Nvidia drivers v29.42 released - Aniso performance

[Guest]

Hey all,Nvidia has released their 29.42 drivers on their web site (a few days late...). I haven't had the opportunity to thoroughly test them just yet, but the main goal for them was to fix the somewhat poor performance of Anisotropic filtering. This is most important for sims like ours, so it'd be a good idea to at least test them out.I'd be more than interested in seeing a few reports if they either do or don't help your Aniso speeds.http://www.nvidia.comTake care, http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/elrondlogo.gifhttp://members.rogers.com/eelvish/flyurl.gif

[Guest]

Sorry... Jumped the gun a tad I believe.The new Detonator 5 drivers should be starting with version 32.xx. Since these are v29's, I don't think these are the new Det 5's, and hense I'm not sure if these include the Aniso performance upgrade.It has been confirmed by at least EVGA that the Detonator 5's are in quality control testing at the moment by video card manufacturers, but they wouldn't specify the version number.So, it'd be interesting to hear what your experiences are with these v29 drivers.Possibly sorry bout that :-), http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/elrondlogo.gifhttp://members.rogers.com/eelvish/flyurl.gif

[Guest]

Hey fellaI got 'em and had a brief look around, I found no problems which is always a good thing. On first impressions, they are both clear and fast, a good balance between the two.I'll be interested to see what happens with furthur tweeking....:-)Pete

[Guest PaulL01]

>Hey all, >>Nvidia has released their 29.42 drivers on their web site (a >few days late...). I haven't had the opportunity to >thoroughly test them just yet, but the main goal for them >was to fix the somewhat poor performance of Anisotropic >filtering. This is most important for sims like ours, so >it'd be a good idea to at least test them out. >>I'd be more than interested in seeing a few reports if they >either do or don't help your Aniso speeds. >>http://www.nvidia.com >>Take care, >>http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/elrondlogo.gif >http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/flyurl.gifLets Just add that this would only apply to GF4TI users as GF3 Cards do not suffer from this and performance wise since for the most part unless there is a specific compatability problem users of GF3 cards are better off using the 22.40-23.11 vintage as optimization for GF3 cards pretty much ended there.The Buz word is that the DET 5's will be available soon and will also include full support for the NV30, the 29.42s also have support modes for the NV30 and NV31 for those lucky enough to be testing. :)Paul

[Guest]

Hi Paul,If they are optimizing code for Aniso performance as they say they are, it shouldn't matter what GF generation you run: you should see improved Aniso performance. Since OpenGL doesn't have the Aniso hit that DX does on the GF4 (edit: it was fixed with the v29 leaked series and now the official), it can almost assuredly be called a driver problem, not a hardware problem. In that case, any driver optimizations should filter down (edit: as it did with OGL).I would also have said the 23.11 or lower drivers were the best on GF2-GF3 class cards a week ago. But I've been testing the 29.40 leaks and they do seem to be better on the GF2 and GF3 that I have. I haven't done methodical testing on them yet since they were leaked drivers, but I believe these should be good all around. I'd be interested in seeing any of your own testing."for the NV30 and NV31 for those lucky enough to be testing."Aw, man... To be just a bit more hooked up, eh?:-)Take care, http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/elrondlogo.gifhttp://members.rogers.com/eelvish/flyurl.gif

[Guest]

Thats good to hear... Thanks Pete.Take care, http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/elrondlogo.gifhttp://members.rogers.com/eelvish/flyurl.gif

[Guest]

After a day of playing with the 29.42s I have decided to go back to 28.32s they seem clearer and smoother.This will be the last drver update with this PC as I will be going to a new PC with a GF4 card, hopfully my FS experience will greatly improve.http://www.flightsimnetwork.com/dcforum/Us...9d503cc53ab.jpg

[Guest PaulL01]

Elrond,>If they are optimizing code for Aniso performance as they >say they are, it shouldn't matter what GF generation you >run: you should see improved Aniso performance. Since >OpenGL doesn't have the Aniso hit that DX does on the GF4 >(edit: it was fixed with the v29 leaked series and now the >official), it can almost assuredly be called a driver >problem, not a hardware problem. In that case, any driver >optimizations should filter down (edit: as it did with OGL). Nvidia reps have acknowledged the anisotropic problem as being GF4TI specific and it has been pretty well established that a GF3 produces up to 50% more fill rate than a GF4TI at 32/64 tap anisotropy in D3D, so if they can improve the GF3

[Guest JonP01]

Hi Elrond,I've been trying the ASUS version of these 29.4x drivers for a little while now and have found them to be the best drivers yet. Not simply because they are the latest, but because they are the first Nvidia drivers that resolve ALL graphics issues in all the sims I run (I continued to have problems with Rally Trophy until 29.41). Earlier versions still do work well in FS2002 for me, however my subjective feeling is that image quality is very slightly improved with these latest drivers as well. A small decrease in 3D Mark 2001 scores is part of the package, however no loss in "real world" performance.If what you are saying about 3 series drivers improving aniso performance in even the GF3, then that is very good news. I tend to run aniso on my GF3 at a compromised setting, as I am reluctant to trade it for a significant performance loss. Mind you, different sims respond differently both in terms of improvement to image quality and the associated performance hit.Perhaps the most dramatic example of aniso at it's best is in the Rally Trophy simulation. The effect of ansio has to simply be seen to be believed. I have ever seen such a dramatic effect in any other sim. However, the performance could almost be described as "crippling", pinning the performance back to what I used to get with my old Voodoo 5500.Certainly when Nvidia brings out a card that runs as well as my GF3 does now, but at one resolution higher and with all bells and whistles enabled (full AA, full aniso), then that would be a very worthwhile upgrade indeed.

[Guest GiZBUG]

Here's a brief list (not sure if complete) of changes for Win2k/XPWHQL Certified GeForce4 Ti 4200 support Full Acceleration and support for the GeForce4 and Quadro4 families nView

[skully 1,046]

Hi Elrond,I installed the new 29.42s last night for my year and a half old GForce2MX 32 mb. I had previously been using the Detonator 9 series drivers. All programs work properly and I was rewarded with a 400 point increase in the 3D Mark SE benchmark. The only drawback is that things appear darker in all programs even with monitor brightness at max.SkullyP4 1.4NVGF2MX128 mb ram19" NEC Multisync 90 monitorp.s. When I first got this computer it was able to run at screen resolutions up to 1920x1440. After the first detonator install I lost that high screen res and am now only able to get 1600x1200 even after going back to the original drivers. Does anyone know why I lost that high screen res ability of 1920x1440 or how to get it back?

[Guest Kurt]

Does your monitor support 1920x1440 and do you have the correct monitor .inf file installed.My monitor only supports up to 1600x1200, but if I do not have the monitor .inf file installed I have up to 2048x1536 (the video card limits) available. This could damage the monitor if I mistakenly selected it.http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d07d23e65f02ec5.jpgIf your monitor does support the higher res, try reinstalling the monitor file.Kurt M

[skully 1,046]

Thanks for the reply Kurt! My monitor when new, did support 1920x1440 but not anymore. 1600x1220 is now the max I can take it. Where would I find this monitor inf file and how can I get a new one since this monitor is plug and play and came with no drivers that I know of.Thanks!Skully

[skully 1,046]

Researching the specs on this monitor, it's max resolution is supposed to be 1600x1200 so I will just have to be happy with that :) I was just curious as to why it originally could support the higher resolution.Skully

[Guest]

Elrond, I used to think the 29.40 and the 23.11 were great for the GF3 too but i must say these drivers are quite impressive considering how bad of performance the 28.32 gave.I think they are keeper for at least the GF3 and GF4. One think I have noticed with these drivers is there is almost no tearing at ALL with vsync off which is highly impressive to me.I think the FSAA for DX is a bit faster for GF3's as well.Richard Dillon KATLSr First Officer www.jetstarairlines.com"Bill Grabowski's"ERJ-145 panel Beta TeamMD-11 panel Beta Team____________________________"Lets Roll" 9/11 Specs AMD 1600 XP 512MB DDR GF3 ti 200 64MB SBliveCh Products Yoke and Pedals(usb)Windows 2000 SP2