New Nvidia beta drivers, and a fix for WoW in SLI mode
by Daniel Whitcomb 
May 8th 2008 at 3:30PM
I have to admit, sometimes I dread it when new video card drivers come out. It always seems like something about them goes wrong, and one of my favorite games refuses to work well with them, and I end up having to roll back to some old drivers just to play what I want to play again. That said, sometimes they also work well, and your graphics run smoother, and life is good. As Alex said to me earlier, Azeroth is a whole lot prettier when it's at 90 fps instead of 10 fps. But seriously, to the point. Here's a heads up to all our Nvidia card users who like living on the edge as far as upgrading goes. Nvidia has just released new beta drivers for their graphics cards. We repeat: these are beta drivers, so only install if you know what you're doing.
Here's the links:
WoW gets a mention in the release notes as well. If you've been having performance problems in WoW lately and you have a Geforce 6800/6600 GT, it looks like there might be a fix for you.
[Via worldofwar.net]
From Nvidia themselves:
GeForce 6800/6600 GT: Slow performance with World of Warcraft in SLI mode. This is not an NVIDIA bug, but instead the result of a recent patch for World of Warcraft to reduce mouse lag on slower computers by synchronizing the GPU(s). This change is unnecessary for NVIDIA users, and particularly for users with SLI configurations.
For optimal performance when playing World of Warcraft in SLI mode:
- Disable vertical sync within the World of Warcraft in-game video options.
- Enable hardware mouse acceleration and disable smooth mouse within the World of Warcraft in-game video options.
Filed under: News items, Hardware
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Verit May 8th 2008 3:57PM
WoW has never had any problems in SLI mode for me, but once in a blue moon you get this replay like effect (where the image flips between the previous and current frame). Maybe its a similar problem. At any rate it doesn't affect game play.
Al May 8th 2008 4:57PM
If you actually read the nvidia comments, you will see that the drivers will not improve performance at all. the problem is with the game not the drivers.
Don't the editors read the stuff before they post it?
Acceptable Risk May 8th 2008 4:02PM
Good news for a buddy of mine. He runs duel 6600's and we've been mystified about why he only gets like 15 fps regardless of resolution.
Aust May 8th 2008 4:06PM
Just in case anyone isn't sure, SLI mode means running 2 video cards at the same time. Therefore, this is only an issue if you have 2 GeForce 6800 or 2 GeForce 6600 GT cards.
Kyudo May 8th 2008 4:08PM
Installed!
Will report any notable changes for my E6600/8800GT setup.
Previously, it's been running abysmally. I get 60-80fps in Azeroth and 45-60fps in Outland, roughly. Previous to Patch 2.4? 100fps in Azeroth, 80fps in Outland. And previous to TBC, hundreds of FPS on a 7950GT.
I reeeally hope these new drivers improve the situation...
Kyudo May 8th 2008 5:31PM
Heh, after reading the NVIDIA release notes, this update only (directly) helps SLI users.
Nevertheless, new drivers are new drivers!
BRASIL1921 May 8th 2008 4:32PM
i hope this beta works for me i don't have a SLI going ,but i do have a 6800 ultra that keeps locking up and giving me the blue screen of death. i am hoping this will fix it. What do you guys think?
Sakerin May 8th 2008 4:51PM
Probably not unless your drivers were corrupt. Does your BSOD reference nv4disp.dll (or something very similar) or are you just assuming it's the video card? Is your card overclocked (by yourself or from the factory)? If so, try restoring it to stock frequencies.
Kristoffer May 8th 2008 6:11PM
I have a 6800 PCI as well and I get the same problem. It starts with a black screen lock-up followed by a blue screen of death or an auto reset. This happens at least once everyday for me.
There are also problems with the 8900's. I hear there have been some recall notices involving that series.
Varghoss May 8th 2008 4:29PM
I'm running this exact setup and have experienced lower FPS recently... thanks for the heads up Daniel.
sasha vukelic May 8th 2008 7:46PM
Does anyone have 9600GT in SLI? I do and the game runs the same (the tested scene was 89FPS) with SLI disabled and enabled. I've tried the force SFR/AFR1/AFR2 too, and the frame rates are still the same, except in SFT the game is about 5% slower.
Dan May 9th 2008 2:53AM
"It always seems like something about them goes wrong, and one of my favorite games refuses to work well with them"
If your drivers are working and you have no real complaint, then don't upgrade them, the best that could happen is that there is no change, the worst is that something breaks.
Obviously, upgrading is a good idea to try (make sure you got your current driver installation ready first though) if you have any problems or low fps.
That applies to just about all drivers really, but especially graphics and sound drivers