Trots påskhelgen ligger inte Nvidias programmerare på latsidan utan publicerar en ny drivrutin för alla moderna Geforce, inklusive nylanserade GTX 680. Nytt för version 301.24 Beta är prestandaförbättringar i en mängd populära speltitlar samt flera intressanta funktioner, däribland det omtalade adaptive vertical sync.
- Bildspel
- Bild 1 av 2
- Bildspel
- Bild 1 av 2
Vertical sync i traditionell mening innebär att bildfrekvensen låses till skärmens uppdateringsfrekvens för att undvika grafikfel ("tearing"), vanligtvis 60 FPS (60 Hz) – en bildruta per uppdatering.
Nackdelen med denna lösning är att om bildfrekvensen understiger skärmens uppdateringsfrekvens så måste grafikkortet gå ned till hälften så många bildrutor per sekund. Ett grafikkort som vid ett tillfälle kan frambringa exempelvis 58 FPS, bara en gnutta mindre än optimala 60 FPS, tvingas stanna vid 30 FPS. En så låg bildfrekvens upplevs ofta som ryckig ("stuttering").
To fix the problem, the GeForce 301.24 beta drivers come loaded with NVIDIA Adaptive VSync, an automated technique that disables VSync when frame rates fall below the locked rate, and re-enables it when they return to the locked rate, significantly reducing stuttering whilst still preventing tearing.
Nvidias lösning är att helt enkelt stänga av V-sync när detta problem uppstår. Så snart bildfrekvensen sjunker under det optimala ritas bilden upp utan synkronisering, vilket sägs ge det bästa av båda världar. Det är detta som kallas för adaptive v-sync och tekniken fungerar med alla moderna Geforce från 8-serien och senare.
Utvecklarna passar även på att lägga till fler funktioner för flerskärmstekniken Nvidia Surround, däribland möjligheten att centrera Windows aktivitetsfält, maximera program på en enskild fysisk skärm samt "bezel peeking", att temporärt skrolla bilden för att se bakom dolda skärmkanter med tangentbordsgenvägen CTRL+ALT+B.
Slutligen tillkommer en mängd nya och uppdaterade SLI-profiler, globalt stöd för FXAA samt uppdaterade versioner av PhysX och HD Audio. De nya drivrutinerna finns att ladda ned från utvecklarnas webbplats och Nvidia har även publicerat en utförlig artikel om ändringarna.
Release Highlights
This is the first unified driver from the R300 family of drivers (versions 300.00 to 301.99). GeForce R300 drivers are packed with new industry-leading, GeForce-exclusive features as well as some really nice performance increases in top games.
New in R300 Drivers:
New GPU Support – Adds support for the new GeForce GTX 680, the fastest, most efficient GPU ever built. Explore GeForce GTX 680 and its new SMX architecture on GeForce.com.
Performance Boost – Increases performance for GeForce 400 Series and 500 Series GPUs in several PC games vs. GeForce 296.10 WHQL-certified drivers. Results will vary depending on your GPU and system configuration:
GeForce GTX 570/580:
- Up to 23% in Just Cause 2 with SLI
- Up to 21% in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Up to 17% in StarCraft II with SLI
- Up to 14% in Far Cry 2 with SLI
- Up to 9% in Bulletstorm
- Up to 7% in Civilization V
- Up to 6% in Deus Ex: Human Revolution with SLI
- Up to 6% in Dragon Age 2 with SLI
- Up to 5% in Metro 2033 with SLI
- Up to 5% in Total War: Shogun 2
GeForce GTX 560/560 Ti:
- Up to 20% in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Up to 15% in Just Cause 2 with SLI
- Up to 13% in Far Cry 2 with SLI
- Up to 12% in Bulletstorm
- Up to 11% in Civilization V
- Up to 10% in StarCraft II with SLI
- Up to 9% in Batman: Arkham City
- Up to 4% in Deus Ex: Human Revolution with SLI
- Up to 4% in Dragon Age 2 with SLI
- Up to 4% in Metro 2033 with SLI
- Up to 4% in Total War: Shogun 2
NVIDIA FXAA Technology – shader-based anti-aliasing technology available from the NVIDIA Control Panel that enables ultra-fast anti-aliasing in hundreds of PC games. FXAA delivers similar quality to 4x multi-sample antialiasing (MSAA) but is up to 60% faster, enabling substantially higher performance in games. FXAA is supported on all GeForce 8-series and later GPUs. Note: This feature is disabled for games that already have built-in support for FXAA. Visit GeForce.com to learn more.
NVIDIA Adaptive Vertical Sync – dynamically enables vertical sync based on your current frame rates for the smoothest gaming experience. Adaptive VSync is supported on all GeForce 8-series and later GPUs. Visit GeForce.com to learn more.
NVIDIA Frame Rate Target – dynamically adjusts frame rate to a user specified target. Support for this feature is enabled via third party applications via NVAPI. Visit GeForce.com to learn more.
NVIDIA Surround Technology – Adds the following new Surround capabilities. Visit GeForce.com to learn more.
- Add in a fourth accessory display to get access to your email, web, or other applications while you game.
- Maximize an application to a single physical display when in Surround mode (enabled by default).
- Confine the Windows Taskbar to the center display (enabled by default).
- Enable bezel peeking – a feature which enables users to temporarily ‘peak’ behind the monitor bezels using a hotkey (Ctrl + Alt + B). This feature is designed to be used in conjunction with bezel corrected resolutions.
- Add or remove resolutions from the list of Surround resolutions (only those selected will be available to applications).
- Full center display acceleration for single wide display modes (center display must be connected to the master GPU).
NVIDIA SLI Technology – Adds or updates the following SLI profiles:
- Alan Wake
- Call of Juarez: The Cartel
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution - The Missing Link
- Left 4 Dead
- Orcs Must Die!
- Portal 2
- Risen 2: Dark Waters
- The Darkness II
NVIDIA 3D Vision – Adds or updates the following 3D Vision profiles:
- All Zombies Must Die! – rated Fair
- Ghosts 'n Goblins Online – rated Good
- Oil Rush – rated 3D Vision Ready
- Postal III – rated Good
- Rayman Origins – rated Good
- SevenCore – rated Fair
- Stacking – rated Good
- Unigine Heaven Benchmark v3.0 – rated 3D Vision Ready
- Wargame: European Escalation – rated Good
- Warp – rated Good
- Wings of Prey – rated Fair
- Krater – rated Poor
Other Details
- Installs PhysX System Software v9.12.0213.
- Installs HD Audio v1.3.12.0.
- Supports OpenGL 4.2
- Supports DisplayPort 1.2 for GeForce GTX 680.
- Supports multiple languages and APIs for GPU computing: CUDA C, CUDA C++, CUDA Fortran, OpenCL, DirectCompute, and Microsoft C++ AMP.
- Supports single GPU and NVIDIA SLI technology on DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 11, and OpenGL, including 3-way SLI, Quad SLI, and SLI support on SLI-certified Intel and AMD motherboards.
