Dell's Graphic Driver vs. Modified Nvidia Driver for 445M

Couldn't wait
install was a sinch! I did just as DaneGRClose said to and I had no problems...
this is the result of the 3DMark6 score with factory settings

Max GPU Core Temp 65C

will post later with "Afterburner" settings for kicks and giggles....
**********EDIT**************
With Afterburner....

Max GPU core temp 68C

Niiiice.......

Rooster

 

Does it seem snappier? Have you noticed any other differences good or bad?

 

Heck yeah! snappier is the word...
Not an expert, but I notice FPS increased a lot and during the test(3DMark6), and it just "looked" better, especially during the graphics heavy sections(forest scene, chase scene, frozen scene)....
Great Job!
Rooster

 

Wow! That's a 4-500pt increase based on your results in the first post! Dell's drivers just got obliterated!

 

Yes siree!
I will keep monitoring the performance, but I believe I've found a new Driver!
Thanks again!
Rooster

 

awesome results
will defo be intalling the driver once my lappy gets here!
edit: you guys are always so helpful, +1 to you's

 

THAAAANK YOU DaneGRClose great job!

 

Thanks man, you may also want to try the 266.35 beta driver Nvidia released this morning. Should install with no issues at all now that it has our id strings in it.

 

Been talking with DaneGRClose and I installed beta 266.35 and ran into problems, So, until DaneGRClose has a chance to look at it, hold off till he posts again about 266.35

Just letting you know....
Rooster
**************EDIT**************
it's fine to test, it was my fault it failed install.
************RE-EDIT***************************
keeping the forerunner for best driver(Nvidia 266.44) so far on each page

http://www.mediafire.com/?8969umn1i62alt4

 

Awesome! +1. I'm gonna check these out tonight. Are the newest Dell working yet? I was also unable to download them last night.

 

Once I find a stable OC for GPU and VRAM separately, but together they cause a crash, which one is better to lower performance wise? Thanks.

 

Lower the vram by let's say 10 mhz, if that doesn't work lower the core 10 mhz. The vram is better to lower first as core typically gives more performance per mhz.

 

Cool thanks. Blah it says I have to spread around rep before I can +1 again.

 

Did some testing with the 266.44 drivers.

Normal settings


Core Clk 713 Shader Clk 1426 Memory Clk 911


__________________

XPS 17 - i7 840QM, 4Gb RAM, 500Gb HDD, 3Gb GT 445M

 

266.35 beta installs fine, you do have to clear the old driver using Driver Sweeper and/or Custom/Clean install in the nvidia panel to make sure it's gone. Haven't benched it yet but I will later.

Screenshot for proof

 

Man, I can't even get close to 12000!, Great job!
Thanks for posting your results.

Dane is Correct, it was my fault the install failed. I was in a hurry and I didn't do a clean wipe of the previous driver, So it is safe to test 266.35
which I am going to do again here shortly,

Still re-learnin....
Rooster
**********EDIT*************
current forerunner for best driver (Nvidia 266.44)
http://www.mediafire.com/?8969umn1i62alt4

 

I want to test the 266.35 too along with my current Dell ones and the new Dell ones if I can download them tonight.

 

The new Dell ones are gonna be crap too lol. I have never tested a single Dell driver that did anywhere near as well as a Nvidia/ATi direct driver. Dell takes the drivers from Nvidia/ATi and gimps them to lower the performance to minimize warranty replaced products lol, not that the driver will break/harm your card at all.

 

The newest NVidia before these betas were crashing me even at default GPU/VRAM. I hope the betas don't crash. I know the Dells don't crash me even with overclocks (as long as I don't try to go too fast, that is ).

 

Were you using a modded driver? Other than the 266.44 driver I posted none of them have worked before this without being modded.

 

Yea I used the modded inf from laptop2go or whatever the site is.

 

Ok what driver version were you using that caused you problems?

 

260.99....

 

Oh ok, everybody that tried the 266.44 drivers were just fine. The 260.99 drivers were built before this computer so it may be some sort of compatibility issue.

 

installed 266.44, all fine. i was also downloading 3dmark while playing black ops (stable without crash) but downlaod server gone down

tomorrow i'll post my results, good night and good luck!

 

Awesome! A little over an hour and I'm outta here, then it's tweak time when I get home!

 

From the research that I did, you are indeed correct and that driver was not meant to be compatible with our config.

Yes, I saw you on steam "testing" black ops...

I know you will have better luck than I. But then again I have realized just how rusty I am with these procedures and I am probably the least qualifed out of everyone who has posted on this thread. the irony.....

I have had to restore 3 times, because I am always forgetting something to do.
So as right now I will be off the forum until at least tommarow while I "brush up" on my knowledge and will probably post a "noob's help guide" in the intro for this thread.

Please dont think less of me...
Rooster
******************EDIT********************
Forerunner for best driver (Nvidia 266.44)
http://www.mediafire.com/?8969umn1i62alt4

 

Guys you can try to test to see if you get different results, but my personal opinion after 6 runs of 3dmark06(3 stock, 3 overclocked) and a bit of gaming is to not waste your time on these drivers and to continue running the modded 266.44's. I'll post screenshots below but my GPU ran about 4-6 degrees hotter and netted a whopping 50pts higher in 3dmark06 than Dell's drivers.

Here's the screenshots:

Stock Run


Overclocked Run


Major fail Nvidia, major fail

 

3Dmark06 test results at 750/940
DELL 259.51 A02 - 12205 3DMarks - Max GPU Temp 63 C
DELL 259.51 A03 - 11897 3DMarks - Max GPU Temp 63 C
NVIDIA 266.35 - 12181 3Dmarks - Max GPU Temp 63 C, but the fan was running faster. The same speed fan doesn’t usually kick in until around 65 C with the Dell drivers, which I only got to with one game demo I ran.
NVIDIA 266.44 modded - 11862 3D Marks - Max GPU Temp 63 C. The fan also ran faster.

 

Did a 3DMark 06 test with the "beta" drivers:



Very happy of the results.

 

Hmmm..... interesting the driver seems to be liking the 445m but not the 425m so far. Did you do a clean install and/or use driver sweeper Redlance and compwiz? There has to be something I'm missing here, the 445m and 425m aren't all that different and you guys are getting better results than ever.

 

here are my results for 3Dmark06 with the modded nvidia driver:

with normal settings


with core clock 712, shader clock 1425, memory clock 912


very happy with the results, this machine is a beast

 

i havent yet installed the newest nvidia beta driver, but i will probably do it later on and post the results!

 

Ooops... I just installed on top, without uninstalling. Had to tell it to overwrite some files but otherwise it went fine. >.>

 

when lookin for the newest driver in nvidia's site, i only come up with a 260.99 driver?
can anyone give me the direct link for it, thanks

 

Here's the link:

NVIDIA DRIVERS 266.35 BETA

Redlance- did you install over 266.44, or the Dell driver, or....?

 

thank you!
ill make a restore point and do it now

 

LOL, I love all of the restore points being made in here. I've never once created a restore point when installing a video driver. The video driver will either work and install, or not work and not install. In the weird situation that it installs and doesn't work you can always go into safe mode and uninstall the driver.

 

yeah, but its sometimes faster to just restore the pc and have it as you left it

 

ok, i've run 3Dmark06 again with the nvidia 266.35 beta (performed clean install) and here are the results with my overclock.



as you can see, the beta drivers are nearly as bad as if i were running the test without overclock on the 266.44 modded drivers!

time for a restore

 

yes i cleaned the old ones until i got standard vga adapter and the crappy resolution, then I install the new ones. Yea I think I might use the beta too
.

 

I may have to do a restore myself tonight, I've installed so friggin many drivers that there may be some registry problems or something of that nature. There's no way these drivers can be working great for some and horribly for 1 or 2 people without something causing it other than the driver. I'll report back as soon as I find a solution. Great work on the results guys

 

well ive only had the drivers that were factory installed, the modded driver and the new nvidia beta.
i performed restores and chose a clean install each time, so im positive the results i got were correct.

for now though, im sticking with the modded driver, its working great overclocked

 

To me, its just the safest way and easiest way without losing every thing that I have worked on up to the test. It may add some time to the event, but I like being safe than sorry, but then again I am really rusty with procedures and for me, its the smartest move I've made during these tests.

You've made me feel a lot better and not as dumb, though I know that was never your intention

Same here, I was finally able to install 266.35 correctly and both 3DMark6 scores were lower(10333 and 10678) than the 266.44 Nvidia driver, so I reverted back to the 266.44 driver that Dane created for us.

Still shaking off the rust....
Rooster

P.S. How in the HECK can I get my score above 12000?????
any suggestions? anybody?

**************EDIT********************
Forerunner for best driver(Nvidia 266.44)
http://www.mediafire.com/?8969umn1i62alt4

 

You need to overclock more if it will stay stable. I think I must have gotten super lucky and gotten a higher Video Card labeled as a 445M due to 445M shortages because I have been able to run at 750/940 stable without any heat issues. But maybe Civilization V isn't the most demanding game either. Anything good to really stress the video card other than that dumb shooting game, please? Thanks.

 

It's kinda hard to think just off the top of my head without involving shooting games, Mass Effect 2(still involves shooting), Black Ops( still shooting is involved) but from what I gather is really a graphics heavy game. I have seen it played on the 360 and the graphics are incredible.
Stratagy....StarCraftII but I haven't played it but omg I want too. It's the next game that I will buy for this beast.
Any other suggestions? anybody?

Rooster

 

The best three game stress tests I've used are actually FarCry2, Crysis, and Metro 2033. Those 3 will beat the 7734 out of your card lol. SC2 is more cpu dependant than gpu.

 

you mean the one that start with cry and finish with sis?

maybe we could try empire or napoleon total war, battles with hundred of thousand men could stress GPU.. i have one copy but don't know how measure fps

 

Believe it or not but the absolute killer especially for DX11 cards is Metro 2033, I've seen that game on High/DX11 cripple very capable desktops.

 

Thanks, I will have to try FC2 again. Maybe with the NVidia drivers I won't have that weird gray textures thing going on. Does Metro 2033 have a demo? I definitely heard that is graphically demanding.