Nvidia Driver Release

3D Mode

2D Mode

Windows Desktop Default Mode

Nvidia WHQL Notebook Driver version 195.62 is released.

Download them from Nvidia Website here

Please note that the new Nvidia Driver fixes the issue of not being able to throttle to default clock in Windows Desktop so please use this driver instead of the Acer Download (187.XX) which has the problem.
This driver is recommended.

nForce Drivers For Windows 7

New nForce Drivers 15.45 for Windows 7 is out

Download it here

Includes

• Ethernet Driver (v73.10) WHQL
• Network Management Tools (v73.13) "Sedona"
• SATAIDE Driver (v11.1.0.30) WHQL
• SATARAID Driver (v11.1.0.30) WHQL
• RAIDTOOL Application (v11.1.0.30)
• SMBUS Driver (v4.69) WHQL
• SMU Driver (v1.71) WHQL
• GPU Driver (v186.34) WHQL
• PhysX (v9.09.0428)
• Away Mode Driver (v6.0.6000.111) WHQL
• Installer (v7.53)

Only SMU Driver, SM BUS Driver and Away Mode Driver installs for Aspire 4530 as SATA Drivers have to force installed via Device Manager.

Upgrading Driver from 186.03 to 186.24

I just updated the Nvidia Drivers for my 9100M G from Nvidia Released 186.03 to Nvidia Beta 186.24.

Here are the new Windows Experience Index Scores

Nvidia Released Drivers 186.03

Nvidia Beta Drivers 186.24

Also I felt the display was better looking, brighter more vibrant (well can't really benchmark, this could be my eyes too).
Anyway I recommend this driver for Nvidia Users.

OverClocking Nvidia Graphics

For you guys who own Nvidia Graphics on PC or Laptop

EVGA Precision is a great Overclocking utility.

I don't really overclock my Nvidia 9100M G as it is a bad idea to overclock lousy GPUs.

You may end up destroying it over a measly few frames per second.

This tool's friendly interface doesn't need introduction.

Word of Warning:

Do not happily push the bars and press apply without thinking,especially the memory clock bar.

I am not responsible for the destruction of your GFX.

Nvidia PhysX Update

NVIDIA PhysX System Software WHQL

Version:	9.09.0428
Release Date:	June 03, 2009
Operating System:	Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7
Language:	U.S. English
File Size:	39.2 MB

Download here

Looking At Graphics Memory

I took a look at some Graphics Information regarding different Graphics Adapters

NVIDIA GeForce 9100M G

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950

NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT (Desktop)

So actually 9100M G does contain "Dedicated Memory" of 256MB taken from the Main System RAM.

Shared System Memory refers to the TurboCache Technology from Nvidia (ATi Calls it HyperMemory) to use System RAM for Graphics

I myself is not too sure that System Video Memory is but it seems it is Zero for old Cards (6600GT) and 64MB for new Graphics Adapters.

Nvidia Notebook Beta Driver 181.22

I just remembered there is another Universal Nvidia Driver.
It is highly recommended for those who couldn't find suitable driver from laptopvideo2go
It can be found on Nvidia CUDA development Webpage.
It has the same amount of capabilities as 185.20 however there are a few differences and similarities

• It comes with PowerMizer already enabled
• It is compatible with all Nvidia Graphics Adapters
• It enables PhysX
  
• It enables CUDA
• NO extra Nvidia Display Power Saving Technology
• NO Ambient Occlusion feature
  

Just go to the webpage select your OS and you are ready to go.
Before installing remember to uninstall your old drivers first.

The download size is a hefty 100+MB but thanks to Nvidia Dedicated Download server the time to download the driver is relatively fast.
You don't have to download CUDA SDK and CUDA Toolkit if you are not doing CUDA development

Remember to Delete the folder "C:\Nvidia" after installation.
This folder is used to store the extracted Nvidia Driver after installation you no longer needs it and it wastes space on your Computer so it is best to delete it.

I tested this driver gives the same level of performance as Nvidia Beta Driver 185.20

Enjoy

Edit:

This driver has depreciated please use the latest Nvidia Driver instead.

Nvidia Beta Driver VS Acer Vendor Driver

Recently Acer released a new Nvidia Driver 179.52.

I took this opportunity to test this vendor released driver against the awesome Nvidia Beta Driver 185.20 I have been using until now.

The download size of the Acer Released Drivers is much smaller than the Nvidia Beta Driver.

First I used Windows Experience Index to gauge their performance as I am too lazy to run an actual benchmark =P

Performance
____________________________________________________________________

It is a disappointing 3.7 Aero Performance for the Acer Release Driver.

The Nvidia Beta Driver scored a much better 4.0 Aero Performance

(I didn't know what happened to the 0.1 after the reformat)

Supported Features

_______________________________________________________________________

I tried running a Sample CUDA Program from Nvidia CUDA SDK using both drivers

The Acer Released Drivers failed to render anything at all

While the Nvidia Beta Drivers rendered it excellently

Note: The Acer Release Drivers have yet to support PhysX while the Nvidia Beta Driver supported it

Additionally the Nvidia Beta Driver support new features yet to be seen in the Acer Released ones

For PowerMizer both Drivers supported it except you have to manually enable it in Nvidia Released Drivers sometimes but Vendor released Drivers always come with PowerMizer autoenabled.

Conclusion
_________________________________________________________________

Well it is obvious that those Acer Release Drivers have a long way to go before being able to catch up to Nvidia Beta Releases. (I am not sure about other Vendors but Acer Released Drivers simply cannot make the mark)

Nvidia is right about providing OEM Driver support because Vendors cannot be trusted to release decent drivers.

We can see the same situation happening in ATi except ATi do not bother to release OEM drivers as such ATi drivers suffer from bad reputation in Windows Operating System compared to Nvidia generally.

For those people who own an Nvidia Card in their Laptop please get Nvidia Released Drivers
Continuing to run Vendors Release Driver is almost like crippling yourself on purpose, even though you have spent good money on it in the case of Acer.

So please do yourself a favour and use Nvidia Release Driver instead
(Check if your Hardware is supported by the newer drivers before installing them & try to update all drivers to the latest version to make sure intercompatibility exist)

Edit:

182.20 is no longer the latest Nvidia Released Driver

For the latest Nvidia Released Driver click here

Upgrading your Nvidia Driver

Well, Why do you need to upgrade your Nvidia Driver?

1. Better Performance (usually)
2. New Features (PhyX,CUDA,Ambient Occlusion)
3. Because you are using an Nvidia Card ! Those people using ATi Card will have to stare at your drivers which are more updated then theirs. They have to wait ... until their vendors release the drivers. Only Nvidia provide Mobile Driver support ATi passes on the responsibility to vendors
   

You don't have to worry about driver stability
In all my previous updates experience I didn't encounter any unstable Nvidia Drivers at all hence very unlikely

First Download GPUZ from the internet to determine your Device ID
You can also determine your Device ID by looking at the Device Manager but it is too tedious to write so I skipped it =)


Your Device ID is where I circled in RED

Next Download the New Drivers from LaptopVideo2Go here

Enter your Device ID as follows
Download any Driver they will all work but of course it is the later the better =)

Next go to Control Panel to remove the Nvidia Display Driver only

Reboot as your Computer tells you to

Then extract the New downloaded Driver
Double Click on Setup.exe
You will see some Driver Not WHQL Warning if you are installing Non WHQL Driver
Just ignore it
After installation you can delete the folder where you extracted the driver

After that check if PowerMizer is enabled here
Sometimes Beta Driver Releases leave out PowerMizer settings (Don't know why ) although all Nvidia Drivers support PowerMizer settings

Below are some new features highlights in my new 185.20 Driver




Thanks to LaptopVideo2go for providing the Drivers & GPUZ for the Wonderful Utility

Note:
Once you install certain drivers you might not be able to install driver version 185.20. This is probably due to incompatibilities in the Control Panel Version, I have yet to find a way to resolve it.

Edit:

The latest driver is no longer 185.20

For details on the latest Nvidia Released Driver click here

Nvidia PowerMizer

PLEASE NOTE:
Since Nvidia driver Geforce version 185.XX, perflevelsrc is no longer used for controlling GPU throttling.
In Driver Version 19X.XX the GPU performance control is in the control panel.

If your graphics card is running overheating frequently when monitored using HWMonitor and you happen to be using Nvidia Graphics this post is for you

Note:
PowerMizer is a feature created by Nvidia to save power and reduce heat on Graphics Card
PowerMizer is built into all the graphics card
It is optional for Desktops because Desktops have infinite power from Wall Sockets and manage heat well
However it is very essential for Notebooks as they have to conserve power and produce less heat when no intense graphical application is running

Run “Regedit”

Go HKEY_Local_Machine\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Video\{ Your graphics adapter}000 and 0001

To locate the registry entry expand all the entries until you see one with lots of registry setting That will be the the registry containing your Graphics Options

Right click on the right Window to create a new DWORD 32bit value
The value name change to “PowerMizerEnable” value select “1″ in hexidecimal
Repeat
The value name change to “PerfLevelSrc” value data “3333″ in hexidecimal

Reboot
Verified using GPUZ and HWMonitor

The Result

After PowerMizer is activated successfully you should see the GPU Clock drop below default clock at idle

Optional:

If you want finer control over PowerMizer change “PerfLevelSrc” values to achieve desired effect

• PerfLevelSrc=0×2222 - fixed PowerMizer mode (and appropriate fixed frequency) is used for battery power source and fixed PowerMizer mode is used for AC power source, these PowerMizer modes may be the same or different

• PerfLevelSrc=0×2233 - fixed PowerMizer mode is used for battery power source and adaptive clock frequency strategy is used for AC power source

• PerfLevelSrc=0×3322 - fixed adaptive clock frequency strategy is used for battery power source and PowerMizer mode is used for AC power source

• PerfLevelSrc=0×3333 - adaptive clock frequency strategy is used for battery and AC power sources