14 DAY TRIAL // Since a new video card has now left NVIDIA's nest, it is not unexpected to hear that a new driver version has been created as well, only the 260.89 Beta release does more than just add support for the new card, such as boosting performance in a variety of games.
As consumers may or may not know, NVIDIA just released the GeForce GT 430 graphics card, its low-end Fermi-based adapter powered by the GF108 GPU.
Along with it, the Santa Clara, California-based outfit also provided a new driver version, the GeForce/ION Driver Release version 260.89.
This driver, although still in Beta status, not only adds support for the new card, but also improves the gaming performance of the GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 460.
The driver also upgrades the HD Audio driver to version 1.1.9.0 and either adds or enhances the SLI profiles for several games, like City of Heroes: Going Rogue and Dead Rising 2.
The GeForce 400 Series GPUs have also been given support for OpenGL 4.1, while the PhysX System Software has been upgraded to version 9.10.0514.
Nevertheless, the boost to gaming performance remains the main highlight of this release, and the list of improvements includes the following.
For the GTX 480:
-Up to 10% in StarCraft II (2560x1600 4xAA/16xAF Ultra) -Up to 14% in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF) -Up to 16% in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (SLI – 2560x1600 4xAA/16xAF) -Up to 6% in Aliens vs. Predator (SLI – 1920x1200 noAA – Tessellation on)
For GTX 460:
-Up to 19% in StarCraft II (SLI – 1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF Ultra) -Up to 15% in Battlefield Bad Company 2 (SLI – 2560x1600 4xAA/16xAF) -Up to 12% in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (2560x1600 noAA) -Up to 9% in Aliens vs. Predator (1680x1050 4xAA/16xAF – Tessellation on) -Up to 7% in Metro 2033 (1680x1050 noAA – Tessellation on) -Up to 11% in Dirt 2 (SLI – 2560x1600 4xAA/16xAF) -Up to 12% in Crysis:Warhead (SLI – 1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF Gamer) -Up to 13% in Far Cry 2 (2560x1600 4xAA/16xAF) -Up to 12% in H.A.W.X (SLI – 1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF SSAO Very High) -Up to 5% in Just Cause 2 (1920x1200 4xAA/16xAF) -Up to 22% in Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (1920x1200 noAA) -Up to 5% in 3DMark Vantage (Extreme Preset)
End-users can download the driver from NVIDIA's official website or get the corresponding version from one of the links below.
Nvidia GeForce/ION VGA Driver 260.89 Beta for XP Nvidia GeForce/ION VGA Driver 260.89 Beta for XP64 Nvidia GeForce/ION VGA Driver 260.89 Beta for Vista/Win7 Nvidia GeForce/ION VGA Driver 260.89 Beta for Vista64/Win7 x64