I presume you use Trim enabler on OSX to enable third party trim support as Apple do not support third party SSD's period.

I come here out of working hours and spare time, it's my profession to fix and maintain Macs and PC's and I help other Mac users out here with 25 years worth of knowledge for free. Occasionally there are those who are beyond help and logical reasoning..

 

[IA64]

I suppose you both missed this part:

my 512 SSD benchmark on Mavericks is 742MB/717MB

On Windows 8.1 it's 658MB/590MB... so No it's not the same.

 

[Gav Mack]

my 512 SSD benchmark on Mavericks is 742MB/717MB

On Windows 8.1 it's 658MB/590MB... so No it's not the same.

As it's also Apples policy on earlier macs to boot bootcamp into IDE mode with ATA-133 speed, so I suppose the same reasoning applies that Windows must stay in that mode even if you have an SSD with no trim support whatsoever. I must visit easily over 3 dozen Mac clients I have enabled Windows AHCI and tell them it's a bad idea to run in a much faster disk mode with trim, plus 1-3,1 Mac Pro users must have only 2 of their four sleds functioning in Windows. 4/5,1 Mac Pro users mustn't boot Windows in pure EFI mode too as they will have to put up with losing two sleds too.

I think you catch my drift - hopefully the penny will drop with others too eh?