NVIDIA 301.24 BETA Drivers, any good for Skyrim?

Post » Fri Jun 01, 2012 5:00 am



That's the thing, B1gBad. What I'm saying is IF you use the nvidia CP to turn ON Adaptive V-sync it also turns Vsync to "Forced On" as well. The CP doesn't show you this since it's a combined selection but nvidia inspector does. Which makes the premise of using in-game vsync kinda moot, since driver vsync is forced on anyway. Make sense?

Yea get it completely dude :) just want to see if CP adaptive overwrites game options no vsync. Easy to test like lol. I'll give it a go this week :)
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Devils Cheek
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 7:53 pm

That's the thing, B1gBad. What I'm saying is IF you use the nvidia CP to turn ON Adaptive V-sync it also turns Vsync to "Forced On" as well. The CP doesn't show you this since it's a combined selection but nvidia inspector does. Which makes the premise of using in-game vsync kinda moot, since driver vsync is forced on anyway. Make sense?

Thanks for the info. Have been curious about this feature. Enabled it in CP and both options changed in inspector.

Loaded game up and motion seems more fluid but there is occasional tearing. I'm gonna keep it on for awhile and see if it keeps bugging me.

This is a beta driver, so maybe nvidia can improve this feature.
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Jessica Nash
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 1:58 pm

I have a GTX 470 and I'm seeing MUCH smoother framerates with the 301 beta driver. I recently bought a 23" Dell monitor with an IPS panel and my playing resolution went from 1680x1050 up to 1920x1080. That may not seem like a big jump, but Skyrim's framerates suffered a bit as a result, so I had to tone down some of my detail settings. But, with the 301 nVidia beta driver, I'm back to my previous framerates, plus a little extra, and I can turn my details back up as well. :)

- S -
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Eve(G)
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 10:44 pm

Installed the new drivers last night, and got around 5fps increase from the previous whql drivers. I've also just spent the last couple of hours playing around with the adaptive v-sync settings.

My specs:

i3 2120 3.3GHz
GTX 550 Ti OC'd to 950/1900
4GB ram

Normally I average 50-60 fps @1920x1080 on Ultra High settings on, but with AA set to 2x. I also have the Hi-res DLC installed, and the only mods I use are the Hi-res DLC fix and the Unofficial Skyrim Patch. I use MSI Afterburner to limit my framerate to 60, and D3DOverrider's Triple Buffering. With those settings, the gameplay is fluid, no stuttering or 64Hz bug hitching.

To test, I turned off the Afterburner frame limit and D3DOverrider, and set the Nvidia Control Panel to Adaptive. The framerate stays around the same, maybe a couple of FPS higher, but as soon as it drops below 60 I get massive screen tearing. This, I guess, is to be expected, as the v-sync is only enabled when at the screen's refresh rate (60Hz) and disabled when below that rate. I also seemed to be getting the 64Hz bug again, so I limited the frame rate to 60 in Afterburner and turned on D3DO TB and the 64Hz bug is gone, but of course I'm still getting screen tearing when the frame rate drops below the magical 60fps.

There's also an option for Adaptive v-sync at half refresh rate - on this setting I still get some screen tearing, but you really have to be trying! I guess this is because it's vsync locked to 30fps which my system can cope with without dropping frames unless it's REALLY pushed. No 64Hz obviously because it's frame rate is limited under 60Hz.

I've basically ended up turning everything back to my old standard settings - Control Panel back to "use app settings" on v-sync, D3DO's TB and Afterburner limiting FPS to 60. I hate screen tearing, it gives me a headache just thinking about it! I know others aren't as susceptible to screen tearing as I am, so it may be worth a go to see if it's acceptable for you, as there is definitely a coupla FPS increase using adaptive.

Hope this is of help to someone!

xTx
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Sarah Evason
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 2:39 pm

So from what I've read, 580 user's should wait on these drivers??? Thats a bummer, but I'm glad i didn't mess with it yesterday. The lastest WHQL release is good for me :)
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kitten maciver
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 4:26 pm

Installed these drivers about an hour ago & have been in Skyrim ever since.

Initial impressions are that the game is now faster & smoother - using Bethesda's High-Res package & several mods to improve vegetation & foliage.

However there are still occasional micro-stutters, and these seem to get worse the longer that I play. Haven't yet tried playing around with the options in NVidia Control Panel & Skyrim menu - will try these tomorrow.

Overall - quite impressed so far!!
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Kill Bill
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 4:48 pm

Just tried it.. Worst and buggiest driver ever used. FPS pummeled to 12-15 after it was 50+..not to mention freezing and weird behavior. I always used beta drivers before and never had such problems. gonna revert to 296
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Sophie Miller
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 2:50 pm

Mmm, I have GTX 560 Ti, not sure which way to jump now! Could go either way... I'm due to upgrade my rig tomorrow so I'll wait till after that. I've never messed with FXAA, how do you force it to enable via nvidia? Do you have to have nvidia inspector? It never seems to make any difference at all when I enable via the game settings.
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josie treuberg
 
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Post » Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:37 am

Just tried it.. Worst and buggiest driver ever used. FPS pummeled to 12-15 after it was 50+..not to mention freezing and weird behavior. I always used beta drivers before and never had such problems. gonna revert to 296

Make sure you do a clean install and reboot immediately after driver installation. Fixed the crazy low fps bug for me. (3d clocks not engaging)
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Roberta Obrien
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 12:58 pm

Work fine here except for the broken SSAO (which I think is the fault of the 1.5 Skyrim patch). The game is so smooth that I haven't even bothered to check the exact framerate with them.. Out of the box, I got about 20 FPS looking over Whiterun. Skyboost increased that to just over 30 FPS, and the 1.5 patch + latest official drivers have increased that to over 40 FPS. That's on an old Phenom II X4 at 3.7 GHz and a GTX460 1GB card. Frame rate just isn't an issue any more on any properly configured, decent mid-range system.
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Andrew Tarango
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 4:05 pm

Like I posted before no problems in Skyrim. I did have roll back to 296.10 for the Witcher 2, these do not get along with it at all, black screens on menus or freezes on menu keys, esc in particular.
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Ross Zombie
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 10:53 pm

I humbly ask for advice. I just noticed that I have 295.73 driver. I have a 56Ti 448 Core. Checking the site for this new Beta driver, I see that there is 295.10.

Either way, I see you guys talking about uninstalls and cleaning. What is the step by step process to do this type of upgrade, or downgrade if the driver is a fail?

I am not CPU savvy at all, so feel free to be a detailed as possible.
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Dark Mogul
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 10:07 pm

I humbly ask for advice. I just noticed that I have 295.73 driver. I have a 56Ti 448 Core. Checking the site for this new Beta driver, I see that there is 295.10.

Either way, I see you guys talking about uninstalls and cleaning. What is the step by step process to do this type of upgrade, or downgrade if the driver is a fail?

I am not CPU savvy at all, so feel free to be a detailed as possible.

To clean out any leftover files from previous driver installs, do the following:

Search for and install Driver Sweeper 3.2.0

* Use the official uninstaller(s) of the driver(s) you want to uninstall.
* Reboot your PC in Safe Mode.
* Use Driver Sweeper and select what to clean.
* Press the clean button.
* Reboot your PC.

Now install the driver you want to use and reboot one more time.
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Ella Loapaga
 
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Post » Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:55 am

To clean out any leftover files from previous driver installs, do the following:

Search for and install Driver Sweeper 3.2.0

* Use the official uninstaller(s) of the driver(s) you want to uninstall.
* Reboot your PC in Safe Mode.
* Use Driver Sweeper and select what to clean.
* Press the clean button.
* Reboot your PC.

Now install the driver you want to use and reboot one more time.

Actually, Nvidia has a cleanup tool built-in to their installers. I find it does a good enough job. Just make sure you select custom and clean (or whatever that option is, should be self-explanatory though).
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Natalie Harvey
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 12:42 pm

I humbly ask for advice. I just noticed that I have 295.73 driver. I have a 56Ti 448 Core. Checking the site for this new Beta driver, I see that there is 295.10.

Either way, I see you guys talking about uninstalls and cleaning. What is the step by step process to do this type of upgrade, or downgrade if the driver is a fail?

I am not CPU savvy at all, so feel free to be a detailed as possible.
It's fairly straightforward. You download the driver from the nVidia website, then run it. It extracts itself to a location on your hard drive (usually C:\NVIDIA), and runs itself from there. Just about the first window that comes up with something for you to do other than click 'Next' is the one asking if you want to do a standard install or a custom one. You should choose 'Custom', especially if you are downgrading, and make sure the 'Clean Install' box is checked on the next screen. This will uninstall your existing drivers before installing the new ones. The only drawback to doing a clean install is that it will remove any custom settings that you have - your resolution is remembered, but if you've used the nVidia Control Panel to change any other settings for individual games, you'll need to redo them. Changing your driver - whether you do a clean install or not - will make Skyrim redetect your graphics card and reset its settings, so if you've manually changed anything in the 'Options' menu, you'll have to redo that as well.

Having said that, I've got a 560Ti, and I encountered the famous nVidia 'Pink Screen Of Death' with the 296.10 drivers, so I'm still using the 295.73 ones.

Eloise
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Stacy Hope
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 4:26 pm

Changing your driver - whether you do a clean install or not - will make Skyrim redetect your graphics card and reset its settings, so if you've manually changed anything in the 'Options' menu, you'll have to redo that as well.

It's never done that to me for any game. So, you may not have that happen. :shrug:
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Amysaurusrex
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 4:55 pm

Thanks you so much guys/gals. And yes, although it's hard to believe, I am thanking the frog as well. The only reason I am even thinking about doing anything is because I am experiencing some stutter, in places.

I can run on Ultra at a constant 60 FPS. Given that I am also running low resolution as well, on a 720 Plasma HDTV. At my age I can't tell the difference in 720 and 1080. TBH I don't a lot of people can either. That is with no mods. Once I start adding a lot of those the FPS doesn't take a hit, but the stutter does.

I may test them out to see if they help. Thanks again for the very informative replies. TES forums are populated with some of the best...even if they are green.

- Mr. Five
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Lavender Brown
 
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Post » Fri Jun 01, 2012 12:58 am

301.25 is out, and again there are no patchnotes. It *feels* like things are running smoother and I haven't gotten the dreaded "drop to 1fps until you tab out" issue that I (and I know others aswell) had with 301.24. Not sure about SSAO though.
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Jah Allen
 
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Post » Fri Jun 01, 2012 12:13 am

Edit :
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Daramis McGee
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 11:19 pm

I think you mean 301.32 is out :wink:

http://www.guru3d.com/news/nvidia-geforce-30132-beta-drivers/

Nah, those are developer drivers and actually older than 301.25 even though you'd think .32 would be newer than .25. The revisions are r300_00-124 for 301.32 and r301_07-14 for 301.25. They also run the game worse. :smile:


Anyway, as far as SSAO with .25 you still need to set iBlurDeferredShadowMask=0 for the Skyrim preset to work outdoors. :(
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Lew.p
 
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Post » Thu May 31, 2012 6:55 pm



Nah, those are developer drivers and actually older than 301.25 even though you'd think .32 would be newer than .25. The revisions are r300_00-124 for 301.32 and r301_07-14 for 301.25. They also run the game worse. :smile:


Anyway, as far as SSAO with .25 you still need to set iBlurDeferredShadowMask=0 for the Skyrim preset to work outdoors. :(

Cheers mate edited my post :)
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Mélida Brunet
 
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