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With windows server is there any benefit to installing a graphics driver (eg the Intel / Nvidia / AMD driver vs the basic Windows one)?

I'm currently only using the Hyper-V role on the host machine and haven't installed any graphics drivers (other than the default ones the Windows Server install used). Was curious if there were any benefits or draw-backs to installing them?

David
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2 Answers2

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Well, hating to state the obvious, but here goes.

There is a benefit to installing graphics drivers if you're using the graphics card at all, such as because you're running a GUI on the server. The benefit would be improved graphics performance, better stability and usually more options that allow the OS to make full use of the graphics card's capabilities (most obvious among those is usually the availability of higher display resolutions).

There is no significant benefit to installing graphics drivers if you're not making use of the graphics card, such as with a headless server or a Server Core installation.

HopelessN00b
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  • Thank you. Other than the odd RDP for maintenance it pretty much runs headless. I was mostly wanting to make sure there isn't any negative impacts to installing it. I didn't think there was but thought I would through out the question before installing the driver. – David Dec 30 '14 at 20:56
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The downsides to installing the driver is that it could cause instability on the server if it's not solid, and like other drivers, will have to be updated/patched as necessary. Other than that it won't hurt.

Jim B
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