Ok which nVidia driver am I supposed to use?

[WelshBloke]

196.75 will apparently melt my computer
196.21 wont let me overclock no matter what program I use.


So, suggestions on a stable driver thats not going to open a hole in the space/time continuum or something please.

 

[zerocool84]

196.75 should only affect you if you have a custom cooler. It works fine on my 9800GTX+.

 

[WelshBloke]

196.75 should only affect you if you have a custom cooler. It works fine on my 9800GTX+.

I'd rather not risk it as I have a TV tuner card in my PC and it turns it self on and off to record stuff when I'm not there.

I don't want to chance the fan not working when Im not there to notice.


Edit: Is your card reporting the correct temperatures?

 

[toyota]

simple answer is the 196.34. they came out right after 196.21 to address the oc issues. you could just use Evga Precision 1.9.1 which let you oc just fine with 196.21.

 

[WelshBloke]

simple answer is the 196.34. they came out right after 196.21 to address the oc issues. you could just use Evga Precision 1.9.1 which let you oc just fine with 196.21.

No likey beta drivers also you can take my rivertuner from me when you can pry it from my cold dead fingers, or something.

Whats your opinion of 195.62?

 

[toyota]

No likey beta drivers also you can take my rivertuner from me when you can pry it from my cold dead fingers, or something.

Whats your opinion of 195.62?

the 196.34 is the same as the 196.21 driver except the oc bug was fixed. you said oc worked with no programs so I gave you the Evga Precision option. you are being ridiculous now because I have given you a driver that works and I have given you a program that lets you oc with the 196.21 driver.

 

[WelshBloke]

the 196.34 is the same as the 196.21 driver except the oc bug was fixed. you said oc worked with no programs so I gave you the Evga Precision option. you are being ridiculous now because I have given you a driver that works and I have given you a program that lets you oc with the 196.21 driver.

No need for the attitude.

I like rivatuner because Ive got it set up so it auto downclocks then windows starts up and auto overclocks when I run my games. I dont want to have to change to an inferior overclocking program.

I also dont like beta drivers.

As you cant give out advice without giving out attitude as well I'd appreciate it if you'd give neither.

 

[toyota]

No need for the attitude.

I like rivatuner because Ive got it set up so it auto downclocks then windows starts up and auto overclocks when I run my games. I dont want to have to change to an inferior overclocking program.

I also dont like beta drivers.

As you cant give out advice without giving out attitude as well I'd appreciate it if you'd give neither.

I dont have an attitude. you asked for a driver that works and no where did you mention in your op that you wont use beta drivers or that you only use rivatuner for overclocking.

I can understand wanting to stick with rivatuner but refusing to use a beta driver is silly. the WHOLE point of the 196.34 driver was to address the 196.21 oc issues. you need to get over your aversion to beta drivers because they work just fine.

 

[WelshBloke]

I dont have an attitude. you asked for a driver that works and no where did you mention in your op that you wont use beta drivers or that you only use rivatuner for overclocking.

I can understand wanting to stick with rivatuner but refusing to use a beta driver is silly. the WHOLE point of the 196.34 driver was to address the 196.21 oc issues. you need to get over your aversion to beta drivers because they work just fine.

Yeah you do.

 

[toyota]

Yeah you do.

okay then, figure it out on your own since no solution is good enough for you.

 

[dug777]

okay then, figure it out on your own since no solution is good enough for you.

lol,no need to throw the toys out of the pram and burst into tears

You've shown plenty of attitude in this thread (read back to the bit where you called the op 'ridiculous' for absolutely no apparent reason, it started there).

There's nothing unreasonable about not liking beta drivers, and if you don't know what beta means, google is your friend.

In the meantime, here's the nvidia disclaimer for its beta drivers:

Beta drivers are provided by NVIDIA as preview releases for quick bug fixes and access to new features. Beta drivers are under qualification testing, and may include significant issues. It is the end user's responsibility to protect system and data when using Beta drivers with NVIDIA products. It is strongly recommended that end users back up all the data prior to using Beta drivers from this site. Please ensure that newer Recommended/Certified drivers are not already posted on NVIDIA.com prior to installation and usage of Beta drivers. Beta drivers posted do not carry any warranties nor support services.

That gives any reasonable person plenty of valid concern about beta drivers as far as I can see. You can protest that you have never, ever had the slightest, tiniest issue with beta drivers from nvidia, but that's entirely meaningless to anyone else when nvidia explicitly warns you that they 'are under qualification testing, and may include significant issues'.

Who to trust...you or the people who make the drivers in question...?

 

[toyota]

lol,no need to throw the toys out of the pram and burst into tears

You've shown plenty of attitude in this thread (read back to the bit where you called the op 'ridiculous' for absolutely no apparent reason, it started there).

There's nothing unreasonable about not liking beta drivers, and if you don't know what beta means, google is your friend.

In the meantime, here's the nvidia disclaimer for its beta drivers:

Beta drivers are provided by NVIDIA as preview releases for quick bug fixes and access to new features. Beta drivers are under qualification testing, and may include significant issues. It is the end user's responsibility to protect system and data when using Beta drivers with NVIDIA products. It is strongly recommended that end users back up all the data prior to using Beta drivers from this site. Please ensure that newer Recommended/Certified drivers are not already posted on NVIDIA.com prior to installation and usage of Beta drivers. Beta drivers posted do not carry any warranties nor support services.

That gives any reasonable person plenty of valid concern about beta drivers as far as I can see. You can protest that you have never, ever had the slightest, tiniest issue with beta drivers from nvidia, but that's entirely meaningless to anyone else when nvidia explicitly warns you that they 'are under qualification testing, and may include significant issues'.

oh good lord. he asked for advice on drivers so I suggested the 196.34. the 196.34 drivers are simply the 196.21 driver with the ocing fixed.

he mentioned not being able to oc the 196.21 drivers no matter what program he used so I gave him the Evga Precision 1.9.1 as an option.

he THEN proceeds to say that he only uses Rivatuner and non beta drivers. he certainly never mentioned that in the op and now doesnt want to go with any sensible suggestions so what else can be said?

now lets look at the last two official drivers:

196.21 = cant oc with Rivatuner

196.75 = can cause overheating problem

now lets look at the last beta drivers:

196.34 = same as 196.21 but corrected the oc issue

he wants to stick with Rivatuner and oc so that rules out the "official" 196.21. he surely doesnt want to risk overheating and damaging his card with the "official" 196.75. well it looks the "official" drivers are not really looking too good now are they? so if he doesnt wont to use the "beta" 196.34 just because they say "beta" on them then yes that is ridiculous because they work just fine.

 

[dug777]

oh good lord. he asked for advice on drivers so I suggested the 196.34. the 196.34 drivers are simply the 196.21 driver with the ocing fixed.

he mentioned not being able to oc the 196.21 drivers no matter what program he used so I gave him the Evga Precision 1.9.1 as an option.

he THEN proceeds to say that he only uses Rivatuner and non beta drivers. he certainly never mentioned that in the op and now doesnt want to go with any sensible suggestions so what else can be said?

now lets look at the last two official drivers:

196.21 = cant oc with Rivatuner

196.75 = can cause overheating problem

now lets look at the last beta drivers:

196.34 = same as 196.21 but corrected the oc issue

well it looks the official drivers are much worse so if he doesnt wont to use the 196.34 just because they say beta on them then yes that is ridiculous.

I personally don't think it's ridiculous, and I certainly don't think it's very helpful to tell people they are being ridiculous just because they haven't given me all the details in their initial post, that tends to make for a rather frosty environment from that point onwards, as we have found out on this occasion

Rightly or wrongly, I share his concerns regarding beta drivers, you may assure me that the 196.34 drivers are simply the 196.21 driver with the ocing fixed (and you are probably 100% correct), but that doesn't change the fact they are still beta and certainly don't come with nvidia's word that that is the case, with the ever so slight attendant risk that they might brick something or do something untoward to your computer or data, leaving nvidia to chuckle happily and point at that disclaimer

 

[toyota]

I personally don't think it's ridiculous, and I certainly don't think it's very helpful to tell people they are being ridiculous just because they haven't given me all the details in their initial post, that tends to make for a rather frosty environment from that point onwards, as we have found out on this occasion

Rightly or wrongly, I share his concerns regarding beta drivers, you may assure me that the 196.34 drivers are simply the 196.21 driver with the ocing fixed (and you are probably 100% correct), but that doesn't change the fact they are still beta and certainly don't come with nvidia's word that that is the case, with the ever so slight attendant risk that they might brick something or do something untoward to your computer or data, leaving nvidia to chuckle happily and point at that disclaimer

then what other option is there? the official drivers have known problems while the 196.34 dont have any known issues and work just fine. instead of being scared of the word beta he could have perfectly working drivers that meet his needs. all he has to do is uninstall them if he doesnt like them.

 

[dug777]

then what other option is there? the official drivers have known problems while the 196.34 dont have any known issues and work just fine. instead of being scared of the word beta he could have perfectly working drivers that meet his needs. all he has to do is uninstall them if he doesnt like them.

Heck, I don't pretend to have the answer, I just felt duty bound to explain that I share his concern about 'beta' drivers and didn't find it ridiculous

While those drivers are extremely unlikely to do anything unpleasant to his computer, the fact remains that nvidia hasn't assured you, or I, or him, that this is the case. If they had, they wouldn't be 'beta'.

If a computer was anything approaching 'mission-critical', then common sense dictates that you don't install something in a 'beta' stage unless you have a remarkably good reason...

In this instance I would venture that he's probably best for peace of mind to roll back to a driver version that does tick all his boxes, or just wait until it moves on to WHQL certification (which I presume won't be long?).

 

[toyota]

Heck, I don't pretend to have the answer, I just felt duty bound to explain that I share his concern about 'beta' drivers and didn't find it ridiculous

While those drivers are extremely unlikely to do anything unpleasant to his computer, the fact remains that nvidia hasn't assured you, or I, or him, that this is the case. If they had, they wouldn't be 'beta'.

If a computer was anything approaching 'mission-critical', then common sense dictates that you don't install something in a 'beta' stage unless you have a remarkably good reason...

In this instance I would venture that he's probably best for peace of mind to roll back to a driver version that does tick all his boxes, or just wait until it moves on to WHQL certification (which I presume won't be long?).

yeah but WHQL obviously doesnt mean you are going to get a better driver. thats the point I was trying to make because the last two official drivers have had issues while the beta driver doesnt. in general, I normally avoid beta anything but the Nvidia beta drivers are never any worse than the official ones and in many cases are actually better. the WHQL means nothing really.

 

[Voo]

While those drivers are extremely unlikely to do anything unpleasant to his computer, the fact remains that nvidia hasn't assured you, or I, or him, that this is the case. If they had, they wouldn't be 'beta'.

Let's see: Beta drivers tested by a lot of users without grave problems vs. WHQL driver that don't allow OCing or kill cards, also Nvidia doesn't take any responsibility for WHQL drivers either as we're seeing now.

Yeah I see your point about WHQL drivers being that much better and saver than the beta ones..

 

[VirtualLarry]

yeah but WHQL obviously doesnt mean you are going to get a better driver. thats the point I was trying to make because the last two official drivers have had issues while the beta driver doesnt. in general, I normally avoid beta anything but the Nvidia beta drivers are never any worse than the official ones and in many cases are actually better. the WHQL means nothing really.

This. NVidia beta drivers can be just fine, or they can be crap. Nvidia WHQL drivers can also be crap, however. I listen for feedback from early adopters, to find out if a particular driver set is any good, beta or not. Then I upgrade.

PS. You can find most Nvidia (beta and WHQL) releases at guru3d.com, in their download section.

 

[WelshBloke]

Let's see: Beta drivers tested by a lot of users without grave problems vs. WHQL driver that don't allow OCing or kill cards, also Nvidia doesn't take any responsibility for WHQL drivers either as we're seeing now.

Yeah I see your point about WHQL drivers being that much better and saver than the beta ones..

LOL Yeah the WHQL ones are not covering themselves in glory at the moment but heres my thinking.

If I chose to use beta drivers I am complicit in anything that 'effs up because of that.
If I'm using officially released and qualified drivers I have done my bit in taking reasonable steps to ensure the safe running of my hardware.

So if beta drivers 'eff up my machine i cant really complain too much, but if the official drivers do I feel entitled to tear the company responsible a new one.

 

[JAG87]

The OP doesn't want to use 196.75 because they melt his computer. Fine. He doesn't want to use 196.21 because he can't use rivatuner. I don't understand wtf he is doing with rivatuner since 2D and 3D clock switching works just fine automatically. But fine, to each their own.

After Microsoft failed to recognize two major problems in both of these WHQL certified drivers, he refuses to use 196.34 beta which is essentially 196.21 fixed, without nvidia wasting 2 weeks in WHQL certification, which is clearly useless.

You got a valid solution and dismissed it because of your obtuse old fashioned thinking. Everything in software development is beta. The whole industry revolves around that concept, next year you buy the new version, the less buggy version, but still buggy so next year you can buy it again. Look at Vista, the whole operating system was a beta to Windows 7. And 7 is a beta to the next windows.

So this turn from a plead for advice to just another subliminal "nvidia drivers are shit" post.

 

[v8envy]

You can feel entitled all you want, but it'll do you no good.

As pointed out multiple times, look for feedback on a particular driver revision. If it's positive use it. If not, don't. WHQL warm and fuzzies are secondary to actual performance. Unless you're in a corporate environment and NEED to play the blame game whenever something goes wrong disregard it.

Otherwise wait 3-4 months, look for feedback on WHQL drivers and use the revision of that to match your needs. I ran version 170-something for years on my DVR.

 

[WelshBloke]

The OP doesn't want to use 196.75 because they melt his computer. Fine. He doesn't want to use 196.21 because he can't use rivatuner. I don't understand wtf he is doing with rivatuner since 2D and 3D clock switching works just fine automatically. But fine, to each their own.

Rivatuner kicks of a UAC prompt when the computer restarts, if it does this in the middle of the night its going to be running without rivertuner and without the fan being controlled.
Also 2d/3d clocks very much dont exist on my G80 without using rivatuner

You got a valid solution and dismissed it because of your obtuse old fashioned thinking. Everything in software development is beta. The whole industry revolves around that concept, next year you buy the new version, the less buggy version, but still buggy so next year you can buy it again. Look at Vista, the whole operating system was a beta to Windows 7. And 7 is a beta to the next windows.

I dont think beta means what you think it does.

So this turn from a plead for advice to just another subliminal "nvidia drivers are shit" post.

That certainly wasnt the intention.

I've been fairly pleased with nVidias drivers over the years its just the last two have been wobbly.

Anyway am using 195.62 now so all is good.

 

[Piotrsama]

After Microsoft failed to recognize two major problems in both of these WHQL certified drivers, he refuses to use 196.34 beta which is essentially 196.21 fixed, without nvidia wasting 2 weeks in WHQL certification, which is clearly useless.

IIRC, WHQL mean MS certifies that the drivers installs correctly, they don't check if the drivers overheat your video card.
That's up to Nvidia (in this case).

 

[Seero]

IIRC, WHQL mean MS certifies that the drivers installs correctly, they don't check if the drivers overheat your video card.
That's up to Nvidia (in this case).

I wonder how did it pass QA?

 

[Leyawiin]

I'm using EVGA Precision 1.9.1 with 196.21 and it OCs my 8800 GTX fine. If you for some odd reason refuse to use it I don't know what to tell you.