XP Pro x64, AMD64 notebooks, and 64-bit GPU drivers

[mdahc]

I've been contemplating whether or not to get an AMD64 notebook in the near future or to just wait until I start seeing AMD64 notebooks shipping with XP Pro X64 (I assume that would mean they actually have 64-bit drivers for the GPU). My main sticking point is that I do want to a least be able to run XP Pro x64 and the new Visual Studio 2005, which is supposed to have a 64-bit flavor (not to mention that I'm sure Adobe is going to be releasing some recompiled 64-bit variants of their software and maybe Macromedia's now that they've pretty much acquired them). However, of the two main AMD64 notebooks I've considered, the Asus Z81K and the Gateway 742xGX series, neither has released 64-bit GPU drivers (at least I didn't see any on Asus's, Gateway's, or ATI's Web site). I'm hoping this will change once we see Turion64 hit the shelves. Am I alone in this observation or am I missing a download link somewhere?

 

[uOpt]

All I can say is that the NVidia drivers for Linux/AMD64 work just fine for me, both for 64 bit applications and 32 bit applications.

I would expect the XP 64 bit drivers work equally well.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Check out the XP 64 thread in Operating Systems

 

[mdahc]

I've already been there, and there are really only links to ATI's and nVIDIA's Web sites, both of which state that you must revert to the notebook's OEM for mobile GPU drivers. I guess we're supposed to rely on the built-in drivers that ship with XP x64? Won't they only have 2D support? I've tried the nVIDIA Linux drivers on my desktop Athlon64, and they worked just fine as well. But for Windows, it's still up to the OEM to distribute new GPU drivers.

 

[uOpt]

You can use the NVidia Windoze desktop drivers on notebooks. I don't remember, there might be a minimal hack required. The NVidia Linux driver's don't care - mobile, GeForce, Quadro, they take anything.

 

[mdahc]

I've tried them on my current notebook, which has a Geforce Go 4200 (Inspiron 8500). Nothing but the drivers from either Windows Update or Dell Support work (i.e. I tried the 71.84's once and the fan ran at full blast, not to mention the I didn't get proper widescreen resolution...I think this is because the standard Windows drivers don't have Powermizer support). The same holds true for my friend's Inspiron 600m (Mobility Radeon 9000). Again, this is only for Windows, though.