Motherboard Drivers

anandsap123 · Jul 14, 2014

My motherboard: GIGABYTE Z97X-Gaming 3
Motherboard Drivers Website: http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4966&dl=1&RWD=0#driver

Not all of my parts have arrived at my house yet so I am just compiling every driver I will need on a flash drive in the mean time. I have come across two issues:

1. Under the Windows 8.1 64-Bit mobo drivers tab (on GIGABYTE site), there are no USB drivers. There are however USB drivers under the Windows 8 64-Bit tab. Should I install those? Please note the USB drivers for Windows 8 64-Bit are labeled like so:

Hot fix
KB2822241 KB2811660 KB2779768
(Improve USB3.0 Device compatibility)
(Note) After installing USB 3.0 driver, please install Hot fix.

Since I will be running Windows 8.1 64-Bit do I need to install this "hot fix" for Windows 8? If not, do I not need to install any USB drivers (as there are none under the Windows 8.1 64-Bit tab)?

2. Do I need to install the "SATA RAID/AHCI" drivers if I don't even know what "AHCI" is and if I am not "RAIDing" anything? I already downloaded them so if I they won't cause any harm, I might as well install them.

Thank you TPU community for all your help! There are minimum fanboys and you guys reply so so quickly! Thanks!

Dacur · Jul 14, 2014

RE: USB just use Intel usb driver under Win 7, and if u plan using a ssd, install the achi driver

anandsap123 · Jul 14, 2014

Ok will any harm come if I install all the "SATA RAID/AHCI" drivers? I might as well, already downloaded 'em.
Also where can I find the "Intel usb driver for Win 7?" And do you guys recommend doing the same thing?

Mussels · Jul 14, 2014

definitely install the AHCI driver, as thats what enables all the advanced features on modern hard drives and SSD's.

USB you can ignore, windows 8.1 has them included.

anandsap123 · Jul 14, 2014

YAY! Thanks! I will just install all the "SATA RAID/AHCI" drivers. Thank you so much guys! Super super fast as usual! Cannot wait to get all parts in but you get what you pay for with FREE Newegg SuperEgg Saver...

Jetster · Jul 14, 2014

I just set up the Gigabyte Z97X Gaming G1 and just used the drivers off the disk. Normally I would download the most resent. I checked afterwards and they were so your disk should be good.

anandsap123 · Jul 14, 2014

So I guess I will not install any drivers for USB and I will install all the other drivers then...now to just wait till Wednesday...

kn00tcn · Jul 29, 2014

always have AHCI enabled in the BIOS (before installing windows) & install AHCI drivers as needed, mussels is correct, modern drives need it (personal example, adding a bookmark in firefox took a few seconds to display the dialog box, but then became instant when AHCI was enabled, because it let the mechanical drive use NCQ for more efficient fragmented/multiple file reading)

i would assume 8.1 contains all patches & hotfixes of 8, or is coded better to not even have a need to fix anything

i would skip things gigabyte posted that i wont be using or that have original sources, like getting .NET framework from microsoft (if any program you use even needs it), avoiding all graphics drivers from motherboard companies, skipping things such as HDMI drivers in amd or nvidia drivers if you use the mobo audio jacks, etc

System Name	Phantom - Video Editing with some Gaming on the side
Processor	Intel i7-4790k
Motherboard	Gigabye Z97X Gaming 3
Cooling	Noctua NH-D14
Memory	G.Skill Sniper Series 16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR3-1866
Video Card(s)	XFX Black Edition Double D R9 290
Storage	Samsung 840 EVO 250GB & Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
Case	NZXT Phantom Full Tower (Red)
Power Supply	EVGA G2 850W
Software	Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit

Processor	Ryzen 9 5900x
Motherboard	Asus x570 Dark Hero
Cooling	Custom loop
Memory	32 GB Trident Z Neo 3600 mhz
Video Card(s)	Palit 3090 Gaming Pro
Storage	Sabrent Rocket 4.0 500gb Nvme, Samsung: 860 2tb SSD x2, 870 1tb, sandisk 4tb
Display(s)	Asus PG32uq
Case	Phanteks 719
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair HX1000
Mouse	Rog Chakram Core
Keyboard	Tuf Gaming
Software	Win 11 64bit

System Name	Phantom - Video Editing with some Gaming on the side
Processor	Intel i7-4790k
Motherboard	Gigabye Z97X Gaming 3
Cooling	Noctua NH-D14
Memory	G.Skill Sniper Series 16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR3-1866
Video Card(s)	XFX Black Edition Double D R9 290
Storage	Samsung 840 EVO 250GB & Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
Case	NZXT Phantom Full Tower (Red)
Power Supply	EVGA G2 850W
Software	Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

System Name	Phantom - Video Editing with some Gaming on the side
Processor	Intel i7-4790k
Motherboard	Gigabye Z97X Gaming 3
Cooling	Noctua NH-D14
Memory	G.Skill Sniper Series 16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR3-1866
Video Card(s)	XFX Black Edition Double D R9 290
Storage	Samsung 840 EVO 250GB & Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
Case	NZXT Phantom Full Tower (Red)
Power Supply	EVGA G2 850W
Software	Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit

System Name	Juliette // HTPC
Processor	Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard	ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock
Memory	Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600
Video Card(s)	ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD
Display(s)	ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series
Case	Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05
Audio Device(s)	Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar
Power Supply	Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M
Mouse	Cooler Master MM710 53G
Keyboard	Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE
Software	Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro

Motherboard Drivers

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