Recent Nvidia drivers causing catastrophic failures
by Matthew Rossi 
Mar 5th 2010 at 1:00PM
Please check your drivers to make sure you're not using the versions that cause this problem and roll back if you can.
Datth - Low FPS with Nvidia 196.75 driversWe're getting reports where users are getting intermittent low FPS after installing these drivers. It seems that it is related to the fan control included in these drivers not working correctly and is causing the video card to overheat on 3D applications. This will affect Warcraft 3, World of Warcraft and StarCraft 2 Beta. Please uninstall the drivers and revert back to the older ones.
Windows XP: http://w
Windows XP 64-bit: http://w
Windows Vista/7 32-bit: http://w
Windows Vista/7 64-bit: http://w
More information can be found on threads such as these:
http://f
http://f
Windows XP: http://w
Windows XP 64-bit: http://w
Windows Vista/7 32-bit: http://w
Windows Vista/7 64-bit: http://w
More information can be found on threads such as these:
http://f
http://f
Filed under: News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Gerell Mar 5th 2010 1:03PM
Wow...glad I bought the ATI last time around then. Yay me.
Hatchette Mar 5th 2010 1:18PM
I always have issues with nvidia.
I give them a chance every couple years but usually end up replacing with ATI.
Candina@WH Mar 5th 2010 1:36PM
That is funny, I had the same experience with ATI - issues so I went to NVidia.
Now I'm back to ATI on a Mac... go fig...
wdsrmail Mar 5th 2010 2:54PM
Neither company has a spotless track record.
I'd say that both are reliable enough, if you get the chip on the right card. It's usually a hardware issue in my experience, based not on the end of ATI/Nvidia, but the maker of the board the chip is placed on.
Tim Mar 5th 2010 1:05PM
I think a similar thing was happening to non Nvidia drivers to some guildies. They were some what off brands though, so possible unrelated...maybe, I don't know. I'm not psychic.
Clydtsdk-Rivendare Mar 5th 2010 1:10PM
It was completely related. I know this because I am psychic.
Drakkenfyre Mar 5th 2010 1:35PM
There isn't any "offbrands" when it comes to drivers.
You have an nVidia card, or an ATI card. (Not counting stuff like integrated Intel stuff.)
The drivers are either directly from the manufacturer, or from the company itself. Drivers can be modified, but it's still the original drivers at the core.
It doesn't matter what brand you have. if you have an nVidia 2507 (making a number up here) made by Crappy part company, either set of drivers will work. Unless that company has done extensive modification to the card itself, you can go to either nVidia's site, or the manufacturer's site, and get the drivers. They are the same.
This isn't true with laptops. Usually those integrated ones have modified drivers, and the original drivers will not install on them.
Drakkenfyre Mar 5th 2010 1:37PM
Actually, now that I reread your comment, I realize what you said wasn't that.
I thought you were saying the drivers were nVidia "offbrand" drivers. As in getting the drivers from a crappy manufacturer.
martustheswordsman Mar 7th 2010 12:46AM
@Drakkenfyre.
He/she is most likely referring to offbrand manufacturers of the actual card, not the chip on the card. nVidia and ATI are the ones who design the chip, but other companies like EVGA, BFG, or PNY license the technology and build the actual card itself.
Edge Mar 7th 2010 2:30AM
And there are things like Omega drivers which could be though of as "off-brand" drivers and could do some damage to a video card if used improperly.
FifthDream Mar 5th 2010 1:06PM
Wow, that's pretty... rough. Stuff like this is why i tend to wait a bit on non-security updates for things, to make sure new drivers don't hose something. Not good.
DesertFox82 Mar 5th 2010 1:16PM
The Blue Post block shows the name of the originating forum thread, identifying the offending drivers as 196.75. Hovering over the suggested driver links and reading the url, we see that the recommended drivers are 196.21.
Investigating completed.
DesertFox82 Mar 5th 2010 1:18PM
Ugh. Above reply intended for eljorgevaldes' post.
Crappy commenting system is crappy.
ffximordak Mar 6th 2010 1:49AM
I use Nvidia Quadro so I think I'm fine.
eljorgevaldes Mar 5th 2010 1:11PM
Pretty lousy reporting there skippy, you should mention the number version of the faulty driver, and the good one.
Scott Mar 5th 2010 1:48PM
The information is provided within the blue post.
Blue post title: "Datth - Low FPS with Nvidia 196.75 drivers"
Each link refers to the 196.21 drivers.
~~Shall I hold your hand while you cross the street?
Matthew Rossi Mar 5th 2010 1:51PM
I'm sorry you can't read.
Discostu Mar 5th 2010 2:00PM
I can read fine, but the driver versions are on the Blue post you pasted on there, not on anything you wrote yourself.
If copy/pasting is passing as journalism these days, thats an other issue.
Im sorry if my criticism was overly blunt, but if you are reporting on technical issues, those details should be readily available on your first paragraph. Otherwise what benefit does the reader have of coming here and consuming your advertising, rather than just subscribing to a bluet tracker rss feed?
Lupius Mar 5th 2010 2:40PM
You might be getting a degree in journalism from some third-rate college, but you still need to get a dose of Real Life (tm).
Salculd Mar 5th 2010 3:37PM
Everybody knows direct quotations have no place in journalism!