NVIDIA GeForce/Quadro/ION v258.96 WHQL Notebook Drivers Now Available

The WHQL certified version of the NVIDIA v258.96 graphics driver for GeForce, Quadro, and ION products is now available. There are no changes from the WHQL-candidate version, where discussion can be found in this thread. The driver packages also include the HDMI Audio driver and PhysX System Software.

Please note that only the Verde notebook releases will be mentioned here. If you are looking for the v258.96 WHQL desktop releases, visit Drivers - Download NVIDIA Drivers to grab them.

Download links (official US mirrors, other NVIDIA download mirrors may exist for your region):

• Windows XP x86 (32-bit): http://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/258.96/258.96_notebook_winxp_32bit_international_whql.exe
  
• Windows XP x64 (64-bit): http://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/258.96/258.96_notebook_winxp_64bit_international_whql.exe
  
• Windows Vista / Windows 7 x86 (32-bit): http://us.download.nvidia.com/Windo...ok_winvista_win7_32bit_international_whql.exe
  
• Windows Vista / Windows 7 x64 (64-bit): http://us.download.nvidia.com/Windo...ok_winvista_win7_64bit_international_whql.exe

Release notes:

• Windows XP: http://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/258.96/258.96_WinXP_Notebook_Release_Notes.pdf
• Windows Vista / Windows 7: http://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/258.96/258.96_Win7_WinVista_Notebook_Release_Notes.pdf

Other places of interest:

• LaptopVideo2Go news announcement - NVIDIA 258.96 now WHQL - LaptopVideo2Go Forums
• Guru3D forum announcement (mainly for desktop versions) - nVidia WHQL 258.96 is Out - Guru3D.com Forums

A friendly reminder about product support:

 

i think the links are broken.

cant download beyond 36 MB

UPDATE- the laptopvideo2go links were broken and they have now been fixed.

These links are good to go too.

 

@Justin - What is the difference between the notebook and desktop release?
For those with notebooks wanting max performance rather than battery life is it better to use the desktop driver with mod inf?

Just curious to get your opinion.

Best Wishes,

StevenX

 

same here, i tried to download it 4 times and it freezes after short time.

 

I downloaded the Windows 7 X64 version with no problems.

 

is it better than 195.62 and 186.81 ?

 

For me these Drivers are but it will vary between different hardware. I find better performance in GTA IV with these ones but some one else might not.

 

Go here: Drivers - Download NVIDIA Drivers

Fill in appropriate info in each tab and try from there. THIS driver SHOULD show up as the driver to install.

It's a brand new WHQL release, could be server tie ups.

 

is there any difference between this and the same BETA version released earlier??


EDIT: i downloaded the x64 version if anyone facing a download issue tell me and ill upload it for you guys.

 

Edit : Post deleted.

 

I need to update the links -- NVIDIA had messed up the file names initially and were not available on their website as of 4:00 AM PDT and now they seem to have changed the file names again. I'll update the first post to reflect this.

EDIT: Download links fixed! Enjoy!

 

http://us.download.nvidia.com/Windo...ok_winvista_win7_64bit_international_whql.exe

 

The desktop and notebook releases should be very much the same -- it's just that the notebook releases contain multiple INF files for each manufacturer that specify which specific notebook GPUs are supported. In most cases consequently, I don't think it's necessary to use the desktop release with modded INF unless you have a notebook that is not compatible with the notebook release (like Sony notebooks).

 

any word on their performance yet?

and temps? idling / load?

 

i am waitin for an answer for this.

 

will system tools work with these?

 

i tried the drivers, and powermizer seems to work perfectly.

it downclocks pretty well.

no major furmark increases though, and i am yet to try some games to find in game increases.

 

waitin for your on ground evaluation.

 

Any news on how these new drivers are running compared to the last release?

 

This driver is very similar to the 257.21/ 258.96 beta. I seem to get better flash video GPU acceleration with this driver in my 8400M GT.

 

is it better than 258.69 beta?

 

in terms of down-clocking and idling temps, YES!

in game performance, not yet tested. didnt have the time.

 

confirmed here too- runs 2°C cooler, also GPU-Z 0.4.4 started reporting correct clocks

 

Like Wishmaster.dj said, this driver is better at downclocking and it got better idle temps than the beta had! My 9300m gs was 60 celcius in idle on the beta and now it's 56 (as it should be).

In games I have not noticed any fps drops or boosts. I think it got the same performance as the Beta, but I haven't got time to check it in a benchmark.

 

At first I thought it was good. Loaded it up and ran 3dMark06, got my highest score yet, stock. Overclocked and went to run the program and it black screened on me as soon as I opened the program. Did the same thing twice more, both times surfing the net. As far as I could tell, everything was running, the screen just went black. Reverted back to 197.45.

25x series drivers seem to be causing fits with G92 chipset GPU's for many folks. Hope they get it straightened out.

 

this is what i feared. what o/c software did you use