is it safe to use beta drivers ?

for the most part they are safe But keep this in mind. They are beta releases meaning there could be bugs in the driver that could cause issues with certain systems. As an example: a couple years back Nvidia really goofed with the beta and the WHQL Driver, it would not let the fan on the GPU's using this driver to speed up and effectively frying the cards. I lost one due to this.


there is always risks changing drivers and even more when using beta drivers. It's oyur choice but just be aware that they are not a fully tested driver and could cause problems from but not limited to crashing and fried parts.
 


And in the three years since then?
 
In the three years since then this issue, exact issue, has not cropped up but can again or others. My thoughts were meant to be a warning not saying it will happen. As stated before "there is always risks changing drivers and even more when using beta drivers."
 

mironso

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OK, my fault. You are first one that I heard who lost component.
 


Did you try to get it replaced under warranty? IIRC Nvidia were supposed to have instructed AIB's to replace any cards that were damaged by that driver.
 
It was a BFG made card and when I called them I got a big run around and they said they no longer made any cards or repaired any. This is the reason Best Buy and other companys stop doing business with them before this happened. Not to mention, If i'm not mistaken, the company is now closed down. My 9800GTX+ was the last thing I bought from them. Before this happened I decided not to purchase anymore from them when I had questions and there customer service was a major hassle.
 


No, that was the 55nm one. Well I'm sorry to hear about your bad luck there but the reason I asked was because I wanted to know if they had strayed from the party line hence their demise.

@OP, sorry for derailing your thread there.