My computer has only been getting driver updates for the GPU since I last reinstalled Windows, and I'm concerned that I'm missing out on extra speed from my other parts because my drivers are outdated.
From another question on drivers on SU (Automatic driver search & update on Windows?), I found the SlimDrivers application (https://www.slimwareutilities.com/slimdrivers.php). However, I've always been told that I shouldn't use automatic driver updating tools. Does this advice still hold true?
Drivers are not updated a lot, and for the major part of drivers, they are updated through windows update as optional updates, if you choose to search for updates not just for windows, but other applications too.
That said, I still never update drivers, because there's a golden rule that applies here: If its not broken, don't fix it. With the exception of graphics drivers for 3D graphics enhancers, driver updates for other hardware is only updated to fix issues, not to speed them up. If you are not experiencing an issue, don't update the driver. A driverupdate can cause an unwanted malfunction that is worse than what you had before, and if you auto-update a driver, it is going to be much harder to troubleshoot issues arised from it.
So long answer short, you should not use an auto-updater for your drivers, and on top of that, I recommend manually updating the GPU driver and keep at least a week or two before you install the driver, so any problems found will get a new update. If after 2 weeks you see the driver has been updated, wait another 2 weeks and check again. Unless of course your current driver is causing unwanted issues and you dare to take the chance. Always read the "whats new" to see what they fixed.
Short but boring answer: That depends
Longer, but still boring: ...on the ones making the drivers.
Simply put, your system will automatically install ANY driver that the provider considers "Yup, this is good enough to release". So the question then is, are you sure the vendors standards are at least as high as yours? Over the years I've heard a lot of grief about bugged drivers. This is not necessarily a sign of incompetence or malintent from the vendor, but bugs happen. Sometimes due to a poor QA process, sometimes due to the devs not being provided their daily caffeine fix, sometimes because of silly details that are easy to overlook. This combined with the fact that now and again you hear public outcry of some popular device that broke or became unstable after an auto-update (Didn't Apple have this recently?)
All in all, most of the time, for most people, it'll be fine. However, the difference between "most" and "all" never seems as big as when you're not in the Most-Club.
I'm a bit more cautious than most people, so I avoid auto-updated drivers - If it works, don't fix it. While I keep most of my software up to date with apt-get running now and then via cron, When it comes to drivers, I only update them if I am actually experiencing an issue with the ones I'm using.
There are very few / no programs that are actually legitimate when it comes to automatic driver updates. I am yet to actually find one I trust more than myself. For basic programs I use Ninite.com, you select the programs you want and download a download package.
You can then run this package at any point in the future and it will connect to Ninite's FTP and download the latest version of the software. It will also automatically decline any extra add-ons etc. so no risk of bloat ware being added.
As for Drivers, windows update should generally handle this automatically. if not, just check your device manager, go to the properties of every item you want to update and click update drivers, use the over the internet option.
