Windows 10 is offering Confusing Driver Updates

[Trial-Member]

Hi all,

Please excuse that screenshots partly show German language content. I use Windows with the German interface.

NUC: NUC8i5BEH
OS: Windows 10 2004 (19041.546)
IDSA: Not installed, since it does not reliably show the latest drivers anyway

Windows Update shows me some optional driver updates, which confuses me a bit. The updates offered here seem old to me. I checked the Intel site (https://downloadcenter.intel.com/en/product/126148) to find out which drivers might be meant. Unfortunately I did not succeed.
Does anyone have an idea what the drivers are about? Should I install them?!

Additionally I seem to use a Bluetooth driver that Intel did not provide for my NUC. I have the driver 21.120.0.4 (dated Sep 01 2020), Intel offers the version 21.50.0 (dated Nov 13 2019) on the page. I find this strange as well.

Is there a site / platform where Intel reliably provides the latest drivers for a system? IDSA does not seem to be suitable for this.

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello Trial-Member, 

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.   

In regards to the Windows updates, we don't have any information available as the updates are provided by Microsoft* through the Operating System (OS), you may want to check with them directly. By any chance; do you see any more details than just the driver version? I.e. Serial driver, audio driver, etc. 

The wireless driver that you are using is the generic driver for the Intel® Wireless-AC 9560 card that your system includes: https://downloadmirror.intel.com/29876/eng/ReleaseNotes_BT_21.120.0.pdf. However, the latest driver validated for your Intel® NUC Kit NUC8i5BEH is indeed the 21.50.1: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28955/Intel-Wireless-Technology-Based-Driver-for-Windows-10-64-bit-for-Intel-NUC?product=126148 

Actually, the best assistant to use to update the drivers of your NUC, is the Intel® Driver & Support Assistant (Intel® DSA), or you can access the website you mentioned before to check the latest drivers: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/126148/Intel-NUC-Kit-NUC8i5BEH. May I know why is it that you feel the Intel® DSA is not reliable?  

Regards, 

Sebastian M  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[Trial-Member]

Hello @Sebastian_M_Intel,

Thank you for replying my post.

Unfortunately Windows doesn't show me more than what is shown in the screenshot (otherwise it would have been easier for me to compare the drivers available at Intel).

I have not had very good experiences with the Intel DSA. On several systems (my own, but also in my personal environment) I could find out that Intel DSA leads to noticeable delays during system startup. This was noticeable on a NUC6CAYS, a NUC8i3BEK and two NUC8i5BEH. At that time I had also made a post about this, in which I even documented the behavior with a video. But it was apparently not comprehensible.

Intel DSA is unreliable, because it shows drivers (or BIOS versions) as current, for which a new version is already available. If I'm not wrong, Intel DSA did not consider in the past if you use DCH drivers.

Furthermore I am generally for having as few background tools running as possible. It's a pity that Intel DSA doesn't give me the possibility to configure when and how often to check for updates.

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello Trial-Member,  

Thanks for the reply. 

We would like to thank you for the feedback you have provided regarding the Intel® DSA, I would like to let you know that this is going to be shared internally. 

As we mentioned, we don't have any information regarding Windows updates, so you may want to check with Microsoft for further details about the updates they share. 

As the Intel® DSA is the only update assistant available for Intel® NUCs, the other option will be checking the Intel® download center and performing a manual installation of the drivers: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/126148/Intel-NUC-Kit-NUC8i5BEH 

Please let me know if you have any additional questions. 

Regards,  

Sebastian M  

Intel Customer Support Technician   

[Trial-Member]

Hi @Sebastian_M_Intel,

Once again thank you for replying.

I'm a little bit surprised and maybe I haven't understood, after which scheme Intel numbers its drivers.

If I follow your link, then the
Intel® Graphics DCH Driver for NUC8i3BE, NUC8i5BE, NUC8i7BE in Version 27.20.100.8681 from 9/15/2020 listed. If I follow the link to the download page (https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/29911/Intel-Graphics-DCH-Driver-for-NUC8i3BE-NUC8i5BE-NUC8i7BE?product=126148), there is even the note "(Latest)", which probably tells the user that this is the most current Version for Intel® Graphics DCH Driver for NUC8i3BE, NUC8i5BE, NUC8i7BE.

If I look at https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/29904/Intel-Graphics-Windows-10-DCH-Drivers?v=t, I find Intel® Graphics - Windows® 10 DCH Drivers Version: 27.20.100.8783 (Latest) Date: 9/29/2020.

Under "This download is valid for the product(s) listed below" the Intel® Core™ i5-8259U processor (6M Cache, up to 3.80 GHz) is listed, which - please correct me if I'm wrong - is used in the NUC8i5BEH.

Can there really be more than one latest driver for a device?

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello Trial-Member,   

Yes, you are right; the i5-8259U CPU is included in this NUC8i5BEH. 

As you mentioned, the driver version 27.20.100.8681 is the latest driver that Intel® validated and tested for NUC8i3BE, NUC8i5BE, NUC8i7BE.  

On the other hand, the driver version 27.20.100.8783 is the latest generic driver that Intel® released for 6th generation and newer CPUs with integrated graphics (like the Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 655 included on this i5-8259U). The NUCs are customized systems and not all the generic drivers have been validated to work with them. Intel® has not validated this 27.20.100.8783 driver for NUCs yet, so that is why it is recommended to keep using the driver 27.20.100.8681 to eliminate the potential impact caused by loading non-tested drivers.  

Also, the i5-8259U CPU and its graphics card can be included in other systems (mini-PCs, laptops, and other mobile systems), so the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) can test and customize the generic drivers to meet their systems requirements. 

Regards,   

Sebastian M   

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello Trial-Member,  

Were you able to check the information previously provided? Please let me know if you need more assistance or if you have any additional questions.   

Regards,  

Sebastian M  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello Trial-Member,  

We have not heard back from you, so we will close this inquiry. If you need further assistance or if you have additional questions, please create a new thread and we will gladly assist you.  

Regards,  

Sebastian M  

Intel Customer Support Technician