Latest NVIDIA ForceWare Video Drivers Windows 7

[squall leonhart]

257.15 is up

NVIDIA Geforce/ION 257.15 Driver released - LaptopVideo2Go Forums

currently no release notes or nvidia page up, but files are directly from nvidia.

Direct Links to English only packages
257.15_desktop_winxp_32bit_english_beta.exe
257.15_desktop_winxp_64bit_english_beta.exe
257.15_desktop_win7_winvista_32bit_english_beta.exe
257.15_desktop_win7_winvista_64bit_english_beta.exe

Note.
This see's the deprecation and removal of the nvapps.xml and appears to use a bin file to store settings.

 

[Everlong]

International versions here

257.15_desktop_winxp_32bit_international_beta.exe
257.15_desktop_winxp_64bit_international_beta.exe
257.15_desktop_win7_winvista_32bit_international_b eta.exe
257.15_desktop_win7_winvista_64bit_international_b eta.exe

 

[squall leonhart]

Nhancer is not compatible.


...this must be the big changes Grestorn was talking about.

 

[Sanvean]

257.15 =

 

[Everlong]

Nhancer is not compatible.


...this must be the big changes Grestorn was talking about.

Nhancer 2.5.9 seems to work for me with 257.15.

 

[Sanvean]

This is the first driver release from the Release 256 family of drivers (versions 256.xx to 259.xx). This driver package supports GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200, 300, and 400-series desktop GPUs as well as ION desktop GPUs. Learn more about Release 256 drivers here .

New in Version 257.15

• Adds support for Blu-ray 3D with NVIDIA 3D Vision technology. Learn more about the hardware and software requirements here .
• Increases performance for GeForce GTX 400 Series GPUs in several PC games. The following are examples of some of the most significant improvements measured with GeForce GTX 480. Results will vary depending on your GPU and system configuration:

• • Up to 14% in Aliens vs. Predator (1920x1200 noAA/AF – Tessellation on)
  • Up to 4% in Batman: Arkham Asylum (1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF PhysX=High)
  • Up to 5% in BattleForge (1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF – Very High settings)
  • Up to 5% in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF)
  • Up to 4% in Crysis: Warhead (1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF – Enthusiast setting)
  • Up to 24% in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (1920x1200 no AA/AF)
  • Up to 9% in Far Cry 2 (2560x1600 8xAA/16xAF)
  • Up to 25% in Just Cause 2 (2560x1600 no AA/AF - Concrete Jungle)
  • Up to 7% in Metro 2033 (1920x1200 no AA/16xAF – Tessellation on)
  • Up to 40% in Metro 2033 with SLI ((1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF – Tessellation on)
  • Up to 8% in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (1920x1200 no AA/AF – Day)
  • Up to 110% in Stone Giant with SLI (2650x1600 – Tessellation on, DoF on)
  • Up to 6% in The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena (2560x1600 no AA/AF)
  • Up to 9% in Unigine: Tropics (2560x1600 no AA/AF – OpenGL)
  • Up to 5% in 3DMark Vantage (Performance and Extreme Presets)
  • Up to 19% with Transparency AA (1920x1200 4xTrSS – measured in Crysis)

• Upgrades PhysX System Software to version 9.10.0222.
• Adds support for OpenGL 4.0 for GeForce GTX 400 Series GPUs.
• Adds support for CUDA Toolkit 3.1 which includes significant performance increases for double precision math operations. See CUDA Zone for more details.
• Adds support for new extreme Antialiasing modes for 3-way SLI PCs, including up to SLI48x AA for GeForce 200 series GPUs and up to SLI96x AA for GeForce GTX 400 series GPUs.
• Adds support for a new ‘Quality’ mode for NVIDIA’s Ambient Occlusion control panel feature.
• Adds a new NVIDIA Control Panel setup page for SLI and PhysX for ultimate control over multi-gpu configurations.
• Adds a new NVIDIA Control Panel feature for ultimate control over CUDA GPUs, allowing the user to effectively choose which GPU will power each CUDA application.
• 3D Vision customers can download the v257.15 3D Vision drivers here.
• Includes numerous bug fixes. Refer to the release notes on the documentation tab for information about the key bug fixes in this release.
• Users without US English operating systems can select their language and download the International driver here.

Additional Information:

• Installs HD Audio driver version 1.0.9.1 (for supported GPUs).
• Supports the new GPU-accelerated features in Adobe CS5.
• Supports GPU-acceleration for smoother online HD videos with Adobe Flash 10.1. Learn more here.
• Supports the new version of MotionDSP's video enhancement software, vReveal, which adds support for HD output. NVIDIA customers can download a free version of vReveal that supports up to SD output here.
• Supports DirectCompute with Windows 7 and GeForce 8-series and later GPUs.
• Supports OpenCL 1.0 (Open Computing Language) for all GeForce 8-series and later GPUs.
• Supports OpenGL 3.2 for GeForce 8-series and later GPUs.
• Supports single GPU and NVIDIA SLI technology on DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 11, and OpenGL, including 3-way SLI, Quad SLI, and SLI support on SLI-certified Intel X58-based motherboards.
• Supports GPU overclocking and temperature monitoring by installing NVIDIA System Tools software

 

[squall leonhart]

Nhancer is not compatible.


...this must be the big changes Grestorn was talking about.

Nhancer 2.5.9 seems to work for me with 257.15.

No, it doesn't.

The new driver does not use an nvapps.xml, settings created with the current nhancer are not seen in nvcp, neither is setting any global modes.

all profiles are now stored in compiled binaries at

c:\ProgramData\NVIDIA Corporation\Drs\nvdrsdb0.bin
c:\ProgramData\NVIDIA Corporation\Drs\nvdrsdb1.bin
c:\ProgramData\NVIDIA Corporation\Drs\nvdrssel.bin
c:\ProgramData\NVIDIA Corporation\Drs\nvdrswr.lk

 

[Everlong]

Nhancer is not compatible.


...this must be the big changes Grestorn was talking about.

Nhancer 2.5.9 seems to work for me with 257.15.

No, it doesn't.

The new driver does not use an nvapps.xml, settings created with the current nhancer are not seen in nvcp, neither is setting any global modes.

all profiles are now stored in compiled binaries at

c:\ProgramData\NVIDIA Corporation\Drs\nvdrsdb0.bin
c:\ProgramData\NVIDIA Corporation\Drs\nvdrsdb1.bin
c:\ProgramData\NVIDIA Corporation\Drs\nvdrssel.bin
c:\ProgramData\NVIDIA Corporation\Drs\nvdrswr.lk

I see what you mean now, I hadn't activated the profile I was testing properly.

In terms of the driver, tested it with BC2 and DX11 load times have improved greatly

 

[squall leonhart]

Hopefully Grestorn had something underway, i really want to test 32xS with 8xSSTAA

 

[Everlong]

People were saying he was working on an update a couple of weeks ago on the nvnews forum, but no idea whereabouts he is with it.

 

[squall leonhart]

i heard it from him directly.

 

[Airbot]

257.15 is up

NVIDIA Geforce/ION 257.15 Driver released - LaptopVideo2Go Forums

currently no release notes or nvidia page up, but files are directly from nvidia.

Direct Links to English only packages
257.15_desktop_winxp_32bit_english_beta.exe
257.15_desktop_winxp_64bit_english_beta.exe
257.15_desktop_win7_winvista_32bit_english_beta.exe
257.15_desktop_win7_winvista_64bit_english_beta.exe

Note.
This see's the deprecation and removal of the nvapps.xml and appears to use a bin file to store settings.

Thanks.

It's on Nvidias page now too.

 

[Nikkeli]

BC2 load times are fixed
GTX 480 overclocks to 850 core
3Dmark vantage score went up by 1100
Better performance

That's what I gained, and I'm happy

edit: and fixed dual monitor idle clocks, 59c from 70c.

 

[Everlong]

Only benchmark I've tried is Unigine, the new 2.1 version. Not much of an increase. Will try 3Dmark when I get chance.

 

[squall leonhart]

Heres a link to pass around the nvidia community guys

Find Answers

 

[Airbot]

BC2 load times are fixed
GTX 480 overclocks to 850 core
3Dmark vantage score went up by 1100
Better performance

That's what I gained, and I'm happy

edit: and fixed dual monitor idle clocks, 59c from 70c.

I don't see any change in dual monitor idle clocks. It is the same as it was for me. Was the change you noticed automatic with the installation of these drivers?

 

[Everlong]

BC2 load times are fixed
GTX 480 overclocks to 850 core
3Dmark vantage score went up by 1100
Better performance

That's what I gained, and I'm happy

edit: and fixed dual monitor idle clocks, 59c from 70c.

I don't see any change in dual monitor idle clocks. It is the same as it was for me. Was the change you noticed automatic with the installation of these drivers?

The 197.75 drivers broke my dual monitor temps too. Was fine before, but now mine idles at 60C and never budges below, even with these drivers.

 

[Nikkeli]

BC2 load times are fixed
GTX 480 overclocks to 850 core
3Dmark vantage score went up by 1100
Better performance

That's what I gained, and I'm happy

edit: and fixed dual monitor idle clocks, 59c from 70c.

I don't see any change in dual monitor idle clocks. It is the same as it was for me. Was the change you noticed automatic with the installation of these drivers?

First it goes to 405 mhz for me, then to 51mhz, if you use aero effects, like move window to edge and such it will pop back up to 701mhz or whatever you've set it to.

Before these drivers it stayed at 405.

Talking about core clocks that is, obviously shader clocks do the same, and probably memory.

edit: it could be that if you're forcing some clocks it wont drop down, not sure.

 

[Everlong]

Mine aren't dropping below 405 with these drivers

 

[Airbot]

Mine aren't dropping below 405 with these drivers

Same here, at 405, and never goes down below that. And it doesn't show that it can be set down lower than that with any OC'ing programs. :huh:

Uninstalled all of the older drivers junk, don't know what else to say. I don't see it.