Many PC enthusiasts will have been picked up by the wave of enthusiasm for the Intel 12th Gen Core non-K processors and mainstream motherboards that Intel launched at CES 2022, in early January. However, those that decided to take the plunge and invest in a new pre-built system might have been disappointed to find the newest available drivers for non-K processors was dated August 2021. On Monday, that changed with the release of the Intel Graphics Windows DCH v30.0.101.1340 release that supports all the Alder Lake-S chips, as well as processors dating back to the Skylake era (with built-in iGPUs).
Looking back over the Intel 12th-Gen processor releases and Windows DCH Driver timeline, we see that Windows 10/11 supported the iGPU on the first batch of ADL-S K processors with version 30.0.101.1069, which was released on November 11 of last year. That's just a few days after the official release of the Intel Core i9-12900K, i7-12700K, and i5-12600K.
Now that Intel has released Graphics Windows DCH v30.0.101.1340, Alder Lake-S (K and non-K) users have an update to install. Consumers have been able to buy the non-K processors since early January, so Intel has taken several weeks to make a DCH driver available.
What Is in the Driver?
Though gladly received, driver 30.0.101.1340 doesn't add any new features. However, it does crush some pretty annoying bugs. The majority of the bugs fixed appear to affect 11th-Gen Core processor iGPUs and Intel Iris Xe Graphics. Intel reckons the highlights are fixes to Fortnite (had flickering graphics) and Call of the Duty: Vanguard DX12 (crashes). Here's the full list of key fixed issues:
- Intermittent crash or hang seen in Call of the Duty: Vanguard (DX12) on 11th Generation Intel Core Processors with Intel Iris Xe graphics.
- Crash or hang seen when launching Dirt 5 through Microsoft Store on 11th Generation Intel Core Processors with Intel Iris Xe graphics.
- Minor graphic anomalies seen in Shadowman Remastered (DX11) at High presets, The Surge 2 (Vulkan), Wolfenstein: Youngblood (Vulkan).
- Minor graphic anomalies may be observed in Fortnite (DX11) on Intel Iris Xe Discrete graphics.
- Minor graphic anomalies seen in Doom Eternal* (Vulkan), Forza Horizon 5 (DX12), Adobe Premiere Pro 2020 during video playback on 11th Generation Intel Core Processors with Intel Iris Xe graphics.
- Crash or hang seen in Baldur’s Gate 3 (Vulkan) after loading screen on 10th Generation Intel Core processors with Intel Iris Plus graphics.
Sadly, Intel's list of known issues is even longer than the fixes. Some of the howlers include intermittent crashes in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (DX12) and Far Cry 6 (DX12) across all iGPU architectures. For non-gaming folk, two of the worst remaining issues are one involving blank screens when using docks and 4K monitors, and the same problem with 8K TV monitors in clone display mode.
You can grab the latest Intel Graphics Windows DCH Drivers direct from Intel here. With the DCH drivers, the Intel Graphics Command Center software is a separate download that you can grab from the Windows Store.
