Published on April 17, 2007 By Fuzzy Logic In nVidia

nVidia have announced the release of new drivers for Vista, 158.18, available here:

32bit http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_x86_158.18.html

64bit http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_x64_158.18.html

Quotes from nVidia:

There is a new Windows Vista Beta driver release available to download from NVIDIA, v158.18. This is a new driver which will support GeForce 6, 7 and 8 series graphics boards; it does not support GeForce Go mobile GPUs. Please continue to check with your notebook manufacturer for a new driver for GeForce Go GPUs. GeForce FX users should continue to use the v96.85 driver.

Here is a summary of new features and bug fixes this new driver addresses:

New Features

  • Adds support for GeForce 8600 GTS, GeForce 8600 GT, and GeForce 8500 GT, GeForce 8400 GS, and GeForce 8300 GS GPUs.
  • Increased performance in 3D applications.
  • PureVideo™ HD support.
  • Add support for forcing Vertical Sync in DirectX applications.
  • Updated NVIDIA Control Panel with improved user interface (Please see the Release Notes for more details).
  • Numerous game and application compatibility fixes (see below for some of the top issues).

Key Bug Fixes

  • Fixed numerous "Display driver has stopped responding" error messages.
  • "This is not Vista" error message appears when installing Windows Vista 32–bit drivers on a Windows Vista 64–bit operating system. The error message did not indicate which operating system (32–bit or 64–bit) is installed. NVIDIA has fixed the installer error message to better tell the end user which version of Windows Vista drivers and operating system are running.
  • Warhammer 40k Dawn of War (all versions) has driver error message and does not run.
  • The gamma and brightness controls in the NVIDIA Control Panel Adjust Desktop Color Settings page do not function or affect the desktop appearance consistently.
  • GeForce 8800 GTX/GTS, Windows Vista Ultimate Edition: Text in the Ultimate Game:Hold'em flashes at the start of the game.
  • GeForce 8800 GTX: Elder Scrolls: Oblivion-NVIDIA Control Panel antialiasing does not work when HDR is enabled.
  • GeForce 8800 GTX: Half Life 2-fog is broken or misapplied. This fix requires the user to update their Valve Source–based games to the latest versions of the game engines.
  • GeForce 8800 GTX: Splinter Cell Double Agent-there is corruption in the game.
  • GeForce 8800 SLI: The system does not resume from S3 mode when SLI mode is enabled.
  • GeForce 8600/GeForce 7900 GTX SLI: "Display driver has stopped responding" error message appears when changing the resolution, or when resuming from Standby\Hibernate.
  • GeForce 8800 GTX: The Windows Experience Index tool crashes when trying to refresh the system score in Windows Vista 64-bit.
  • Please view the driver Release Notes for a list of all of the fixed issues in this driver release.

Windows Vista Limitations

  • In previous drivers, Vertical Sync (vsync) was listed as a Windows Vista limitations. However, NVIDIA has worked around this issue in our drivers.
  • Please view the driver Release Notes for a list of all Windows Vista limitations.

Application Limitations

  • NVIDIA has found application limitations and is continuing to document in our driver Release Notes. Please view the driver Release Notes for a list of all application limitations.

NVIDIA Vista Graphics Driver Issues

  • Please view the driver Release Notes for a list of all of known issues in this driver release.

NVIDIA Features No Longer Supported

  • Please view the driver Release Notes for a list of all features no longer supported.


    Comments
    on Apr 18, 2007
    Might want to emphesize that this is a beta driver...
    on Apr 18, 2007
    It says that in the text and on the web page
    on Apr 18, 2007
    Have you tried them Fuzzy? How did they work out for you?

    I am not sure whether I should take the plunge...
    on Apr 18, 2007
    Made my Aero score go up by .8
    on Apr 18, 2007
    Thanks for the heads up Fuzzy...will head over there now to d/l and install them.
    on Apr 18, 2007
    Well, it did nothing at all for my rating score.
    At home, I have a Geforce 6600 and my rating for games is 3.7
    At work, I have a Pcie Nvidia Quadro NVS 285 256MB and the rating is only a 3.1.
    The new driver does not support the Quadro though..
    on Apr 20, 2007

    My games score went from 5.3 to 5.4 (2x7600GT), however...

    In UT2004, DM-Antalus used as a test, fps dropped    Non SLi averaged 85fps, SLi enabled 58fps    That's with or without full AA, whice strangely didn't make a performance difference. Something in there is holding things back.
    The same test in XP gave 175fps. Looks like there is still no way gamers can move to Vista