14 DAY TRIAL // Now that NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 460 graphics card has finally shown itself, its maker also went ahead and released the accompanying driver, though the software it put together is more than just any update. In fact, the developers in Santa Clara, California seem to have been quite busy, as the change log for this WHQL-candidate release, by the name of GeForce/ION Driver Release 258.96, is extensive and will likely lighten the heart of any gamer .
The support for GTX 460 is one of the major updates. This video board is the first mainstream solution with DirectX 11 capabilities that NVIDIA ever created and is less hot and power hungry than its older siblings, the GTX 480 and GTX 470.
Other assets of this new driver include upgrades to the PhysX system software, bug fixes and better control over multi-GPU setups. However, what consumers will truly be interested in is the exact frame rate boosts that games will benefit from. Apparently, they are actually palpable, at least for some titles.
The improvements in release 258.96, in Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, are the following:
- Up to 11% in Aliens vs. Predator (1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF – Tessellation on) - Up to 7% in Crysis: Warhead (SLI – 1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF – Gamer) - Up to 4% in H.A.W.X (SLI – 1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF – Very High) - Up to 10% in Just Cause 2 (SLI – 1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF - Concrete Jungle) - Up to 6% in Metro 2033 (1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF – Tessellation on) - Up to 7% in Metro 2033 (SLI – 1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF – Tessellation on) - Up to 10% in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF) - Up to 12% in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (SLI – 1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF) - Up to 4% in World in Conflict (SLI – 1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF)
As a final note, those whose systems run Windows Vista or Windows 7 will be pleased to know that this latest driver also enabled 3D Vision Surround technology, which lest enthusiasts play games in 3D on three monitors at one. End-users can download the appropriate version by following one of the links below.
Nvidia GeForce/ION Display Driver 258.96 Beta for XP Nvidia GeForce/ION Display Driver 258.96 Beta for XP64 Nvidia GeForce/ION Display Driver 258.96 Beta for Vista/Win7 Nvidia GeForce/ION Display Driver 258.96 Beta for Vista64/Win7 x64