Originally posted by: nitromullet
Have any of you tried any of the Vista betas or RC1? IMO, NV's new panel makes more sense after using it in Vista. Basically, what they have done is make their control panel look like it's a native part of Vista, so it looks/feels more seemless in Vista.
I've tried Vista Beta 2 and RC1. I didn't notice the nVidia Control Panel looking any more integrated in Beta 2 than in XP, and the nVidia Control Panel simply won't install on my system in RC1,* so I have no idea what they've done with it. I think you do need the Vista drivers, though, as they're apparently on a different code branch (96.33) than the regular 2000/XP drivers.
* I try over and over and over again, but the nVidia Control Panel won't show up in my system after rebooting, and no nVidia entries will show up in the Uninstall Programs section of the Vista Control Panel. At least Device Manager shows that the new drivers are installed and working. Looks like it's time to report another bug...
I personally like the new panel after getting used to it, but I think it is lacking a few things:
1) Radio button(s) for overclocking options... Why do we have to regedit to OC? Just let me say "yes" in the cp.
2) With my GX2 I only had a single temp monitor (as if it only had one core), give me one for each core. I hope that you get two when you run in SLI with two cards...
3) Retain coolbits, OC clocks, and tray icon settings between driver updates. I disable the tray icon because I don't want it there, don't give it back to me everytime I upgrade my driver. As slready mentioned coolbits is annoying enough as it is, why do I have to redo coolbits and my OC clocks everytime everytime I upgrade? If the card can't run with the new driver at the same clockspeeds as it did before, something is wrong with the driver IMO.
I would add:
1) The GUI is much too large. It has tons of empty space. Vista's myriad control panels are more aethetically pleasing and more compact, relatively speaking.
2) The GUI has way too much silver. It gives me a headache. Add some other colors that are easier on the eyes.
3) The GUI redraws like crazy. Make the repainting calls more intelligent so that just moving the mouse cursor over an item doesn't cause the whole window to be repainted thirty times. (Although I do have some Stardock software installed in Windows XP that change how the OS draws things...I must check this.)
I'd say that the new nVidia Control Panel is a nice idea, but the execution is very poor. Whoever designed it should be reassigned or at least given a good talking to. ATM I actually prefer CCC even though I would hardly rate CCC as a shining example of how to design a control panel app.