Lenovo-specific driver packages are supposedly modified OEM drivers to resolve possible conflicts with other included hardware, drivers, or applications.
In practice, this is not always the case. For a variety of reasons, Lenovo may not offer a new version of a driver even after many new revisions. On the other hand, you may see a new driver offered when other brands have stopped providing support for the same component.
Some key reasons for differences:
- As with firmware, if a revision does not offer improvement specific to the component in the model specified.
- Lenovo may strip the OEM install GUI, or customize it for themselves.
- The component in question is a Lenovo-specific version (Like a whitelisted wi-fi card), and so the inf needs to be revised with its specific ID in addition to, or instead of, the OEM one.
- Lenovo has simply not gotten around to testing the new OEM version yet. (More common with older models approaching "end of life")
- Older models may cross that "end of life" line which Lenovo may no longer devote resources to check OEM driver compliance, nor offer them unchecked.
- Components may be discontinued from the OEM, but the brand may continue to commission updated drivers from them (Rare).
In some circumstances, it may be appropriate to choose an OEM driver, but the odds of that being necessary only increase with the models age. Even then, the updated drivers may not offer an improvement, since they are often bundled for several versions of a component, with the newest improvements being for current models. That's quite common with video drivers. A new version may offer the same improvement as the one eight revisions ago.
For myself, there are significantly updated driver revisions for the T61 SoundMax audio beyond the current one from Lenovo, but the most noticeable difference I see is the GUI. The new Intel ethernet drivers are better, but mainly in offering a few more settings that I don't use. Same with the Modem.
Using the new builds from other brands sometimes work, and so do the OEM ones, but you run the risk of a conflict, which at worse, could prevent booting up. If you try, at least set a restore point and have the recovery disk available in case things go bad.
and yes it's from Lenovo, Microsoft doesn't make drivers!). I get the latest power management stff from LEnovo however as that's my main concern with notebooks.