NVIDIA Fall Driver Update (rel 180) and Other Treats
by Derek Wilson on November 20, 2008 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Final Words
So we've got some good and some bad. The new driver does bring some long awaited features into play. We have a better interface for getting PhysX working on the hardware we want it working on. Mirror's Edge for the PC will have what looks like it could be the first really interesting implementation of PhysX in a major title. And desktop supercomputing is now a market for some major PC retailers. All this is good news for NVIDIA.
We would like to have seen the performance gains NVIDIA talked about. While we don't doubt that they are in there, it is likely we just didn't look at the right settings or hardware. Across the board performance gains are hard to come by any more, but improving performance in the corner cases and on underperforming hardware is still a good thing to do.
While not an immediate benefit to end users, getting GPU computing hardware into boxes not only from specialty computing firms but from Dell and Lenovo will go a very long way to legitimizing GPUs as a platform for computation in the eyes of industry and academia. Solidifying the idea of GPU computing in these areas will, in turn, bring about more penetration for applications that make use of the technology. This will be beneficial to NVIDIA in particular because of the exposure CUDA will get, but it will also benefit all GPU computing efforts. Our hope is that as people get excited about GPU computing, they will look towards efforts like OpenCL. Well, that or NVIDIA will relinquish control of CUDA to a standards body and help AMD implement it, but that's about as likely as it sounds.
One last bit to mention is that all production of the GTX 260 has shifted from the original version to the 216 model. While the 192 shader version will still be sold, it will trickle out of the market and be replaced by the 216. This move actually helps clear up the horrendous naming NVIDIA went with. As the 216 core part will replace the original GTX 260, there is no need to preserve the integrity of the name: the core 216 becomes the only 260 around. What this shows is that they changed their minds after the 4870 was released and decided that their never should have been a 192 core version to begin with. Which is fine, but it's really tough to un-ring that bell.
But NVIDIA believes that their GeForce GTX 260 core 216 competes well with the similarly priced Radeon HD 4870 1GB part. Well, that's not entirely true. NVIDIA believes they have a better part, but from what we've seen in the past there are definitely reasons to pick up the 4870 1GB instead (as we have recommended in the past). NVIDIA approached us last week with some information on a handful of recently released games saying that their GeForce GTX 260 core 216 was the best option in these new titles. We'll certainly see after we run all the tests, but stay tuned for an update on that area.
No matter how you slice it, this has been quite an interesting week for NVIDIA. Here's to hoping they (and AMD) can start getting us excited about new driver releases again.
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Intelman07 - Monday, November 24, 2008 - link
I most certainly do not regret switching from Nvidia to ATI. Nvidia's drivers were horrid in Vista. I've not had too many issues since. I do not mind bashing ATI as much as I mind praising Nvidia.kondor999 - Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - link
I'm running 3 GTX280's in Tri-SLI under Vista x64 and the 180.xx have made a large difference by greatly increasing the *minimum* framerate in games such as Far Cry 2 and Warhead.Of course, be advised that I'm running these at 5040x1050 using a Matrox TH2Go at 4-8x AA.
Mr Roboto - Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - link
Good for you, you poser. I know you're type. The kid at school who thought that by lying about his personal possessions he was somehow cool or that he would gain more friends. It turns out those types are just compulsive liars with NO friends. We called them lietokickits. You don't have to lie to kick it. Especially in the Anand Tech comments section.SiliconDoc - Friday, December 26, 2008 - link
It really doesn't look like you called that one correctly:Note the date, Oct. 30th 2007 kondor999 " got a copy of Vista Ultimate OEM on the day it was released, quickly discovered that performance was poor (specifically - graphics, audio, and file copying) and shelved it after struggling with it for 3 months. I'm now back to my old copy of XP Pro and it's just so much nicer. Simply put, everything works as it should. BTW, I have a nice rig: 3ghz Core2, 2gb RAM, 8800GTX, dual 150gb Raptors. If my rig chokes on Vista..."
http://www.firingsquad.com/matrix/comment_view.asp...">http://www.firingsquad.com/matrix/comment_view.asp...
Then there's the age match > " http://www.ageod.com/forums/member.php?u=4951">http://www.ageod.com/forums/member.php?u=4951
Age
42
Join Date
June 18th, 2008
Total Posts
5
" I'm an older gamer (42) and I remember when games like Longbow 2 and F-15 came with big ring-bound manuals that ensured you *wanted* to buy the physical game " (from the first link)
Then there's this:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2626829">http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2626829
Looks like the money is there.
__________________________________
Oh well, better luck next time.
george1976 - Monday, November 24, 2008 - link
Well, talking about stability, i have problems now with NFS Undercover with this new driver, problems i never had with 178.24.... So much for treats...fausto412 - Monday, November 24, 2008 - link
Every driver after 178.13 breaks AA in Battlefield 2142. I just downloaded 180.48 drivers and they make left 4 dead stutter so much it is unplayable. I try new drivers and go back to 178.13 everytime. what gives Nvidia? Anyways, perhaps Anandtech can question Nvidia on the stability of their drivers.rocky1234 - Sunday, November 23, 2008 - link
Wow big deal Nvidia releases a driver & everyone goes crazy yay. They add a few small features & make a big stink about it yippy. Have they fixed the Vista issues yet don't know because I gave up waiting 6 months ago & switched to the red team. PhysX is a nice feature but even a Owner of a ATT card & windows XP can go out & buy a cheap Nvidia card slave it & install these magic drivers & get PhysX in the supported games that is if you got a second PCI-E x16 slot. At least that is what I heard people are doing I own a 9800GTX it is sitting on the floor here I may try it to see it it works...lol. Now if MS would come out with a patch for Vista that would allow you to do it there too that would rock.Mr Roboto - Saturday, November 22, 2008 - link
Am I the only one who seems to see through Nvidia'a bullshit? Why is Anand praising them for un-crppling their drivers after five YEARS! When the only reason they're doing it is because AMD is handing them their ass!Nvidia is in a free fall so they finally start to pull out all the stops and release features that they should have given their users years ago. I mean it only took ATI to essentially kill their profit margins on the GTX series for them to release dual monitor SLI.
I'm a long time Nvidia owner (8800GTX) but even I see the way Anand lays on the bullshit real thick. Quit playing nice for Nvidia. Are you afraid they won't send you review hardware or return your phone calls?
Well since Anand won't do it I guess the readers must.
Nvidia's Vista drivers were nothing short of fucking atrocious for YEARS (there's that word again). Only in the last 3-4 months have they gotten a little better, coincidence? (4800 launch). Nvidia even had SLI working on the Quadro setups for YEARS. Now that they're falling fast they decide to un-cripple their desktop drivers. This goes hand in hand with gouging their customers, pushing flaky hardware out into market (G92-94), IMAP bullshit, the fucked up, confuse the noobs naming scheme and broken, buggy and just all around shitty drivers.
Fuck Nvidia and fuck their shit motherboards. I was a loyal Nvidia owner for as long as I can remember but they have taken greed and screwing their customers to another level. I hope
Mr Roboto - Saturday, November 22, 2008 - link
I hope ATI takes them to the brink of bankruptcy but only for the sake of competition. Otherwise I could care less about Nvidia and their busted hardware.JonnyDough - Friday, November 21, 2008 - link
Is a simple email informing me of new driver release with a link to the page and what it fixes/changes. A VERY simple email. I don't care WHEN they release the driver, but more importantly that it works and that I know it's available for download. Too many releases just gets to be a hassle, not enough means I have to wait forever for my favorite application or game to work properly. Communication between graphic card companies and software companies probably could use some improvement as well. The way I see it, AMD/NVidia/Intel need to get on board with a standardized support of their products using the email method. Software developers should have a single website to access all three in regards to drivers, and end users should have a standardized email platform from all three. When companies get together and provide good support for their products, everyone wins. As long as they don't lie in bed together on making money, hardware and software can advance at a faster and more complete pace than they have previously...and that means smoother computing for all.