Installing nVidia Drivers for M11xR1

So before starting, I've searched the forums numerous times, if a post similar to this has been made I'm sorry just send me a link.

So. I keep reading about how R2 users are updating their drivers and etc through the nVidia drivers site with a mod inf? or something along those lines and I was just wondering can the R1 users also download and install the nVidia drivers nVidia releases and not only just Dell? I installed the 258.96 and for some reason the computer freaks out doesn't recognize any drivers on the computer and says the max resolution is 1024x768 and I had to re download the driver from dell and install the older version. So can anyone help me out here clearing somethings out for me? Can the R1 users ONLY use Dell drivers or can we also install the drivers nVidia releases like the 258.96 or even 257.21

although driver updates might only increase your frames by 1~4 I'd like to take all i can get before OC'ing my gpu.

 

The R1 uses a technology called Hybrid Graphics (aka Switchable Graphics) and the drawback to this technology over its newer cousin Optimus is that it requires both Intel and Nvidia drivers to be installed together in a single package. With that said it makes it extremely difficult to modify or create a package that can install newer nvidia drivers. I have posted newer drivers and instructions on how to do this but it also requires setting windows to test mode and signing both nvidia and intel kernel drivers before it will work. I like to call my drivers Hybrid Graphics Master Set because I am attempting to create a driver package that works for all Hybrid Graphics notebooks. I will hopefully have a new one posted with Nvidia version 258.96 and Intel version 2020 soon.

 

All credits go to kopicha who answered this question for me via PM the other day when I asked him how to install modified .inf files for the nvidia beta drivers.

His response to me was:
Hi,

After you extract the driver from Nvidia it should auto run then tell u it cannot locate necessary hardware. click ok exit the installer. Now go to your C drive you see a Nvidia folder. That is where the drivers were being extracted. Go into this folder one by one until u reach the display driver folder you will notice there is a similar file nvdm.inf in that folder. Just extract my modded inf file and replace that file. Then run the setup.exe again It will now detect your M11x. Cheers!


I'm pretty sure r1 can only use Dell drivers, but r2 users can use dell drivers OR beta drivers. NVIDIA Driver Downloads - Advanced Search . Fill in the corresponding boxes with your information and download those, following what kopicha told me.

Goodluck

 

thnx for the info, I looked around and found out you can update the R1's graphics drivers just that you would lose the ability to switch to intel graphics, by setting graphics only to discrete

 

Hi, I was considering the R1 too, but was worried about future driver support for it compared to the generic Optimus driver support of the R2 model.

From your answer, i am guessing that I will lose the convenient 'switching' ability of the R1 which was one of it's core benefits....and on top of it, the drivers themselves have to be 'modified' much more drastically just to get it to work for the R1.

I guess what I am reading of the better support for the Optimus drivers is indeed true judging from the spat of recent releases from Nvidia.

And i see that the improved drivers are also in many cases giving improvements to the R2 performance even at this early stages. Given that the R1 has already been out for almost half a year, I am guessing that if I were to give the R2 the same amount of time, there may actually be better and better improvements down the road if I am looking to make a 'similar' performance comparison.

Oh wells....not trying to cause another comparison topic, just trying to understand where each product stands in its maturity cycle.

 

@Iris - Lots of info already posted in this thread. Let me say this... If you are not interested in the slow, battery conservative intel hd graphics, then you can into the bios, switch graphics from switchable to discrete (this is the nvidia 335mGT). This means your system will only see the Nvidia 335mGT and not the intel hd 4500. Now, once this is done you can utilize ANY of the released drivers from Dell, Nvidia, Asus, HP, whomever... as long as you either modify or get the modified INF file that will support the 335mGT. This is very important. For some drivers you HAVE to use the mod driver. For the drivers below I have and confirmed which need the mod INF file and which do not. But you have to switch to DISCRETE graphics in the bios only for these to work properly. I use my M11x only for gaming. I dont need or require 7 hours battery. I get some strong performance out of the R1 with my tweaks. I have also spent lots of time benchmarking different drivers. Here is a list of drivers. The Asterisk will indicate if they require modded INF files...

258.96 (2nd Best So Far) Need to test more..
258.49 (Best So Far)
198.05*
197.57*

PM me for help. I can assist you further off forum.

Best Wishes, StevenX

 

Guess you lost the ability to do this easily which was one of the core benefits of the R1.

Ok, so let me just get some of my facts right.

Most people I see here are choosing the R1 or R2 based on how much battery life each gives and performance.

If what you are saying is true, than those people who want to have the 'improved' performance of the R1 and want to get the latest and 'best' drivers for tweaks will have to use the drivers initially released for the R2 model? And by doing so, lose one of the very core benefits of why they picked the R1? That is 1)Switchable graphics on the fly and 2)longer battery life. Both gone.

Than I guess if we take a 'future' snap shot of the R2, given that it can use updated better performance drivers almost natively, and still have the ability to switch between the intel and nvidia graphics, won't that mean that the R2 will give better battery life and performance?

I do not have the luxury like you and use the m11x only for gaming. I, and I think 60% of people, want to use this for both gaming and other work related tasks.

Sorry for my questions, but I just want to be clear before making any decisions.

 

It could mean better battery life for the R2, but we are unsure.
Some say its the new processors that are giving the drain(and therefore driver shouldn't help much) others say that the 335M graphics card isn't really fully off but just idling(this is where better drivers could help). It is questionable of the R2 does indeed get better battery life in the future.

Performance benefits are more than likely to happen. Take the new 258.96, most people are saying that they are getting getter frame rates then with the previous drivers.

 

@All - nvidia drivers are just that. Drivers.. they support a large range of video cards. Not just ONE card. What a modified INF file does is add to the list of supported video cards the driver will support. Please dont think of a driver release as an Optima only release. I have to go now but will chime in later with more details. BW, StevenX

 

I agree. Most drivers support a large range of video cards natively. But this is not the case here.

Well, in this case, it is truly an Optima only release as modifying to suit the R1 strips away some of the built-in features of the R1......which does not support Optimus.

From my logical deduction, using the new better performing drivers for the R1 just means that it is on Full throttle all the time.....= ALOT less battery life compared to the R2 which can switch around instantly, even if it's CPU takes alittle more juice. So, if you compare both R1 and R2 in this scenario, the R2 will certainly have a much longer battery life. And if you compare both on full throttle, the difference is going to be almost nil.

And as I mentioned, I do not have the luxury of purchasing a laptop purely for gaming...I do use it for everyday tasks too.

It's still a very big (-) compromise for the R1 considering it's losing it's core portable versatility.

 

@All - I think this thread is getting confusing... So lets go with facts.
1. Fact - that the default R1 setting is switchable graphics.
2. Fact - few drivers support graphic GPU switching (197.12 example) for the R1.
3. Fact - Many companies release drivers that support Nvidia cards. This may or may not include optimus support.
4. Fact - INF files can be updated to add the nvidia 335mGT video card even if the driver was not originally designed for that card or series.
5. Fact - The R1 is NOT optimus or optimus related.

Last - please dont confuse optimus or optimus drivers R2 with the R1. Just because a driver is released that supports the R2 optimus such as 258.96, it also can support the standard Nvidia 335mGt and many others.

Does this make sense?

Best Wishes,

StevenX

 

You are correct. Here is the scenario

There is a great video that gives a comparison of Hybrid Graphics (aka Switchable Graphics) and Optimus on YouTube.

Alienware M11x(R1) = Hybrid Graphics (aka Switchable Graphics)
Pros: You have full control over what GPU is in use. Slightly longer battery life than the R2 at this point. Runs Hybrid Graphics which has been in notebooks for years now, this means most of the bugs should be worked out (for the most part).

Cons: Drivers that are released and supported only by the notebook manufacturer. The reason for this is because Hybrid Graphics requires a single driver package that contains two separate companies drivers (Nvidia & Intel). Hybrid Graphics notebooks traditionally feature much older drivers which are usually updated only once or twice depending on the notebook manufacturer. (Notebook manufacturers traditionally do not have the money or resources to put a full team on each model notebooks driver release. Alienware has been a bit ahead of the curve on this.) Switching is not seamless and takes a couple of seconds. The screen flashes some applications may need to be closed before the switch can take place. Currently with the R1 you are stuck using Intel drivers that are about a year old. These drivers do not have the benefit of flash video acceleration and advanced power saving that the newer Intel drivers have.

Compromise: For most Hybrid Graphics users there is an option in the BIOS to force the Nvidia GPU to be seen as the only one in the system. The benefit to doing this is you should be able to install the latest standard Nvidia drivers. The drawback to this is you loose all Hybrid Graphics benefits and the power saving benefits of the Intel GPU as your notebooks is now essentially seen as a single Nvidia GPU system.

Alienware M11xR2 = Optimus
Pros: With Optimus the Nvidia and Intel graphics drivers are installed and supported separately. Nvidia Optimus drivers are essentially standard Nvidia drivers. All recent and future driver releases should have Optimus built in (In some cases you may need an INF with the Device ID of your GPU added). You can also install any of the most recent Intel drivers released. Optimus is a brand new software based technology so it will only get better. Seamless uninterrupted and pretty much unnoticeable (beyond the performance increase) switching of GPUs.

Cons: Optimus is a brand new technology and has some bugs and glitches currently. With Optimus you cannot manually force the GPU in use at all times. Users currently do not have as much control over some of the features used on the Nvidia side. There is increased load on the PCI Express bus due to how Optimus works.

Will edit in more information and pros and cons.
EDIT: Good information from stevenxowens792 in the previous post.^

 

Thanks for replying again. But just to confirm the Facts.

You yourself are using the newest drivers, and pay the penalty of :

1)Losing the ability of the default switchable capability of your machine on the fly.

2)Lose the tremendous battery life advantage you have.

You are correct. You turn your R1 machine into a great Purely only gaming machine. This makes the R2 alot more versatile in nature and future proof in my eyes.

 

@M11xnewbie - I think the fair assessment is that I have converted or customized my machine into what is most important to me... I can comment more in a while.

EDIT: You can get some pretty impressive gains through driver support. I feel it's very important for gaming personally. You can still get pretty good performance from the last switchable graphics driver from DELL if battery life is your greatest concern. Again there are many threads on the subject and I am not a big fan of rehashing the subjects if the information is not really new or updated.

Good luck if you decide to order one. Alienware sells a great machine...

StevenX

 

More info for you on the latest Optimus driver ... which is not really an "optimus" drivers but a general release that supports optimus.

Version: 258.69 BETA
Release Date: 2010.06.29
Operating System: Windows Vista 64-bit, Windows 7 64-bit
Language: English (UK)
File Size: 142 MB



Release HighlightsSupported productsAdditional information

As part of the NVIDIA Verde Notebook Driver Program, this is a reference driver that can be installed on supported NVIDIA notebook GPUs. However, please note that your notebook original equipment manufacturer (OEM) provides certified drivers for your specific notebook on their website. NVIDIA recommends that you check with your notebook OEM about recommended software updates for your notebook. OEMs may not provide technical support for issues that arise from the use of this driver.

Before downloading this driver:
Please check to make sure that your notebook has a supported GPU (refer to the Products Supported tab below).
It is recommended that you backup your current system configuration. Click here for instructions.
If you own a Dell Inspiron 1420, Dell XPS M1330, Dell XPS M1530, or Dell Latitude D630/D630c it is highly recommended that you first install this Dell software update.
RELEASE HIGHLIGHTS :
This is a beta driver release from the Release 256 family of drivers (versions 256.xx to 259.xx). Learn more about Release 256 drivers here.

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-series, and GTX 400M-series 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).
New in Version 258.69

Adds support for GeForce GTX 400M-series notebook GPUs
Includes numerous bug fixes. Refer to the release notes on the documentation tab for information about the key bug fixes in this release.
New in Release 256 Drivers

Adds support for NVIDIA Optimus notebooks.
Adds support for Blu-ray 3D with NVIDIA 3D Vision technology. Learn more about the hardware and software requirements here.
Upgrades PhysX System Software to version 9.10.0223.
Adds support for CUDA Toolkit 3.1 which includes significant performance increases for double precision math operations. See CUDA Zone for more details.
Adds support for a new ‘Quality’ mode for NVIDIA’s Ambient Occlusion control panel feature.
Adds a new NVIDIA Control Panel setup page for SLI and PhysX for ultimate control over multi-gpu configurations.

StevenX

NVIDIA DRIVERS 258.69 BETA

 

Thanks for you informative reply.

I have seen the facts and I am not prepared for the HUGE trade-offs just for turning the m11x into a purely gaming machine. Sometimes when one is overloaded with a bunch of facts like the whole chunk above, it is hard to apply that to real world effects.(Not complaining here though, am glad you took the trouble to paste it)

However, unlike you, I need the machine for far more versatility like the R2.

All the advantages of the R1 vanished when I saw this thread today(for me). I am kinda glad for all your kind support Steven. Thanks

Guess it's the R2 for me.

The R1 can still be for you(The new buyer looking at this thread), if you have similar requirements to StevenX.

 

Thanks for the info, ya i understand that you can only use discrete to use nvidia drivers, and from what I've seen and used using
258.96 - Most unstable, and have large dips in frames usually gets the most frames from the three drivers but has way too many either crashes, dips or etc.
257.21 - Most stable and 2nd best frames, ive used this for the majority of the day and ive seen to be getting about a 27+ ~38 fps( starcraft 2) and (40+) in modern warfare 2
Dell drivers - Compared to the other drivers... not worth mentioning.

All Tests were done Via Starcraft 2, Modern Warfare 2 At Ultra settings (texture, shader, shadow etc as well as Vsync)

its very unfortunate the R1 cant switch I'm seeing a 5+ fps on starcraft 2, but whenever i need to switch i have the driver on my desktop and my ssd installs the driver in 10 seconds so i can switch between when im on the road and at home.

 

I think you forget to state that you dont need a "dedicated" Optimus drivers to work on R2 (thou modding might be require at this time for adding hardware in the list). It makes no sense to create a dedicated Optimus drivers since Nvidia drivers and Intel drivers are being installed seperately(fact). In any case if there is an Optimus issue it will also be address via the same Verde driver which is not dedicated Optimus driver(unnecessary) as Optimus is not a standalone thing but part of feature. Just like you do not need "dedicated" SLI drivers to support SLI cards but its already part of Verde. But the fact is also they dont support switchable gfx at least for now. Its not even part of the drivers even with inf modification. So in short modding of new drivers by just adding hardware support for R2 users retain their Optimus feature while modding of new drivers for R1 users will "remove" the switchable gfx feature(fact)

dont just cut and paste. i think its fair for ppl to know the truth and make their own choice than to mislead. I like both R1 n R2. but for my case i made my choice with R2 for better support in "future". dont get me wrong as R1 is a great piece of hardware too and thats no deny. but to me what i feel is battery life is only that much that you can get now and it wont change in future. but performance on R2 look to have a brighter future at least to what i see. cheers and happy gaming

 

There must be a way of using the latest Intel driver for the R1, and the latest Nvidia driver. I know that at least some Acer machines have had a modded BIOS to allow for integrated, discrete, switchable in BIOS.

If Alienware doesn't want to bother with releasing new hybrid drivers, they should at least release an updated BIOS. People can then chose they card they want, it is good enough and ensures we can use the latest drivers for both cards.

Any comments on this?

 

Here are Nautis' packaged drivers with switching working for the 258 driver, at least on my Hybrid Graphics notebook.

Note that you will have to sign the drivers after you install, for them to work.
Install procedure for hybrid graphics x64 - LaptopVideo2Go Forums
(Try workaround 1 first for testing, and if it works, you can do option 2 to make it permanent)

No guarantees, but the worst that will happen is that you get to uninstall this one and re-install the original Dell driver.

Also, if you are unable to install these and get an error, please tell the exact error, or post a screenshot.

 

Has anyone done this on the R1? I am interested in any performance gains vs. the new official Dell drivers.

 

Yes i have, but not through his hybrid drivers. I upgraded my drivers by making my alienware discrete only when at home and made the drivers update to ver. 258.69 as well as .98 and the stable 257.xx The difference between the dell drivers and 25x series were huge. i gained about 3~5 fps in SC2 which made a very big difference for me.

i used to get in sc2 ultra texture ultra settings everything and vsync about 24(rare dips still stable due to vsync)~ 34 fps.
but after i updated i got around 24(very stable still due to vsync) ~ 40 fps with the average fps being around 32~36.

 

I am working on a Nvidia 258.96 / Intel 2020 set that will hopefully work a bit better for everyone. Not sure if that 258.49 set will power the nvidia part down properly for M11x(R1) users. Still working out a few kinks.

 

I installed the 258.49 drivers on my M11xR1 with no problems. I did not have to do the hybrid signing procedure. It just works. Although now fn + F6 no longer changes the graphics card. I now have to do it using the icon. Know of anyway to fix this?

Thanks for keeping this up to date. The only glitch I have so far is the function key not working.

 

Will it power down with Sleep?

 

enjoy the pic
method same as my last fusion
but u need to fuse the nvidia beta with the dell latest driver
yup this one is switchable...Credit to deathbringer for inform me this
thanks bro


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

lol...u discovered the method. i just made sure it worked with the latest beta drivers. not sure though with the latest whql drivers.

for me, no significant improvements compared to the whql drivers. but i've not done any benchies.

 

FFXIV Benchmark jumped up about 40 points under stock GPU clocks with the 258.96s

Other then that nothing noticeable and I haven't done any other benchmarks, but doing lksing's method is switching them properly, though with the usual issue of having to put the computer into sleep mode to completely turn off the 335M

 

Is it switchable with the hotkeys or just the software button. Can you post a link to your method. Thanks.

 

click here V

 

the FN+F6 will work just fine. follow the instructions from lksing78.

though as mentioned earlier, it still does not completely turn off the discreet card. but that happens even if u use the official drivers from Dell.

 

The new dell drivers do power off the discrete card after switching after about 15 minutes. I wonder if that would work here if I used those drivers as the base for lksing78's method?

 

maybe i didn't wait long enough to find out.

but if it works with the new dell drivers, i don't see why the DIY drivers won't.

 

The only problem with this method is while it may work things like the encode and decode files have been removed. Some other INF changes may effect things in a negative way. You are extremely close to being able to being able to make a fully proper package but the install information file (INF) which dictates how and were things are installed is very important.

Along with everything else I am doing, I am writing up a Modding 101 tutorial series that can be found here. It is currently a work in progress and more information, better formatting, and some cleanup will happen. I am typing up the portion on Hybrid Graphics now and will add it when its finished. You can find much of what will be in the Hybrid Graphics section here. This may help learn about the INF how it functions and what is important for Hybrid Graphics.

 

If anyone is still interested in this thread and the latest r1 drivers, Nautis has a 258.59 switchable gfx driver here

Hybrid Graphics Master Set Drivers - LaptopVideo2Go Forums

hopefully we will start to see optimus work on the r1.

thx Nautis for the drivers, ur a pretty leet guy

 

BUMP THIS UP

 

Is that driver for the Intel GMA HD (i3/i5/i7), or the Intel GMA 4500MHD we have?

Because the nVidia GPU doesn't disable on with these drivers, so we are better off setting discrete only.