Trying to update the driver for the GTX 260M...

Ok so I downloaded the Verde 275.33 Driver, and I am waiting to install it until I am sure it is compatible. On the Nvidia website it says that the GTX 260m does not support the driver, but I read on a thread here that there is a way to make it work. Any advice? Here is the information on the graphics card:

NVIDIA System Information report created on: 06/24/2011 23:23:45
System name: DAN-PC

[Display]
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU X 940 @ 2.13GHz (2127 MHz)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit
DirectX version: 11.0
GPU processor: GeForce GTX 260M
Driver version: 257.38
CUDA Cores: 112
Core clock: 550 MHz
Shader clock: 1350 MHz
Memory clock: 950 MHz (1900 MHz data rate)
Memory interface: 256-bit
Total available graphics memory: 4095 MB
Dedicated video memory: 1024 MB GDDR3
System video memory: 0 MB
Shared system memory: 3071 MB
Video BIOS version: 62.92.96.00.0A
IRQ: 16
Bus: PCI Express x16 Gen2

[Components]

nvCplUIR.dll 3.3.452.15 NVIDIA Control Panel
nvCplUI.exe 3.3.452.15 NVIDIA Control Panel
nvWSSR.dll 6.14.12.5738 NVIDIA Workstation Server
nvWSS.dll 6.14.12.5738 NVIDIA Workstation Server
nvViTvSR.dll 6.14.12.5738 NVIDIA Video Server
nvViTvS.dll 6.14.12.5738 NVIDIA Video Server
nvDispSR.dll 6.14.12.5738 NVIDIA Display Server
NVMCTRAY.DLL 8.17.12.5738 NVIDIA Media Center Library
nvDispS.dll 6.14.12.5738 NVIDIA Display Server
NVCPL.DLL 8.17.12.5738 NVIDIA Compatible Windows7 Display driver, Version 257.38
PhysX 09.10.0224 NVIDIA PhysX
NVCUDA.DLL 8.17.12.5738 NVIDIA CUDA 3.1.1 driver
nvGameSR.dll 6.14.12.5738 NVIDIA 3D Settings Server
nvGameS.dll 6.14.12.5738 NVIDIA 3D Settings Server




Also, should my system video memory be 0?

 

its compatible. loads and works fine for me and i got 260gtx
NVIDIA DRIVERS 275.33 WHQL
click the middle tab supported products.

 

If you don't mind using modified drivers instead of stock Nvidia versions from their website, I'd recommend checking out this thread on LaptopVideo2Go forums. The topic starter was nice enough to install and list all of the the benchmark test results for GTX 260M using different stock and modified drivers.

From what I understand the newer versions of the stock drivers under-perform in comparison to some older modified ones. So constantly updating your video card drivers from Nvidia website may not always prove to be the best idea. So if you'd like to get the maximum performance out of your GPU, I'd suggest picking an older driver with one of the best 3DMark06/3DMarkVantage scores out of the list.

You can find the driver you like here, you'd have to go a few pages back for older ones. Then download the driver file and modified INF file. After you unpack the driver archive, replace the INF with modified version you downloaded if necessary. Uninstall your old driver and install the new one.

 

To this date, the best driver I have used for my 260m was the 186.81. Give that driver a shot, it is still the one I use in my np8662.

 

Ellatan which driver do u use out of that?

Why is that as soon as i installed the drivers i cant control the brightness of my screen

 

Because the screen brightness is controlled by the driver. What version did you install?

 

Thanks for the info. My main goal here is to try and get better stability on Starcraft 2. For some reason my computer has been crashing lately when the map gets very overwhelmed with units.

More details about my computer


Component Details Subscore Base score
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU X 940 @ 2.13GHz 7.3 5.9
Determined by lowest subscore

Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB 7.5
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M 6.8
Gaming graphics 4095 MB Total available graphics memory 6.8
Primary hard disk 167GB Free (238GB Total) 5.9
Windows 7 Home Premium

System
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manufacturer Alienware
Model M15x
Total amount of system memory 8.00 GB RAM
System type 64-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 4

Storage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total size of hard disk(s) 238 GB
Disk partition (C 167 GB Free (238 GB Total)
Media drive (D CD/DVD

Graphics
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Display adapter type NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M
Total available graphics memory 4095 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 1024 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 3071 MB
Display adapter driver version 8.17.12.7533
Primary monitor resolution 1920x1080
DirectX version DirectX 10

Network
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Network Adapter Intel(R) WiFi Link 5300 AGN
Network Adapter Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
Network Adapter Intel(R) 82577LC Gigabit Network Connection

 

I've been using a much older modified version of the driver 186.81, which was endorsed by Naticus above, haven't updated in ages. Just to humor myself, I've ran 3dmark06 today and got 10380. Then I installed modified 258.49 from that list, ran 3dmark06 and got 10379. I don't overclock my GPU, so the results are for stock clock speed. During both tests GPU temp went to 71C without a notebook cooler. I recommend doing the same to see if you get some improvement in benchmarks or significant increase in temps (which is bad). There are many more benchmark utilities besides 3dmark06, but right now I don't have the patience and time to install and stress test them all.

I picked that driver from the list because the topic starter got the highest values in 3dmarkVantage, which tests for DX10 and it's the latest benchmark testing utility from Futuremark (besides 3dmark11). I'll download Vantage Basic Edition and 3DMark11 today and will run a couple more tests to compare 186.81 to 258.49. The point of my post was mostly that newer drivers do not always imply better drivers for your specific GPU.

 

have to totally agree with this. 186.81 has been the best theve released in the last 3 years.

 

Ok, here are the new test results. 3dmark11 didn't run, because of the older GPU. Vantage results were really surprising though.

3DMarkVantage:

186.81 modified driver - 3930 points, 68C GPU temp

258.49 modified driver - 4495 points, 70C GPU temp

Now i'm actually interested for someone else with GTX 260M to do a similar test, because the disparity is pretty significant.

 

I would love to test some of that out, but I have no idea how to do any of it. I am not the greatest when it comes to this stuff and I am still learning.

 

Download HWMonitor from here. This program monitors temperatures for your GPU, CPU and HDD. Run it in the background while gaming (check if Starcraft 2 pushes your GPU temp over the safe threshold and causes the system to crash). To find out more about the dangers of overheating and solutions to combat it read through NBR Cooling Central.

Download 3DMark06 from here. Download 3DMarkVantage from here. Install and run the tests with your current driver.

Download 258.49 driver and INF file from here. Download 186.81 and INF file from here. Unpack the downloaded archive anywhere on your computer, copy the appropriate version INF file into that folder. When you want to switch the driver, go into Control Panel, open Device Manager, find display adapters, right click for options and find an option to uninstall driver. Reboot, install the new driver from the folder by clicking on setup.exe, reboot again and run the benchmark tests. Keep HWMonitor running during the tests to see if modified drivers heat up your system.

 

Holy detailed directions. That's awesome. I really appreciate it. With the computer that I have, I should be having absolutely no problems with Starcraft 2 should I?

 

I don't own M15x, which has an i7 quadcore compared to my older Core2Duo. You also have 8GB of RAM vs 4GB on mine. The only similarity between our laptops is the video card. I also don't play Starcraft 2, however in my opinion you should be able to run it on high settings with more than playable FPS. A popular benchmark website lists 47FPS on SC2 for GTX 260M on high settings, but doesn't have results for Ultra settings. So it shouldn't have problems unless something is wrong with the software, drivers or hardware cooling.

 

this is what i get between the 2 drivers
only problem is i was running a 9800GT when i used 186.81 so the 260 scores will be slightly higher

186.81 3dmark06 august 2009 = 9491 & vantage = P4277

with 260GTX

266.58 3dmark06 march 2011 = 10160 & vantage P4426

275.33 3dmark06 june 2011 = 10143 & vantage P4507

 

So my graphics setting are on low and I have the new driver installed. Starcraft is still crashing. Do you think that a different driver would fix it? I have never really had this problem before, is it possible I have a setting wrong somewhere, or a problem that is not the driver?

 

The driver i was using was 263.06 with mod inf which caused my brightness settings to go away.

The only reason i dont use 186.81 is that the phyx stop working properly

Now i have change my drivers to 259.47 and it works perfectly fine.

In 3Dmark 06 i get 10646. with stock setting(kinda under clocked (500,800,1250) Turbo OFF
And 10820 with Turbo On

 

Oh and I have also heard that running starcraft 2 with 2 cores as opposed to 4 is the best because the game can only utilize 2 cores. Any truth to that?

 

I ran a 3dvantage and i get 5600 with stock clock(500,800,1250)

I dont play starcraft 2 so i dont known about that. But IMO its always better to have more cores and threads.

 

Another thing I noticed upon further examination is that when I ran dxdiag it said that I have DirectX 11. Doesn't the GTX260 only support DirectX10?

 

Yea it just says that you have directx 11 installed but your graphic card can only run at dx10

 

1) There may be a partial truth to that. Most of the older games are not optimized for using 4 cores. A notable exception is GTA 4 that does use all of them. So in case your quad core has lower clocks than higher clocked dual core it would have worse performance, because 2 cores are not used for that program. Obviously that works in case the two CPUs are the same generation. How would Sandybridge quadcore fare vs higher clocked Core2Duo I'm not knowledgeable enough to predict. Your i7-940XM is powerful enough to handle most of the games thrown at it whether with 2 or 4 cores. Here is a discussion of Duo vs Quad for SC2, looks like it does use all of them.

2) Like Illz said about DX11, don't worry about it, that's normal.

3) Nobody could guarantee that a new driver would fix it. Right now it's completely unclear to me what causes it. Try to check the temperatures with HWMonitor while playing, it could be overheating issue. Does only the SC2 application crash or the entire computer freezes up? Maybe you run too many programs simultaneously and run out of RAM. Open task manager, go to performance tab and check the amount of free memory during gameplay. If everything is fine and you tried different drivers to no avail, you can also go to M15x subsection on this forum and ask if anybody had similar problems.

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I'm still interested in 3DVantage results with popular 186.81 modified driver vs 258.49 modified driver. I'm wondering whether my 500 points increase will replicate for anyone else.

 

How would I know in the performance tab if I am running out of memory? What should it say? And I did the temperature thing and all of the temps seemed fine.

 

It's very unlikely with your 8GB of RAM. Where it says Memory, a graph shows the current memory used by your system. If it's getting close to 8GB with SC2 on and whatever else you run at the same time, then you might be short on RAM. Under it there should be figures for your total and available memory.

 

Yeah it says I am only using 3.1 gigs. Now here is another thing. The only time the computer crashes is when things get really busy online. If I play single player, and things get the same amount of busy, it runs flawless.

 

It is honestly taking me a few days to download all this stuff haha. 15kb a second is not a very fast download speed...

 

Is it really necessary to download 3Dmark06? That file is 584mb...

 

yes, it has to be loaded to run it.

 

Zaitsev72 instead of trying out 258.49 mod inf, try 259.47 whql it works amazing for me.

 

So both programs are needed to run the graphics test? I ran the directx 10 one and I got like 5 fps at times with an average of like 10 fps. that doesnt seem very good.

 

3dMark06 is an older test for DX9, Vantage is for DX10. I also get 10 or lower fps on some parts of the test, it's fine. The test is designed to tax your video card as much as possible to find out its performance. Just check the score at the end of the test. It should have a link to "view your results online." It should be 4,000+ on Vantage and 10,000+ on 3dMark06.

If that download for 3dMark06 is slow, try different mirrors here.

I second this. My 258.49 had slightly higher benchmark scores, but then my computer would freeze up when I watched some online streams. Then I switched to 259.47 a few days ago and it runs like a charm. Here is the link to the driver.

 

When I try to download the driver from that website, it says I need a username and password, but I don't see anywhere to register...

ETA: NVM apparently it was an issue with my download manager.

 

Also, what is the proper way to install and uninstall drivers? Plus what do I do with that INF file?

ETA: NVM I read the sticky at the top of the page lol. Going to conduct the tests for the driver.