Surface Book & Surface Pro 4 Get New Intel Graphics Driver for Improved Stability

The latest driver update from Intel delivers more stability for Microsoft's Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 devices and help the hardware increase its over all reliability.

Richard Hay, Senior Content Producer

July 11, 2016

2 Min Read
Surface Book & Surface Pro 4 Get New Intel Graphics Driver for Improved Stability

The first few months in the lives of Microsoft's Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 devices were pretty rough.

There were many stability issues that caused early adopters a lot of frustration ranging from unexpected reboots, devices coming out of a bag hot and running when they should have been in standby, sleep or hibernate mode plus generally poor performance overall for such high end devices.

For a few months now Microsoft seems to have solved most of these issues and has delivered a regular flow of updated drivers that have really locked in the reliability with these devices that was expected from the beginning.

I know many users decided they could not stick with the ups and downs in those early months but these devices are worth another look at this point.

Today a new driver from Intel, one that has been in beta testing since last month, delivers more stability for these devices and addresses some long standing issues.

According to Intel's release notes for this update (PDF, 400KB) this driver update will benefit power users and gamers.

"We’ve fixed many hangs, crashes, and graphics corruptions across a wide spectrum of games and applications.  We’re especially pleased to report that this driver also fixes some long standing and frequently reported graphics issues on Intel’s Support Community, including a scaling issue with Windows 10®, and an error found when playing a particular game title."

Some of the non-game related fixes include:

  • System may hang while resuming from Sleep/Hibernation while using WiDi

  • System may crash when playing back videos over WiDi or Miracast

  • File explorer may hang when right-clicking on a large file and moving the mouse over the ‘Open With’  menu option

  • Scaling issue, Black Borders problem in Windows 10® - Stuck at 'Constrain proportions'

  • Screen may not rotate in full screen mode and other miscellaneous issues with screen rotation.

For a full list of fixes and other Intel chip sets this update supports be sure to download the full copy of the release notes.

But, wait...there's probably more so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Google+.

Read more about:

Intel

About the Author(s)

Richard Hay

Senior Content Producer, IT Pro Today (Informa Tech)

I served for 29 plus years in the U.S. Navy and retired as a Master Chief Petty Officer in November 2011. My work background in the Navy was telecommunications related so my hobby of computers fit well with what I did for the Navy. I consider myself a tech geek and enjoy most things in that arena.

My first website – AnotherWin95.com – came online in 1995. Back then I used GeoCities Web Hosting for it and WindowsObserver.com is the result of the work I have done on that site since 1995.

In January 2010 my community contributions were recognized by Microsoft when I received my first Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award for the Windows Operating System. Since then I have been renewed as a Microsoft MVP each subsequent year since that initial award. I am also a member of the inaugural group of Windows Insider MVPs which began in 2016.

I previously hosted the Observed Tech PODCAST for 10 years and 317 episodes and now host a new podcast called Faith, Tech, and Space. 

I began contributing to Penton Technology websites in January 2015 and in April 2017 I was hired as the Senior Content Producer for Penton Technology which is now Informa Tech. In that role, I contribute to ITPro Today and cover operating systems, enterprise technology, and productivity.

https://twitter.com/winobs

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