Upgrading video drivers

OK, so I am one to usually leave unbroken things alone.... But I would like to get a little more FPS out of Crysis so I am thinking I should update the video drivers. (7600 Go)

I went to the Nvidia site to download them and I received a warning that I should get them from HP to ensure that all of the HP installed apps work.

My questions are...How can I update my video drivers without losing any of the functionality of my Laptop? Where do I get them and how do I install them???

 

You want drivers from HP? What is your laptop?

 

You're not gonna hurt anything by getting the official nvidia drivers. They're there for a reason: to use them. If they would cause problems then nvidia would not have released them.

 

i would recommend the latest drivers from laptopvideo2go.com

 

how do you install the drivers along with the inf files from laptopvideo2go.com? sorry if this was asked or clarified already. i tried reading up and got confused.

 

Sorry guys... I have a DV9335NR with the original drivers.

 

you have to copy the downloaded inf into the extracted setup directory, then run setup

 

I dont see how you lose functionality of the hp applications by updating your gfx drivers. Maybe just a precaution that it's possible.

I downloaded mine from laptopvideo2go, great stuff. Took me a while to find the right one though

 

Are the laptopvideo2go drivers modded Nvidia drivers?

Do I uninstall the old drivers first?

 

they're beta drivers released by nVidia with a customized inf
DO NOT uninstall your other drivers first

 

you can go to HP.com. They usually have all of the drivers you need. When running Vista it creates automatic restore points everytime you add new software, drivers or anything else like that. When you see things change that you don't like or they are not working after you did an upgrade then you can go back to the restore point. I'm not too sure on this information, but just today i had to use that. A new driver that I downloaded didn't change the mute button to orange when activated. So i went back to the restore point, then i downloaded the driver again. So now i'm good.

 

??? You should always uninstall your old drivers before you install new ones.

 

How do you find the right driver there!?!?!!??

So confusing... if you go to http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/drivers, the frame on the right labeled "Latest Driver" doesn't seem to be the latest driver!! E.g. the "Latest Driver" for Vista 32 is 163.67 but on the full list of Vista 32 drivers, it appears 163.75 (10-04-07) is the latest!

 

Latest driver is 169.09 which came out ?yesterday? and can only be found in LV2G's forums.

 

i uninstalled my graphics driver once before installing a new driver and it completely crashed my system (i had to to a recovery disc reinstall to fix it)

 

I tried installing the latest drivers from laptopvideo2go, and it actually lowered my Windows Experience score (not to mention I couldn't tell a difference performance-wise between the one that came from HP's website and this one).

 

which ones did you install?

 

It was the 163.67 drivers (at the time, they were the latest for Vista 32-bit). Went from a 4.6 Windows Experience score in 3D graphics to a 4.2.

 

This is a confusing issue. Do I uninstall the old drivers first or not??

If the laptopvideo2go drivers are basically beta drivers from Nvidia am I just beta testing drivers for them?

Can I just go to Nvidia and download the latest drivers posted??

 

Below is the message I receive when I let the Nvidia website choose the drivers for me

HP requires that you download the driver for your GPU from their support site.

You can find more information at: http://www.hp.com.

The GeForce Go mobile GPU use drivers that have been customized to support hot key functions, power management functions, lid close and suspend/resume behavior that are normally found in notebooks. The reference desktop graphic drivers that are provided by NVIDIA on our driver downloads page do not include these custom features. For this reason, the NVIDIA Forceware NVIDIA graphics display drivers will not install on most Geforce and Quadro family of mobile GPU's. Some newer laptops have been designed to work with our drivers. For more information click here.

 

That's a problem with your computer and your computer only. Like I said, you should always uninstall previous drivers to minimize the chance of a conflict. Some people go as far as cleaning their registry of any remainants before installing new drivers.

Never, never, never, ever use the WEI score in intelligent conversation.

I believe 90+% of senior forum members here use LV2G drivers. They are much better than stock drivers, and there's no reason not to use them.

No, Nvidia does not support their mobile cards with drivers. They leave that to the company that manufactured the computer.

 

Like it or not, it's still a tool given by MS to score individual parts of a system compared to the rest. Sure, it may not be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I use what's given to me, especially when it's a tool that EVERYONE that has Vista can use. No need to be a tool yourself about it.

If I'd said my 3DMark score dropped when I put on the new drivers, would you then listen?

Sheesh, if I could give negative rep, I'd be giving it right now. You've always shown a lack of character and a lack of regard to the person that you're dealing with.

Like I said, even if you factor out the WEI score, I saw NADA improvement over my older drivers.

 

I just give answers to the questions that are posed. Don't like it - don't listen. And above all, don't take it personally. Welcome to the interwebs.

 

Sorry but id have to go with Lithus here.. WEI is somewhat inaccurate and gives out inconsistent readings thus shouldnt be used for benchmarking. But yes it is possible the drivers you just installed is slower. Took me a while to find the right one for my card . Most of the latest drivers dont even work or gives me a horrible lag when playing cs:s. The 165.01 drivers was as stable as its gonna get for me.

Use Drive Sweeper if your gonna install new nvidia drivers.

 

Have you tried the new ones? 169.xx gives a great overall improvement for near all games.

A real improvement too - none of that WEI or 3DMark crap...sorry, I couldn't resist. Neg rep me.

 

I never said it was accurate. I do realize that it is inconsistent (especially with it being "the new kid" when it comes to hardware rating software). It's still a tool (the only tool I had handy at that moment), and when it goes down that drastically, I begin to take notice and do more research. If it'd only went down half as much as it did, I'd probably laid the blame on WEI. And, considering I saw no improvements in any of the games I played anyway, I chalked it up to a driver that just wasn't meant for my card.

*sigh*...all I'm trying to say is that I used what I had to see if the driver I'd just gotten was any better than what I had, and the WEI score combined with tests from different games helped me come to my conclusion. If you don't like that, then ok. Doesn't matter a lick.

 

Watching overall game performance is more accurate than WEI in my opinion. WEI only gives you numbers from a thermometer thats pulled out of somesones a$$. I went through sooo many drivers that didnt give me more performance. 3dmark and watching game performance is probably the best way, they should really get rid of WEI.

Im downloading the 169.09 drivers now to try it out tonight, lucky they just fixed a new .inf . Also downloading the HP/Compaq specific 156.71 aswell just incase the other dont work.

 

I think, if they fine-tune WEI enough to where it's more accurate (of course, not as accurate as 3DMark, but at least as an average better), it'll give common retail shoppers an easier way to tell if their games will work with their system. Coming from retail, I know first-hand about people who don't really have a clue how to read system requirements, some of which don't even know what's in their system anyway, and because of most return policies, it would be a boon to have a numerical way to tell if it'll work on a system or not (and at least an at-a-glance look as to whether updates, such as drivers, help performance any). It'll also help for those that shop for other people's computer systems, as it's easier to remember a simple number than it is the tech specs of someone's computer that's not your own.

I'll concede that right now, WEI isn't up to par. Just stating my experience with it. To be honest, I really SHOULD have done a 3DMark analysis as well, to give myself some peace of mind.

 

Yea i noticed when i go to electronics shop the lappys are open with the WEI screen showing.

 

I'm not aware of a whole lot of software that shows its WEI score on its box (I know the most recent game I bought, The Orange Box, along with the game before that, which was Lord of the Rings Online, does not have a WEI score anywhere on it). It seems like something that publishers would want to pick up on, but I've yet to see one utilize it.