Realtek HD Audio Drivers R2.79

Version R2.79 of Realtek's high-definition (HD) audio drivers was released on June 25, 2015.

This is the latest version of these drivers and should work with most sound cards and motherboards with Realtek audio chipsets.

See What Version of This Driver Do I Have Installed? if you're not sure which Realtek HD audio driver version you have installed.

Changes in Realtek HD Audio Driver R2.79

R2.79 added unspecified "driver customizations" and additional support for a number of new Realtek chips.

As is typical with Realtek audio driver updates, there are no listed feature additions or fixes. This update was only released to improve compatibility with newer hardware that contains the Realtek audio chipset.

Note: Because you're likely not to gain much by updating, I don't recommend you install the R2.79 update unless you were asked to do so by your hardware manufacturer's technical support or you're trying to solve an issue with your Realtek-based sound card/chipset and reinstalling the drivers is a troubleshooting step you're trying.

Download Realtek HD Audio Driver R2.79

You can download this latest Realtek HD audio driver for Windows 10, Windows 8 (including Windows 8.1), Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and more here:

Download Realtek High Definition Audio Codecs v2.79

Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the R2.79 driver are available.

Tip: Not sure if you should download the 64-bit or 32-bit driver?

See Am I Running a 32-bit or 64-bit Version of Windows? for help.

Note: On the download page, choose the link called "High Definition Audio Codecs (Software)." From there, accept the agreement to find the list of download you can choose from.

More Information About R2.79

This Realtek HD audio driver supports the following chipsets in Windows 10, Windows 8 & 8.1, Windows 7, and Windows Vista:

ALC221, ALC231, ALC233, ALC235, ALC236, ALC255, ALC256, ALC260, ALC262, ALC267, ALC268, ALC269, ALC270, ALC272, ALC273, ALC275, ALC276, ALC280, ALC282, ALC283, ALC284, ALC286, ALC288, ALC290, ALC292, ALC293, ALC298, ALC383, ALC660, ALC662, ALC663, ALC665, ALC667, ALC668, ALC670, ALC671, ALC672, ALC676, ALC680, ALC861VD, ALC882, ALC883, ALC885, ALC886, ALC887, ALC888, ALC889, ALC891, ALC892, ALC899, and ALC900.

These chipsets are supported in Windows XP and Windows 2000:

ALC221, ALC231, ALC233, ALC235, ALC236, ALC255, ALC256, ALC260, ALC262, ALC267, ALC268, ALC269, ALC270, ALC272, ALC273, ALC275, ALC276, ALC280, ALC282, ALC283, ALC284, ALC286, ALC290, ALC292, ALC293, ALC383, ALC660, ALC662, ALC663, ALC665, ALC667, ALC668, ALC670, ALC671, ALC672, ALC676, ALC680, ALC861VC, ALC861VD, ALC880, ALC882, ALC883, ALC885, ALC886, ALC887, ALC888, ALC889, ALC891, ALC892, ALC899, and ALC900.

Having Trouble With These Realtek Drivers?

If you see an issue right after the Realtek driver install, uninstall and then reinstall them. You can do this from the appropriate applet in Control Panel.

If reinstalling the driver isn't possible or doesn't work, a roll-back is your next best troubleshooting step. See How to Roll Back a Driver for detailed instructions in all versions of Windows.

Beyond that, see my Get More Help for information on getting help from me or posting on tech support forums. Please include what version of the Realtek drivers you installed (or are trying to install), your version of Windows, any errors you're receiving, what steps you've already taken to try to fix the problem, etc.