GeForce 7900 performing like crap on Vista--are there any newer drivers?

I just got my Inspiron 9400 with the GeForce Go 7900GS yesterday and loaded World of Warcraft, put video settings to about what my desktop with a GeForce 7600GT 256mb runs to start, and it's only getting between 20 and low-30s in FPS. This is not even CLOSE to what this card should be capable of doing. My desktop with the 7600 runs upwards of 50fps with half as much system RAM and an Athlon 3500, running the same resolution (1440x900).

I've double checked all settings (even though this card should be able to run everything maxed on WoW) and the only conclusion I can come to right now is that it's the crap Nvidia driver for Vista. Are there any newer drivers from 3rd party sites that will help? I'm coming close to reformatting and putting XP Pro on the system, not only because of this but because of some of the little things I've had to put up with so far with Vista :\

 

I've been hearing that WoW isn't performing very well in Vista. At least, my friend who's running Vista and WoW on an x1800 is getting slowdown as well.

 

Hm, I know some other people with Vista who don't seem to have problems, but I can't really verify it myself.

I've searched around and it seems there is a driver from January 5th and a beta driver from January 31st available for download. My driver's date says 12/7/2006 yet won't update using the default Windows driver update (surprise surprise). I'm not sure which of the two new ones I found I should try first. Has anyone else tried them?

 

well, i think it's nornal. People have reported that nVIDIA cards perform like crap in Vista, e.g the guy with V1JP running Vista ultimate. He has 45fps on XP, and 25fps on Vista, same settings. I believe nVIDIA would release newer drivers soon due to this obvious problem

 

I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out. I REALLY don't want to go through reformatting and installing XP, but at the same time I'm not liking the lack of support from a lot of the companies whose products I use...my AVG anti-virus doesn't work completely, ZoneAlarm as far as I know still doesn't work on Vista, etc. I'm just sick of going without programs that I consider essential. And I hate having all this power and not being able to use it because of bad drivers.

 

whats this "highest setting" you are speaking of?

i have an x1400 and i turned everything onto max and it doesnt even choke at all

i have vista basic

also i chat with friends on MSN and browse thottbot... no choke at all

maybe cuz i have a smaller screen?

btw i have a dell 6400 and 2g ram x1400 1.6 core 2 duo

 

which driver version are you using? most of nVdias vista drivers suck, but you can try the 100.30, which apparently aren't half bad (still slower than xp though). they can be found here http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=12228.
Also make sure to read the quickstart guide before installing (otherwise it will probably not work, you'll complian in their forum and thay'll get mad at you for not reading the quickstart guide).
cheers

 

I found that the 97.52 drivers are decent on Vista, there's a minor performance hit in most games. They can be found at www.laptopvideo2go.com

 

Try this place:
http://www.guru3d.com/

 

Its a driver problem.

Even with 100.59 its still bad, you have to wait.

 

I thought it's pretty obvious to everyone that everytime a new operating system is out, it's better to wait a few months till everything is updated.....especially if you're a gamer. I don't think I'm gonna install vista before the summer or at least till I hear that everyone is starting to use it.

 

I had no choice--the system came preloaded with it. I'm reformatting and putting XP Pro on it within the next 24 hours.

 

I recently recieved my copy of Vista Business through my college's academic consortium for free, full version with a legit key, so I didnt complain about installing it on my Sager 5720. However I did think twice about it.


I dont really regret my decision to upgrade, but this driver BS has been a royal Pain in the neck. BF2142 runs like crap on the 7800GTX, when in XP it ran perfectly fine. Plus I am waiting on Saitek to release the new Vista compatible Profile Editor for my Gaming mouse, and waiting on A BisonCam driver.

If it werent for this nVidia driver problem I could deal with Vista the way it is, but the nvidia driver just peaks my frustration.