Whats the purpose of the chipset driver

Hi ... Can someone explain what this driver does ( chipset ) and Is it really necessary to have install ? Thanks

 

Beside the usb ports , If I have everything else you listed not on the board itself but rather its own cards , would you say I should still load the chipset ? Thanks

 

The chipset drivers are absolutely essential as they control virtually everything. However, WinXP comes with many generic drivers and will install these during setup. Often they will do the job well enough, but I always install the manufacturer's latest drivers because they are specifically designed for the hardware.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/191

 

Lets start with a laymans explanation
A driver is software which lets your operating system (Windows) know what a specific peice of hardware is and how to talk to it.
Windows (especially XP) has many "generic" drivers which will function for all devices of a certain type, but often you must install the specific drivers for your particular device to enable all its power and features. An example would be the generic safe mode VGA video drivers , versus the ones intended for your video card which give you true color and high resolution .

The chipset, normally refers to the chip which controls all the different sub components on your motherboard. So while without it windows may be able to talk to some parts of your motherboard well enough to let you install the correct drivers, you are likely to find that many features are not fully enabled until you do.