nVidia ForceWare Drivers v52.16 WHQL Released

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NVIDIA Corporation, the worldwide leader in visual processing solutions, today introduced its new NVIDIA® ForceWare™ release 50 graphics driver, a new Unified Driver Architecture (UDA) engineered to provide unmatched performance and image quality on both Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 and OpenGL® applications. In addition to its unmatched DirectX 9.0 application performance, this new graphics driver also delivers world-renowned compatibility, stability, and reliability across all NVIDIA GPUs.

The ForceWare release 50 graphics drivers include the NVIDIA unified compiler technology that translates shader programs so that they are optimized for the NVIDIA GPU architecture, substantially improving the performance of next-generation DirectX 9.0 titles such as HalfLife™ 2, XIII, and more. Performance in the DirectX 9.0 application HaloPC™ improves by up to 58% and DirectX 9.0-based Microsoft Flight Simulator™ 9 improves by 33% .

Download: Download ForceWare 52.16 Win2k/XP

News source: nVidia.com

James Taft, president of Sienna Software, and a Nasa Ames consultant, said: "The results we've been seeing are extraordinary for 256 processors.

"For instance, the Overflow CFD application has generated 200Gflops of sustained performance with 256 processors, which is exactly twice the performance that the Nasa Ames team achieved with the first 128-processor Altix system - all without optimising application code."

Running on its Ames 256-processor single system image, Nasa's ECCO ran a one-quarter degree global problem at a rate of 1.4 simulated years per wall clock day - the fastest ECCO result ever achieved on any system.

#1 stezo2k on 23 Oct 2003 - 19:45

wow nice, bout time a good release of these drivers cheers

#2 Lingwo on 23 Oct 2003 - 19:46

Wonder if it is true about Halo might have to try, the game may actually be playable now

#3 Kevine on 23 Oct 2003 - 19:50

Shwing@!

#4 CheeseCow on 23 Oct 2003 - 19:50

"ForceWare" eh?

Well, I am starting to like the nView features. The fact that I feel comfortable with the nvidia drivers is the reason I am sticking with it, instead of a quicker radeon one.

#5 Kefka on 23 Oct 2003 - 20:15

(1 reply) #6 djze on 23 Oct 2003 - 20:20

The press release states "Customized user profiles to save display settings and image quality settings on a per application/game basis", i don't see anything like that anywhere

#6.1 DirtyLarry on 23 Oct 2003 - 20:32

its there...
under Change Resolutions...
Click on Add under the sub option "Custom resolutions and refresh rates"and you will be able to configure whatever you want for whatever application.

#7 kiddingguy on 23 Oct 2003 - 20:34

...and what do these drivers do to i.a. C&C Generals & Zero:Hour, Age of Methology etc.?!?

(3 replies) #8 MainMan B on 23 Oct 2003 - 20:44

I'm a bit confused as to what these drivers are for. Is it for the nforce mboards, or the Nvidia Gfx cards ?? I own a GeForce 4200 Ti.

#8.1 stezo2k on 23 Oct 2003 - 20:54

either mate

#8.2 DsnBehind on 23 Oct 2003 - 21:23

QUOTE

You mean "Graphics cards only." The nForce drivers are a seperate download.

#8.3 Smufie on 24 Oct 2003 - 00:32

Yeah, don't worry 'bout the name! The new name 'ForceWare' is just a replacement for the old 'Detonator'. So you can without worrying install these for your Ti4200 :-)

#9 CheeseCow on 23 Oct 2003 - 20:47

I got better performance in C&C Zero Hour.

I didn't notice any worse quality.

It works better with TV-out(I've got 16:9).

You can add "custom modes" like you can with PowerTweak or XF86Config-editing.

AMD 3000XP, GF5600,1GB

#10 kiddingguy on 23 Oct 2003 - 20:47

GeForce Ti4200 is support, see 'products supported'

plus I have the Ti4200 as well, and they work on my system

However, I don't know exactly what the benefits/improvements are. I hop nvidia know what she does and make some graphical improvements to my games - and Office apps

#11 reaper1576 on 23 Oct 2003 - 20:54

well im happy with the my fps in some games have doubled

#12 kiddingguy on 23 Oct 2003 - 21:36

yep, noticeable differences in gameplay THIS time.

Thanx nvidia

(1 reply) #13 elliot on 23 Oct 2003 - 21:48

when i go into advanced display properties i get a "catastrophic failure"

#13.1 xluqe on 23 Oct 2003 - 21:57

try to uninstall the drivers and reinstall them again.

#14 kiddingguy on 23 Oct 2003 - 22:03

or buy a new computer or videocard

#15 yakumo on 23 Oct 2003 - 22:29

winxp pro sp1, all updates
gainward gf4 ti4800se
uninstalled old drivers, ran nasty file remover, rebooted, installed 52.16 offcial.

can't play quake3 for more than about 10 minutes before it causes a total system hang.

some have suggested it's duelview causing the problems, tried turning off nview, and all multi monitor features, set it to single monitor etc, same problem.

back to 45.33 for me... shame, they seeemed really nice otherwise.

many non FX owners are even reporting they can't run openGL games/apps at ALL, they hang as soon as they try to start up

really not worthy of an official release....

(1 reply) #16 sebaz on 23 Oct 2003 - 23:01

i cant play wolfenstein: ET it just hangs shortly after u enter a game..i have re-install the drivers several times..as yakumo said back to 45.33

#16.1 mbg on 24 Oct 2003 - 23:17

The same happened to me (Wolf ET)... I have a Ti4200 (Asus)

#17 AgEnTsMiTh on 23 Oct 2003 - 23:06

works great on my system

seen some improvement running Gforce 3 TI 500 (old Reliable for now)

#18 karma_police on 23 Oct 2003 - 23:08

No problems here. XP/GF4 MX. My friend has a Ti 4200 no problems

(2 replies) #19 hypoxiaicon on 23 Oct 2003 - 23:18

Microsoft Flight Simulator™ 9 improves by 33% .

ive just ran it, no difference at all -- besides the building looks choppy

.

GeForce4 MX 440-SE.

#19.1 destrox on 23 Oct 2003 - 23:51

this is for the FX series cards (the % boost) i do believe not your overclocked gf3 named gf4

#19.2 BTallack on 24 Oct 2003 - 06:40

The GF4 is not a DX9 card, so therefore these enhancements don't effect it at all.

#20 mipra on 23 Oct 2003 - 23:48

This is just so great....I can feel about 30% faster than the old one in terms of general use

(2 replies) #21 c e 3 2 0 on 23 Oct 2003 - 23:53

The driver's loaded ok, but I can't get into the Control Panel / Display / Advanced / Nvidia.
It tells me:
"Catastrophic Failure"

#21.1 LVirus on 27 Oct 2003 - 06:34

QUOTE (#21.0)

Install international version. Fixed that for me. I am forced to use localizated version because of that

#21.2 c e 3 2 0 on 27 Oct 2003 - 23:58

I've uninstalled them completly. They broke my LAN connection. The system was unable to flush the ARP cache after a reboot, and well, it stopped the LAN in it's tracks.
I'll stick to the detonators for now

#22 Arckon on 23 Oct 2003 - 23:53

Anyone have much luck w/ that double scan option in these drivers? It's in there where the monitor timings are....like GTMF....DTM...or something like that. I can only get it to work w/ some resolutions and refresh rates. It says it is supposed to revert back to normal mode when it goes past the monitors limitations, but it just turns mine off, and I have to reboot to get it to come back on.

I have a Phililps 109B40 monitor and a GeForce3 Ti200.

#23 hobsgrg on 24 Oct 2003 - 00:23

these drivers seem pretty good so far

#24 Smufie on 24 Oct 2003 - 00:38

Everywhere I went for this news, like every third comment had trouble with these drivers! Now nVidia can call them WHQL Certified, Official, or whatever! The fact of the matter is that they should have been tested for a few months more! This isn't the way to treat their customers!

#25 Kakashi on 24 Oct 2003 - 01:18

Mine work fine with RTCW and Q3A, the only prob that i got is with Gens, i can't put if full screen :/

#26 [9mm]ToNy on 24 Oct 2003 - 01:27

Drivers are working great for me, the texture quiality is better in battlefield 1942 and it runs better also.... i like them

#27 Smufie on 24 Oct 2003 - 01:28

Yeah I also just tried them! Seems to be working fine, lots of options etc, ran BF and Halo just fine!
Only problem is, my mouse doesn't seem to run as smooth as before, like it's lagging a little sometimes! Experienced that with another driver a long time ago, so it also seems like it's movement is lagging in games! Might be my imagenation, so I'll just install the previous driver again to test it out!

#28 iron2000 on 24 Oct 2003 - 04:01

With all these problems, it seems like this driver is still beta.
What does the "Catastrophic Failure" mean?
(NVidia's way to tell you to upgrade?)

(3 replies) #29 dare_devil on 24 Oct 2003 - 04:17

this driver is targeted for fx users.....
gf 3/4 ti user better stick with 44.03
and gf2/mx user better stick with 30.82
or maybe just use 45.23 instead.........

#29.1 Wildcard on 24 Oct 2003 - 06:38

I see performance gains on my Geforce 4 Ti4400

#29.2 Lurchybaby on 24 Oct 2003 - 15:21

As did I on my Ti4400

#29.3 fluxcapacitor on 25 Oct 2003 - 15:22

Same here. One system on a Ti 4200 8X@4X, and another system on a Ti 4600. I have been running Nvidia cards for a long time and these are the best version I've seen for stability(!), performance, features, AND they FINALLY gave WinXP users a built in refresh rate override, and not only a DX but OGL one too. Great job Nvidia, all you peeps having problems might want to learn how to uninstall, install, and manage your drivers a little better...prolly get flamed for that but whatevs.

#30 Kevine on 24 Oct 2003 - 06:51

Assumption: RTCW and anything else that uses the quake engine OR the OpenGL API is fooked with these drivers.
Assumed Issue: The new OpenGL extensions might be causing the issue...
• WGL_ARB_make_current_read
• GL_ARB_pixel_buffer_object
• GL_ARB_occlusion_query
, noted in the release notes,

Thats all I have so far.

#31 CyberKewl on 24 Oct 2003 - 08:03

I encountered a bit of jerkiness on my GF4 MX 440. Switching back to 45.23 and everything went back to normal.

#32 Gary_Player on 24 Oct 2003 - 08:28

So no difference between this and its non-WHQLed counterpart...except for the WHQLedness?

#33 Siriuss[FN] on 24 Oct 2003 - 09:40

Well, good job nvidia, tho i used some betas before, but i think somehow ET runs way better, and moto gp2 as well and yes, halo became playable, with 52.xx forceware

Name change, need get used to it.
Wasn`t it allways when there is new graphic driver, and you install it and for some people games have problems, system crashes(non uninstaled old drivers, hardware conflicts, bad apps, mistery).
Nothing is perfect, but i like these drivers.

(1 reply) #34 nookadum on 24 Oct 2003 - 10:50

Disable GL Extensions on any Quake 3 engine game. It should work now.

#34.1 v3ktor on 02 Nov 2003 - 00:50

How exactly do you go about this? and does it have any negative effects on game play?

#35 SirEvan on 24 Oct 2003 - 11:21

I see a slight improvement, and i'm still using a geforce 3 card... the original ones that came out.. I have never had any problems playing any games using any drivers.. maybe im just lucky, or you guys have bad hardware.

GL and D3d games all play fine.

#36 flya150 on 24 Oct 2003 - 12:50

Improved some problems I was having with Flightsim 2004. I have a geforce 3

(1 reply) #37 Preto on 24 Oct 2003 - 15:45

i have got Ti 4200 and it not works with this new driver

#37.1 DOCa Cola on 24 Oct 2003 - 18:37

My 4200 works with no problems

(2 replies) #38 syntaxerror on 24 Oct 2003 - 16:06

Noticed that during BF1942 and desert combat play, that the graphics are choppy and some portions of the map just completely dissappears. Tried 3 to 4 different settings changes, and it makes no diff at all. Uninstalled and went back to 45.23 from Nvidia, and all works wonderfully again. ASUS Gforce FX 5200.

#38.1 xStainDx on 24 Oct 2003 - 20:00

This is a known bug in the 52.16's read the release notes.

#38.2 Smufie on 24 Oct 2003 - 23:29

Who reads release notes anyway?

#39 Trust on 24 Oct 2003 - 16:42

ForceWare

I dont like that word... Looks like they are releasing a soft and you are forced to update... This recall me something about a big software company... I dont know why...

#40 sstoops86 on 24 Oct 2003 - 22:58

hmm....I was all excited about the new drivers....but when i got them..was disappointed with the nview stuff....it keeps messing up my icons....oh yah...btw..i have dual monitors one LCD and one CRT....but i want my primary monitor on the right side..and nview wont seem to let me do that or something....and when i switch from single view to dual view..it wants to put all my icons on my left monitor...which is the monitor i just want completely blank...cept for stuff that i drag onto it...and i want my right monitor to have all my icons and taskbar......hmph....may switch back to nview 2...sadness...

#41 phkhoury on 25 Oct 2003 - 01:52

Even works on my Geforce 2 MX

#42 Krage on 25 Oct 2003 - 19:32

I play tribes2 comp and with these drivers my framerates are literally halved. Back to 45's for me.

#43 spookshow on 26 Oct 2003 - 05:04

under advanced, i lost my damn nvidia tab, i have no idea where it went :/

this blows.

gfx5600

#44 =Syntax= on 26 Oct 2003 - 13:39

Damn you would think by now Nvidia would wait and release a true working version of this new driver. From what I can see so far, 50% of people are having serious problems with this new release....

#45 tWb on 29 Oct 2003 - 07:43

I run a ti-4800se on windows XP SP1 and ive had no problems except one... sometimes games will hang (only happened to me once when i was playing Madden 2004 and one while playing Ford Racing 2) other then that it works great... i actually notice an improvement in Halo... oh and the new nview rocks =]

#46 Cognivore on 02 Nov 2003 - 15:56

nookadum's solution of turning off the GL extensions in Quake III or Quake engine based games does not work. Seems to have no effect at all.

In my case I can play Quake III fine with the Forceware 52.16 drivers unless I go online, at which point I'm am guarenteed a hardlock within 30 seconds.

Seems like nVidia just broke their GL support, at least on my 4200 8X card.

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