Intel AHCI/RAID driver for Win7 x64--which is latest?

Hardware and technical stuff
1

I have an Asus P8Z68-V LE motherboard and I’m confused about the driver downloads on Asus’ website for the Intel AHCI/RAID driver: They have one that’s dated early this year with the version number 10.5.0.1026 and one dated June 2011 with version number 10.5.1.1001.

Am I crazy or is the version number for the later version lower than the one for the earlier version? When I tried to install the supposedly later one, it warned me that I was installing an earlier version, so I aborted the install.

Anyone know if that version numbering is just a mistake, or did ASUS somehow post an earlier version of the driver later on their site?

2

Hmm, looks like somehow the latter is the case. Mysterious.

3

If it’s the intel drivers I honestly just go and get them straight form the intel website.

4

Asian mobo mfr driver downloads are notoriously out of date except for the proprietary stuff like their Asus PCProbe/AI Suite.

5

I tried to do that, but couldn’t seem to figure out how to search for them there. It’s not terribly intuitive. Don’t you have to narrow it down first by motherboard chipset, and only then look for the SATA AHCI/RAID driver?

6

Use CPU-Z to find out which chipset your mobo is and then based on that, grab the drivers from Intel’s (confusing) download center. Or use Intel’s auto-detecting browser plugin.

7

Z68 mobo, Series 6 is what Intel calls it. You just need the “INF update utility”

The AHCI driver is likely the generic Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&ProdId=2101&DwnldID=20624&ProductFamily=Software+Products&ProductLine=Chipset+Software&ProductProduct=Intel®+Rapid+Storage+Technology&lang=eng

v10.8.0.1003

8

Weirdly enough, I just upgraded my AHCI/RAID driver from Intel yesterday. Got that same driver, 10.8.0.1003

I had to use Intel’s stupid little driver utility, which made me install Java. But it updated a few out-of-date drivers. I then uninstalled Java.

9

AHCI is more trouble than it’s worth… and it’s worth pretty much precisely nothing.

10

hell no. ahci runs 1% faster and is hot-swappable (if you require it) – there’s no reason to run in ide mode.