Official NVIDIA notebook drivers v181.22 @ CUDA Zone

I spotted some new NVIDIA graphics drivers on CUDA Zone that natively support notebook GPUs. Multiple INFs show that multiple OEMs are supported in this release, although it is rather hard to tell the exact products that are supported.

NVIDIA GeForce driver for notebooks, version 181.22 - BETA
English language only! Driver is dated January 14, 2009.
Also includes NVIDIA HDMI Audio driver version 1.00.00.41 and NVIDIA PhysX System Software version 9.09.0010.

IMPORTANT NOTES

• These drivers are slightly older than the v179.48 drivers (which are dated January 30, 2009).
• A newer PhysX runtime package is available at http://www.nvidia.com/object/physx_system_software.html.

DOWNLOAD LINKS

• Windows XP 32-bit: http://developer.download.nvidia.co.../181.22_notebook_winxp_32bit_english_beta.exe
• Windows XP 64-bit: http://developer.download.nvidia.co.../181.22_notebook_winxp_64bit_english_beta.exe
• Windows Vista 32-bit: http://developer.download.nvidia.co...1.22_notebook_winvista_32bit_english_beta.exe
• Windows Vista 64-bit: http://developer.download.nvidia.co...1.22_notebook_winvista_64bit_english_beta.exe

 

broken links

 

Working for me (the Vista 64 Bit link, anyway)...

Downloading...how to know for sure that these will work? Just try them, and if it BSOD's, uninstall from safe mode and then rollback from normal start?

Sorry, new at this...Intel cards are pretty straightforward and less confusing...this is my first nVidia-equipped laptop...

 

Nice find, i'm gonna try them. Although, why aren't these on the Notebook Drivers page yet?

 

They're broken? I tried each of the links and they seem to be working fine.

You can alternatively go to http://www.nvidia.com/object/cuda_get.html and select your operating system. There is a button that will appear showing you the v181.22 driver download.

 

When I go through Nvidia.com then it allows to download 179 driver. And in cuda 181. Whats the difference???

 

Wow, these are actual beta releases (unlike the Notebook releases, which say they're beta but still have WHQL certificates).
Downloaded the 64-bit version, but I enjoy my WHQL-ness too much right now.

 

32bit Vista is working fine. DL'ing right now. THanks.

 

I would like to know too. Are the one from Nvidia for normal use and gaming? while these Cuda drivers are for game developers?

 

I'm thinking that NVIDIA posted these drivers for users who want to develop for the CUDA platform on their notebooks. However, these drivers seem to be fine for normal use and gaming as well. Compared to v179.48, this release contains a lot of new features introduced into the NVIDIA Control Panel because this was developed within the Release 180 branch. This means that all PhysX settings are now in the NVIDIA Control Panel!

I also revised the original post to reflect the fact that these drivers are slightly older than v179.48, and that you can find a newer version of the PhysX System Software at http://www.nvidia.com/object/physx_system_software.html.

 

So you mean 180xx is the best rather than the 179xx?

 

For the feature-set, I'd probably say yes. In terms of performance, reliability, and stability, I guess it depends on the system. One way that you could possibly test these attributes is to run benchmarks on your system which compares the performance of this driver to a 179 driver. Perhaps someone who is more used to benchmarking can elaborate?

 

SO are these any good?

 

Thought it was odd that the 8800m GTS wasn't included. I added it to the .inf and they seem very solid on my HDX Dragon. No benchmarks, but I was playing Drakensang and Witcher, and both seemed to play smoother than before. I was using 179.32 driver from HP, which I liked better than the 179.48 mainly because of temps. The temps on this are in line with the HP driver, 39-40C idle, 66-68C with max settings on both games. I don't have Blu-ray on my Dragon, so don't know how it is affected, but as with other non HP/WHQL drivers, I'm sure it doesn't work for that. But there are work arounds.