M14x - NVIDIA 295.73 WHQL Drivers Released - Discussion

RELEASE HIGHLIGHTS :

This is the first WHQL-certified driver from the R295 family of drivers. It is the recommended upgrade for all NVIDIA notebook users, especially those playing the latest hot PC games like Battlefield 3, Diablo III, Mass Effect 3, or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. These drivers come packed with GeForce-exclusive performance and quality enhancements and are now Microsoft WHQL-certified. Read the full GeForce 295.73 driver article on GeForce.com.

Product Support
This driver supports the following NVIDIA notebook GPUs (please refer to the Products Supported tab for exceptions):

ION notebook GPUs.
GeForce 8M, 9M, 100M, 200M, 300M, 400M, and 500M-series notebook GPUs.
Quadro 5010M, 5000M, 4000M 3000M, 2000M and 1000M notebook GPUs.
Quadro NVS-series notebook GPUs (only those that support DirectX 10 or higher).
Quadro FX-series notebook GPUs (only those that support DirectX 10 or higher).
NVS-series notebook GPUs (only those that support DirectX 10 or higher).

R295 Highlight Summary
New features and performance since last WHQL-certified driver

Game-changing performance boost of up to 45% in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, "the fastest selling title in Steam's history"
Up to 2x performance Mass Effect 3 with SLI technology.
GeForce-exclusive quality enhancements with ambient occlusion support for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Diablo III, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
New 3D Vision and SLI profiles for over 50 titles.
New PhysX software for the best experience in top PhysX titles like Alice: Madness Returns and Batman: Arkham City.

R295 Highlight Details

Performance

Increases performance by up to 45% in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (measured with GeForce GTX 560 at 1080p Ultra settings in indoor scenes vs. 285.62).
Updates the NVIDIA Control Panel ambient occlusion support for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to a higher performance profile.
Boosts Mass Effect 3 SLI performance to up to 2x.

Ambient Occlusion

Adds ambient occlusion support for Diablo III. See the comparison screenshots on GeForce.com.
Updates the ambient occlusion support for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to a higher performance profile (also in 290 beta drivers). See the comparison screenshots on GeForce.com.
Adds ambient occlusion support for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (also in 290 beta drivers). See the comparison screenshots on GeForce.com.

NVIDIA SLI

Adds or updates SLI profiles for:

Mass Effect 3
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
The Darkness II
F1 2011
Oil Rush
Red Faction: Armageddon
7554
Trine 2
WRC 2: FIA World Rally Championship 2011
Afterfall: InSanity.
ArcheAge
Core Blaze

NVIDIA 3D Vision

Adds support for 3D Vision windowed mode on DLP HDTVs and on Optimized for GeForce passive 3D monitors.
Added new 3D Vision laser sight /crosshair options to better match Skyrim crosshairs.
Adds or updates 3D Vision profiles for:
The Adventures of Tintin – rated Good
Afterfall: Insanity – rated Fair
ANNO 2070 - rated Not Recommended
Apache: Air Assault – rated Fair
Black Prophecy – rated Not Recommended
Chaos Online – rated Fair
Choplifter HD - rated Good
Cities XL 2012 - rated Good
Da Vinci Online – rated Fair
Dino D-Day - rated Good
DotA 2 – rating upgraded to Fair
Dungeon and Dragons: Daggerdale – rated Fair
Edge - rated Excellent
Ferrari Project – rated Not Recommended
The First Templar – rated Fair
Fractal – rated Excellent
FreeStyle 2 – rated Good
The Haunted Halls Reach – rated Excellent
Insane 2 - rated Excellent
King Arthur II – rated Not Recommended
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning – rated Fair
Kong Fu Ying Xiong – rated Fair
Love Beat – rated Good
Marvel Super Hero Squad Online – rated Good
Microsoft Flight – rated Fair
Perpetuum – rated Fair
Post Apocalyptic Mayhem – rated Fair
Prototype 2 – rated Fair
Q.U.B.E. – rated Excellent
Quan Qiu Shi Ming – rated Excellent
Red Bull X-Fighters - rated Excellent
rFactor 2 (mod mode) – rated Good and updated convergence
Risen 2: Dark Waters - rated Fair
Saints Row: The Third – Rated Not Recommended
Shadow Company: Left for Dead – rated Not Recommended
Special Force – Rated Good
Tera – rated Good
Top Gun: Hard Lock – rated Not Recommended
Tropico 4 – rated Good
Worms Blast – rated Good
If you are using 3D Vision with the 3D Vision USB emitter, please read this FAQ for more details on installation.

NVIDIA PhysX

Updates PhysX System Software to 9.12.0209 for improved compatibility with Alice: Madness Returns and Batman: Arkham City.

HD Audio

Updates HD Audio to version 1.3.12.0.

Battlefield 3

Fixes instances of texture corruption/artifacts in Battlefield 3 when memory constrained (typically 1GB or less graphics cards running Ultra settings and high resolutions).

Other Details

Supports multiple languages and APIs for GPU computing: CUDA C, CUDA C++, CUDA Fortran, OpenCL, DirectCompute, and Microsoft C++ AMP.
Supports single GPU and NVIDIA SLI technology on DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 11, and OpenGL.

 

It's seem like you did not provide any link! But dont worry, here is the link to download:

NVIDIA 295.73 Driver

And here is for the Release Notes (v295.73) for those like a more comprehensive change note.

Edit: I just download and successfully install this driver, test 2 game which is BF3 and Skyrim, for BF3 the performance doesnt seem to change much though, but for Skyrim, there are BIG performance upgrade, on some situation like while fight dragon, I usually having fps drop but now it seem to be fine, which is a good change. Oh btw, I have 3GB GF106 version of the GT555M.

 

My driver auto updated hence the absence of the link.
Will test soon.

 

I bought yesterday a brand new Alienware M14x and I have Nvidia driver 269.37, and today I went to nvidia page and I downloaded the last driver 295.73 but I can't install it, they say to me that I don't have hardware... anybody can help me?
thanks.

 

Same thing for me it wont update, I uninstalled the 295.51 and tried to install the 295.73 but "The graphics driver could not find compatible graphics hardware"

 

After you uninstall, did you restart the computer? Because you wont be able to install straightaway if you havent restart.

 

Have to unistall 269.37 nvidia driver first, reboot and try to install 295.73 driver ?

 

I derped, I downloaded the desktop driver not the notebook driver u_u"

 

i seems like previous problems with updating from 269.37 STILL persists. have a look at my posts so you get an idea where the problem is.

in a nutshell, since your update failed, their has been the notion that the NEWER 3GB G555M versions are the one's having problems updating, be it BETA or OFFICIAL RELEASES.

i myself have not tried the official release though so ill chime back in once i do.

holly COW! i guess i spoke too soon! way too soon!

just finished SUCCESSFULLY UPDATING TO 295.73 from a MODDED 295.53 i believe... wahooo...

 

is optimus working correctly?

 

I have the same graphic card as you GF116 (you can check by running GPU Z). Here is how I install NVIDIA 295.73 on my laptop:
-Uninstall any NVIDIA driver from laptop.

-Download NVIDIA 285.62 here NVIDIA DRIVERS 285.62 WHQL

- Download the modded inf at post #50 http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...dia-295-51-drivers-released-discussion-5.html

- Extract NVIDIA 285.62, when it says "does not find compatible hardware" close it.

- Copy the modded inf to C:\NVIDIA\DisplayDriver\285.62\WinVista_Win7_64\International\Display.Driver

- Now go back to C:\NVIDIA\DisplayDriver\285.62\WinVista_Win7_64\International to install NVIDIA 285.62, should have no problem installing it.

- Download NVIDIA 295.73 from the link CGSDR provided.

- Install NVIDIA 295.73 with no problem. NO MODDED INF NEEDED. CUSTOM INSTALL -> CLEAN INSTALL RECOMMENDED.

 

I try this tutorial and SUCCESS!!!!
Thank you very much nothing1607 and bapski

 

your welcome. rep would be nice..

 

please let this finally fix sonic

 

If you read the Release Note, there's a text where it said something like problem fix for this update, it state that the Hardware not detect thingy should be fix by this update, so you GF116 guys should be install with no problem.

 

did not really bother to read release notes. might as well get it done and over with. just thought, worst thing that could happen would be me going back to stock DELL drivers.

no worries.

 

i'm looking to play d3 with this driver(after i get a key T_T). can anyone run temp benchmarks and other game benchmarks as well?

 

Update successful. Thanks for the link

 

I was having issues upgrading straight to the new drivers. I followed the mini tutorial posted and have been running smooth. I was getting terrible framerates, but now I've gotten back to normal. Can't say much about performance since I just got the laptop yesterday and only loaded up games today.

 

Since you said you just got the laptop yesterday, it sound like you did not know how to whitelist or add game executable (.exe files) into NVIDIA Control Panel yet, you can learn how to do so by follow this Link Here, after you whitelist, you should be able to play smoothly. You can access the NVIDIA Control Panel by right click on the desktop then select NVIDIA Control Panel or find it in the Control Panel under the same name.

You may have to do this to All of the game you install to ensure that the game will play using the GT555M instead of the integrated Intel HD Graphic.

 

need help. just installed 295.73 after uninstalling my stock driver but now i can't access nvidia control panel.. any ideas?

edit**

i was using nvidia system tools btw so i just uninstalled then restarted and I can access control panel again. will reinstall system tools and update you what happens.

 

I was playing MW3 earlier today and had no problems at all.

I saw the Nvidea update and since then it's being running incredibly sluggish going down to unplayable FPS whenever there is any action going on.

Anyone else have a similar problem?

 

Thanks, I was wondering where can I manage optimus tecnology.

 

I did the whitelist method and was still getting bad fps. After I went through the steps the games were back to normal. Until I unplugged the laptop to go from kitchen to desk. The games were back to the bad framerates. I think it was the OS either downclocking the nVidia GPU or perhaps even switching to the Intel GPU. I tried restarting, reinstalling the drivers, and nothing was helping. During a game, however, I just unplugged the power cable, reconnected, and the game was back to normal.

It was during Battlefield Bad Company 2. I was getting 25fps with everything set to low and after the power unplugging/replugging the fps instantly shot up to over 70fps. Any idea how to avoid this issue?

 

when unplugged the NVIDIA card down clocks to about 205mhz

 

Sadly it did not.

 

This new driver works perfectly and increase my fps for Skyrim on my M14x. I am now able to play this game all in ultra without any lag (i just OC the GPU to 650/1300/930)

Thanks nvidia

 

no noticeable difference for me on skyrim. I paly ultra with a few tweaks. I still get low fps in solitude and in inside the thieves guild, around 20-25 even with 700/1400/1000 OC. Other areas its 30++

My temps max out at 70 but stays within 65-67 most of the time. cpu is 78-82. I am using u2 coolermaster, no repaste.

What i noticed though is the increased boot up time. It used to take 1min before everything get's loaded up, now its 15-20 secs more.

 

@singkuy The increased load times,could be attributed to the tweaks and mods that youve applied

 

I updated to this last ngiht and its had a huge boost to fps on skyrim.

Good times!

 

Too bad there are not much improvements for us BF3 players .. It runs fine anyway

 

by tweaks i mean just changing setting in the options and nvidia control panel. I don't use mods of any sort, I just uninstalled stock driver and installed 295.73..

I'll try to check again after i defrag

 

This experience is with a GPU overclock and RAM set to 1866 MHZ, but no other changes.

Massive decrease in heat problems with this driver, as well as a very significant increase in graphics performance in non-gaming use (Windows Experience jump from 5.9 to 7.0 due to better Aero performance). I know it shouldn't do that, but it does.

I had been not wanting to OC the GT555 due to the issues I'd been having with the laptop, but the immediate decrease in GPU temps (decrease of 4-5 degrees C) and CPU temps (decrease of 2-3 degrees) convinced me to give it a try. Almost clocked it back to stock when I found that I can go pretty hot if I'm running Furmark and Burntest simultaneously, but kept monitoring as I played Skyrim and Crysis 2.

With the new driver, 750/1080/1500 OC, RAM @ 1866, and TurboBoost enabled, "heavy" gaming led to temps under 75 degrees on the GPU and under 85 degrees on the CPU cores.

Lower than with any of my previous 3 motherboards. Very impressed, and I'll be VERY happy if a driver fix like this and this last motherboard swap end my issues for good.

Edit: Forgot to mention...I saw an average of 1-2 FPS increase in both Skyrim and Crysis 2 while not OCed, and 5-10 fps increase OCed, even while increasing the detail to max.

 

What processr do you have metalgodz?

 

I've got the i7 2720qm. I really wish I'd done better documentation of the the driver patches & hardware replacements in relation to the heat and FPS numbers.

Edit, with a correction:
I hit 80*C on the GPU today after about 2-3 hrs of play. Using nVidia's tool for the OC, and I've got it set to automatically load a stock clock rate profile when it goes above 80. It's still averaging 71*C during gaming, it just spikes sometimes during a particularly detailed scene / indoors.

CPU has topped 90*C today, but not by much, and not on all cores. It's still averaging sub-80 degrees, but it's occasionally quickly spiking to 90-94*C and then back down under 80.

 

I have downloaded and installed the Verde 295.73 Driver I have noticed increased stability, especially in SWTOR. I have also noticed slightly decreased frame rates and 3DMark11 scores. I will trade stability for a few fps any day.

 

I'm sad. Ever since I updated to the knew drivers, Skyrim has been severely under-performing. I'm getting about half the FPS I used to. I haven't test any other games yet; but I'm still saddened by it.

Does anyone know how to fix this, or perhaps a way to reverse update?

 

the wei jump is only from running the aero test on the nvidia gpu vs intel gpu

also it is hard to tell the temp differences. differences in core utilization creates more or less turbo boost which changes heat

 

I saw a big thread about installing the 295.51 drivers from nVidia, but I was wondering how I would go about installing the 295.73 drivers here

I don't know if its the same procedure, I just know that I don't want Dell's crappy, outdated drivers.

I have the 1.5GB card.

Thanks

 

You would uninstall anything with NVIDIA and then do a clean install with the new 295.73 drivers. I recommend using CCleaner to remove the existing 3D Vision Driver, Graphics Driver, HD Audio Driver, PhysX System Software, and Update.

Then download the 295.73 driver and the .exe you will run will reinstall newer versions of the things you removed. I also have the 1.5 card and had no issues doing it this way.

 

Well, sorry about that useless thread, and thanks for moving it. I hate being "that guy"

 

installed the new 295.73 this morning without problems,

-uninstalled the old one
-restarted
-installed the new one
-restarted
-works!

still have to test performance this evening...

 

Update:
Did several tests with the new drivers,
getting better performance at 3d Mark Vantage improved from 6100 points to 6400.

No crashes or stability problems yet, but will keep testing

 

Anybody else notice, the GPU is always running at 3D speeds(590/1180/900)?

 

i did notice this and it caused my battery life to drop an hour and a half, so until this issue is fixed i reverted to beta drivers

 

What drivers did you go back to? i was on the original installed drivers before.

 

the 290.53 beta drivers

 

perfect! thanks now only if they fix this problem.

 

they fix the issue of the card not downclocking but skyrim performance is no where near as good as the new driver

 

I just hope this BETA works well the ME3.