point of circumventing Dell to install nVidia beta drivers?

As we know, nVidia's own updates won't install in Dell laptops, and Dell doesn't post its own versions of nVidia's latest drivers. But one can go to laptopvideo2go.com to get the modded inf file that will allow us to install any driver.

I did all of that on my m1330, i.e. installed 163.44 (latest beta). Now my Vista performance ratings have gone from 4.0 to 4.1 (Aero) and the games/business rating from 4.6 to 4.7.

What was the point?

I realize there are bug fixes for specific games, but I don't play thoise games. I did run FS X and it is slow with either driver.

 

Well, if you didn't find Dell's drivers to be problematic and you're just using your 1330 for day to day tasks such as browsing or media then I'll have to say there isn't much of a point.

If you're looking to squeeze every last drop of performance out of the thing then every bit counts, yeah?

 

If one needs to squeeze every last drop of performance out of the thing, then surely a 10lb laptop or a desktop would give much better performance, not just 0.1 or 0.2 more? The 8400M isn't a top-of-the-line gaming card.

 

if you go to laptopvideo2go they have modified versions of the latest nvidia drivers that will work. I have the latest nvidia drivers for bio shock installed on my 1520 with the 8600gt card in it.

 

It really depends on the user. Because I need to tote my notebook back and forth from home to work, and also prefer a smaller form factor for travel, meetings and for use in my lap, the size and weight of the 1330 is paramount to me.

However - even though I don't game much anymore - there are a few titles coming out that do interest me, and I'd like to mess around with them even if the overall experience is less than, say a big desktop with a GeForce 8800GTX or even a console. At this point in my life, being tied down to a big machine isn't an option, and neither is a 10lb notebook. I can only afford one new computer at the moment, and unfortunately the business has to take priority over the fun

It's also a fact that the 1330 is appealing to many buyers specifically because it manages to squeeze in any kind of discrete graphics at all into its near-ultralight frame. If some new drivers and a bit of tweaking can raise frame rates in a favorite game 5-10fps, then all the better. I fully intend to optimize drivers and overclock moderately if at all possible.

 

not to mention....squeeze out a little bit of performance by changing the drivers...a little more by overclocking slightly, a little more by adding in a cooling pad..a little more by keeping your system clean of crapware, before you know it...you are sitting in a big mess of performance...

but seriously, 1 % here, 1 % there, starts to add up, doesn't it? when you go to the store and the clerk gives you back 2 pennies for change, do you put them in your pocket or throw them on the ground?