Older systems may not have a full set of hardware drivers available for running Windows 10. Even if you have received the Windows Update prompt to upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, we recommend you consider the following before upgrading.
If a full set of drivers is not available, then we recommend that if you decide to upgrade to Windows 10, that you test all of the important features before putting the system into use, or before upgrading other systems of the same type.
Example - Intel HD Graphics Second Generation: HD2000 and HD3000
Support for second generation Intel HD Graphics is not officially available for Windows 10. Some drivers are available through Windows update, however these tend to be older Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 drivers. These drivers may have problems in delivering expected battery life, performance, or features such as hibernate or sleep in Windows 10.
Intel second generation HD Graphics are known as HD2000 and HD3000, and were available on the Core i3-2xxx and Core i5-2xxx series processors. These processors could be fitted to either Intel 6 Series or 7 Series chipset motherboards. In addition, most of these motherboards could be fitted with second or third generation Intel HD Graphics leaving to easy confusion when looking for available Windows 10 drivers for your system and processor combination.
Windows 10 Driver Availability Matrix
| Intel HD Graphics Version | Example Processor | Windows 8 | Windows 8.1 | Windows10 |
| First Gen. HD Graphics | Core i5-xxx | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Second Gen. HD Graphics 2000 | Core i3-2xxx | x86 and x64 Driver available | x86 driver only available | No validated driver available * |
| Second Gen. HD Graphics 3000 | Core i5-2xxx | x86 and x64 Driver available | x86 driver only available | No validated driver available * |
| Third Gen. HD Graphics 2500 | Core i3-3xxx | x86 and x64 Driver available | x86 and x64 Driver available | Driver available ^ |
| Third Gen. HD Graphics 4000 | Core i5-3xxx | x86 and x64 Driver available | x86 and x64 Driver available | Driver available ^ |
| Fourth Gen. HD Graphics HD4200 HD4400 HD4600 | Core i3-4xxx, Core i5-4xxx | Not available | x86 and x64 Driver available | x64 driver only validated # |
| Fifth Gen Iris Pro 6200 Graphics | Core i5-5xxx | Not available | x86 and x64 Driver available | x86 and x64 Driver available |
| Sixth Gen. HD Graphics HD510 HD520 HD530 | Core i3- 6xxx, Core i5-6xxx | Not available | x86 and x64 Driver available | x86 and x64 Driver available |
* As of Spring 2016, Windows 8 driver 9.17.10.4229 is downloaded by Windows Update for Windows 10, both x86 and x64 version. This driver may have problems resuming from hibernation modes. Try disabling hibernation using POWERCFG -H OFF.
^ A Windows 10 driver is available from the Intel website. Some evidence has again shown this driver may have problems including resuming from sleep or hibernation modes. Try disabling hibernation using POWERCFG -H OFF.
# A Windows 10 x86 driver is available from some third party websites and through Windows update. This driver is again reported to be unsupported and "as-is". It has been shown to be problematic and unreliable on some H81 systems and is not recommended for production use. Driver 10.18.10.4252 is the most recommended driver, but may still be problematic. Drivers 10.18.10.4358 and 10.18.10.4452 (available from both Windows Update and the Intel web site) often seem to give a blank screen on installation, and are not recommended. We recommend you do not install these updated drivers, and use the Windows 10 Show/Hide Updates tool to prevemt installing the newer driver through Windows Update (run this tool before you check for updates!).
Systems with older Intel graphics such as HD2000 or Intel HD3000 may now be approaching up to 4-5 years old, as of 2016. These systems cannot deliver the performance or features of a modern Haswell (HD4600) or Skylake (HD530) based systems. Contact your Stone account manager today for more details and pricing for the latest platforms.
Applies to: