ForceWare 180 graphics drivers to bring major changes?

[Capt Caveman]

I didn't see anything posted about this. Sorry if it's a repost or old.

I haven't been stayed up with all of the beta drivers out there but are there any 180 beta drivers out in the wild? Any idea's if these new features will be available for a 8800GT?

Link

ForceWare 180 graphics drivers to bring major changes?
by Cyril Kowaliski ? 6:00 AM on August 1, 2008

Nvidia will introduce several major new features in a forthcoming ForceWare 180 driver release, according to a report by GPU Cafe. The driver is apparently code-named "Big Bang II," supposedly in reference to the "Big Bang" driver update that debuted SLI multi-GPU technology.

What's in store for this next driver release? GPU Cafe claims the biggest novelty will be the ability to use graphics cards as dedicated PhysX physics processors. For instance, you might be able to slip a GeForce 9500 GT and a GeForce 9800 GTX into a system and use the former for physics computations only. That sounds a lot like what ATI was doing with Havok FX physics two years ago.

The ForceWare 180 release will reportedly include other goodies like performance optimizations, OpenGL 3.0 support, better multi-monitor support for SLI configs, "GPU transcoding," and DisplayPort compatibility. Those last two items have us scratching our heads a little, since existing drivers should already support CUDA video transcoding apps, and we tested a GeForce 9600 GT with a DisplayPort connector way back in February.

If GPU Cafe has its facts straight, you can expect to see the ForceWare 180 release pop onto Nvidia's site some time in September. (Thanks to VR-Zone for the tip.)

 

[ArchAngel777]

I miss the detonator days... You know, the driver update that would improve performance by 25%+. I wonder if we will ever see that again. Anyway, these new drivers seem like some cool features. I hope there is a performance increase, that would be great.

 

[chizow]

There were a few reports of it already as well as some poor quality slides detailing NV's driver release schedule. Big Bang II was definitely on there for the Sep. time frame. The two big features that caught my eye were multi-monitor support for SLI and allowing a dedicated PhysX GPU.

The 1st big feature was something that was always a big negative for SLI and probably an artificial driver limitation. I expect them to push multi-monitor gaming and extended resolutions like the Parhelia/Hydravision attempted some years ago. The 2nd point is something a lot seemed interested in as an option for older cards. It would be great if you could keep a card you replaced for PhysX if it wasn't compatible for SLI or your board didn't allow SLI but had extra PCIE slots.

We'll see if there's a big performance boost but I'm not holding my breath. Also, PhysX support for older 8-series G80 and G92 cards is expected Aug 5th with a WHQL driver. Its also expected to enable GPU acceleration on most of the other games that supported PhysX PPU acceleration (GRAW2, 3-4 others you've never heard of).

 

[Piuc2020]

Hmm, I've been holding out on the purchase of a HD 4870 for these whole PhysX deal alone.

 

[BFG10K]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

I miss the detonator days... You know, the driver update that would improve performance by 25%+. I wonder if we will ever see that again.

I've seen that and more in some older titles like Jedi Academy.

 

[sticks435]

Originally posted by: chizow
There were a few reports of it already as well as some poor quality slides detailing NV's driver release schedule. Big Bang II was definitely on there for the Sep. time frame. The two big features that caught my eye were multi-monitor support for SLI and allowing a dedicated PhysX GPU.

The 1st big feature was something that was always a big negative for SLI and probably an artificial driver limitation. I expect them to push multi-monitor gaming and extended resolutions like the Parhelia/Hydravision attempted some years ago. The 2nd point is something a lot seemed interested in as an option for older cards. It would be great if you could keep a card you replaced for PhysX if it wasn't compatible for SLI or your board didn't allow SLI but had extra PCIE slots.

We'll see if there's a big performance boost but I'm not holding my breath. Also, PhysX support for older 8-series G80 and G92 cards is expected Aug 5th with a WHQL driver. Its also expected to enable GPU acceleration on most of the other games that supported PhysX PPU acceleration (GRAW2, 3-4 others you've never heard of).

Maybe Mass Effect? I'm pretty sure most people of heard of that one.

 

[biostud]

be interesting to see if you can mix an AMD card for video and a nvidia card for physX.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: biostud
be interesting to see if you can mix an AMD card for video and a nvidia card for physX.

I don't know of anyone who would want that potential driver nightmare. hehe.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: sticks435
Maybe Mass Effect? I'm pretty sure most people of heard of that one.

Mass Effect and the other non-UT3 UE3 games use the software PhysX API and won't benefit from GPU acceleration in the near-term. Hopefully at some point they'll change that although I don't know how much performance boost you'd see on the simple physics from the software API. This new driver will enable PhysX on the other handful of titles that supported PPU PhysX like GRAW, GRAW2, Warmonger and Cell Factor.

PhysX Driver Aug. 5th