NVIDIA GeForce 181.20 WHQL released!!

[tranngocminh]

Exciting New Features:

• Added support for GeForce GTX 295 and GeForce GTX 285
• Enables NVIDIA SLI technology on SLI-certified Intel X58-based motherboards with all SLI-certified GPUs
• Enables NVIDIA SLI Multi-monitor support, giving you the ability to use two monitors with your GeForce graphics cards in SLI mode. Now you can easily switch between multi-monitor desktop mode and full screen 3D gaming mode. Learn more here.
• Enables NVIDIA PhysX acceleration on a dedicated GeForce graphics card. Use one card for graphics and dedicate a different card for PhysX processing for game-changing physical effects. Learn more here. (Note: GPU PhysX is supported on all GeForce 8-series, 9-series and 200-series GPUs with a minimum of 256MB dedicated graphics memory. This driver package automatically installs PhysX System Software version 8.10.13).
• Supports GeForce Plus Power Pack #2. Download these free PhysX and CUDA applications now!
• Added support for the new NVIDIA CUDA Video Encoder with H.264 optimization

Blazing Fast Performance: Boosts performance in numerous 3D applications. The following are some examples of improvements measured with Release 181 WHQL drivers vs. Release 178 WHQL drivers (results will vary depending on your GPU, system configuration, and game settings):

• Up to 10% performance increase in 3DMark Vantage (performance preset)
• Up to 13% performance increase in Assassin's Creed
• Up to 13% performance increase in BioShock
• Up to 15% performance increase in Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
• Up to 10% performance increase in Crysis Warhead
• Up to 25% performance increase in Devil May Cry 4
• Up to 38% performance increase in Far Cry 2
• Up to 18% performance increase in Race Driver: GRID
• Up to 80% performance increase in Lost Planet: Colonies
• Up to 18% performance increase in World of Conflict

Download:
GeForce ForceWare 181.20 XP 64-bit WHQL
GeForce ForceWare 181.20 XP 32-bit WHQL
GeForce ForceWare 181.20 Vista 32-bit WHQL
GeForce ForceWare 181.20 Vista 64-bit WHQL

[Sly Fox]

If this really boosts GRID as they say, I might be able to do 16xQ AA now while keeping the FPS I enjoy. We'll see.

[Cybercat]

CUDA Video Encoder huh? Why haven't I heard of that before now?

[Jamesrt2004]

CUDA Video Encoder huh? Why haven't I heard of that before now?

cos' it's awful

[eBoy0]

Enables NVIDIA SLI Multi-monitor support, giving you the ability to use two monitors with your GeForce graphics cards in SLI mode. Now you can easily switch between multi-monitor desktop mode and full screen 3D gaming mode. Learn more here.

hmm?? is this the newest feature because i've been waiting for this!


Edit: I guess this doesnt do what I thought it does... gay

[vmsein]

Thanks for the heads up OP! Off to grab these now...

[ghost101]

Arent most people on the 180.xxx beta drivers anyway? So these gains won't be apparent.

[Warboy]

Already posted in the driver section.

[RPGWiZaRD]

Hah NVIDIA STILL loves to state the FPS increases in those same titles which been there since the first 180.xx driver.

[T_Flight]

Going to get these now. The Bteas weren't stable, but I'll see what these are like. I had freezes in CoH with the Beta's and a CTD with Fallout 3 with the Beta's. Hopefully they got those bugs worked out.

[cegras]

Left 4 Dead still broken. Fail, nvidia.

[BababooeyHTJ]

Going to get these now. The Bteas weren't stable, but I'll see what these are like. I had freezes in CoH with the Beta's and a CTD with Fallout 3 with the Beta's. Hopefully they got those bugs worked out.

I CTD on the 180.48 WHQL on Fallout 3 just as often as 180.84. Let me know how these work out. Im starting to thing Fallout 3 is just a buggy game and really needs a patch.

[T_Flight]

Will do, giove me a couple hours. DL just completed and I'm going to load now. I'll need to start, and restart the games, and play them hard and try to get them do do something. I'll let you know if I see anything, or if I see anything in the coming days. It's hard to get them to do it everytime becasue these were kinda random. It seems like the longer I played Fallout 3 the higher the chance was I'd get it to do it. I might have to play these for a few days.

I do have to admit, I seem to have issues with Beta's...I don't know why. It seems like WHQL's always work for me, but I can't get a beta to work with everything to save my life. My flight sims tend to have serious issues with Beta's too.

[revenant]

they still haven't fixed the DX10 dynamic shadow corruption with LOTRO.. arg! so now that I finally have DX10 but can only use SLI with 18x.xx series drivers on my x58, the DX10 shadows are broken on my fav game... grr! the shadows are fine with 178.xx and lower tho.. but no SLI on x58 with those drivers.

[gmofftarki]

they still haven't fixed the DX10 dynamic shadow corruption with LOTRO.. arg! so now that I finally have DX10 but can only use SLI with 18x.xx series drivers on my x58, the DX10 shadows are broken on my fav game... grr! the shadows are fine with 178.xx and lower tho.. but no SLI on x58 with those drivers.

Sucks that they can't make the shadows work with Shadows of Angmar, eh? .

Has anyone tested the WinXP32 drivers with Mass Effect to see if it causes the crashes yet? Sucks that only 175.X drivers work with the game, but my card post-dates them.

[munim]

They always list the same performance improvements release after release after release and always compared to 178 WHQL. Idiots.

[Sly Fox]

I was getting crashes about every 30 min - 1 hour of gameplay in Fallout 3 before crashing with 180.48.

With these it crashes within seconds. Not really sure what's up.

[revenant]

damn.. that sux about FO3...

[T_Flight]

I didn;t get crashes within seconds, but I did get a very bad one. I got a "game halt" that I had to ALT Tab out of in Vista 64, and once I was able to get to the task bar I was able to close the game, but my montor res was reset to to a low 800x600. That's the worst issue I have seen yet. I'm not sure it's just the drivers. I suspect like "baba" that it may be in the game code. That's pretty bad when it hangs like that and you can't get out. It's kinda like the game crashed the driver.

Performance was good until that incident though. I have everything as maxed as it will go with the rig in my sig, and every in game setting is cranked. I was getting a solid 35-45 while moving and during "action", and it capped at 60 (Vsync is on) 75-80% of the time. No stutters, or any anomalies that I could see except for the that crash.

I'll continue to use them and see if it was a fluke. I really do suspect that it's more game releated. I have had random issues with it even on my last driver. It seemed to do it alot less with the last driver i had then the one before that though. I'm talking only WHQL's here. Beta's I would expect issues.

[Envydia007]

Dont you guys noticed that most new games in PC suck in terms of performance? Man I am getting pissed.

[Eastcoasthandle]

I was getting crashes about every 30 min - 1 hour of gameplay in Fallout 3 before crashing with 180.48.

With these it crashes within seconds. Not really sure what's up.

Have you tried to lower the clocks to stock just to see if the game plays ok?

[Sly Fox]

Have you tried to lower the clocks to stock just to see if the game plays ok?

Same results.

I also ran 30 minutes of furmark native res 16X AA "xtreme stress test mode" or whatever it's called.

Rock stable, no problems.

Methinks FO3 is just a worthless pile of faulty coding.

[T_Flight]

Have you tried to lower the clocks to stock just to see if the game plays ok?

Right on time with that post. I'm going in there now to do just that. I still suspect it's in the Fallout3 game code in particular because I didn't see any hint of a gpahics anomaly. This is a new game too, and most need patches to clean up overlooked/missed issues/bugs.

Bethesda seems like a really awesome company. My bet is they are already on it. Be back after awhile.

[renzokuken]

Downloading as I type this...

[BababooeyHTJ]

Same results.

I also ran 30 minutes of furmark native res 16X AA "xtreme stress test mode" or whatever it's called.

Rock stable, no problems.

Methinks FO3 is just a worthless pile of faulty coding.

Yeah same here Ive stress tested the hell out of my rig, too. Hours of prime, IBT, memtest, running OCCT and furmark to check temps and 12v rail at load, and of course ati tool. FO3 just gives me issues.
Ive tried running at stock clocks but have better results with a decent overclock to be honest. I think that it's an AA issue because the game runs better with no AA, but I havent tried to force all my post processing from the control panel. Might help?
Has anyone done any benching vs 180.48 yet? Ill give it a shot tomorrow, myself.