8800GT ?'s

[paulbelk]

I have quite a few different ?'s but let's start with the 1st one.

What's the best & most stable driver for my system to play COD4 & Far Cry 2.

It seems like everytime I download Nvidia's newest driver it always seems to never work & only creates huge system instability problems.

 

[ausch30]

I'm using their current 180 driver and have no issues at all in COD4. What OS are you using and what problems are you having, it might be something else that is causing it.

 

[jerreece]

I'm using the latest drivers from nVidia (always do) with my 8800GTS (G92). Never had system stability problems with their drivers personally.

Are you using Beta drivers by chance?

 

[paulbelk]

Would that be the 8800GT you're talking about or the 8800GTS you quoted? And yes they are beta versions but in far cry 2 when I don't use them it tells me my drivers are out of date. When I go to Nvidia to download new drivers all of the last 5 drivers said they were still in beta. ex: 180.42, 180.48, etc.

 

[paulbelk]

ausch30 - I'm using xp media center edition 2005. The issues aren't in the games themselves per say but the entire system seems to act buggy. How can I figure out another way to tell if I have a driver conflict? I just look at the hardware itself & see no conflicts with any device drivers.

 

[ausch30]

I have a 8800GT using driver version 180.48 on Vista 32bit and I don't have any issues. When was the last time you did a clean install?

 

[paulbelk]

Sorry for the delay in response. I lost power last night. I need a damn UPS really bad.

ausch30: I HATE DOING THAT!!! I use this computer for a lot more than just gaming & if I have to do a clean install it takes forever for me to restore all my programs & applications. I just don't have the time for that. I'm running xp mce 2005. Don't know if that will make a difference with the drivers or not.

What about using a driver cleaner?

Does anybody know anything about CUDA from Nvidia & what it's benefits or downsides are? Been seriously considering installing that since it says it will allow you to use one of your cards for physx handling & the other for app's & since I don't have a physx card I figured it would be worth a shot.

Hope you guys can shed some light on this.

 

[ausch30]

I really hate doing it also but some times it's necessary, I usually do a clean install every 6 months. You don't need to do it that often but it is always a good idea when you are just having random instabilities and can't determine why. Over time you get bit rot and everything just doesn't quite work the way it should.

As for a UPS, I use a APC XS 1500 LCD and I highly recommend something similar. This is identical to the unit I have but I think mine is specific to CC.

 

[paulbelk]

Thanks Guys, I will definately get an ups right away.

Also, I figured I would update you that I found A Driver From Nvidia that was used to create Far Cry 2 & so far so good.

Again I ask if anybody knows anything about CUDA. It's supposed to be good according to Nvidia's website but I haven't really found out much about it in the gaming world. Just alot of programmer talk. Anybody know where I can find some good info other than this website cause' it doesn't really say much about whether it will improve graphics for gamers or not.

 

[wh3resmycar]

you can also try to backup-image your system after you installed everything. just my 2 cents.

 

[ausch30]

Thanks Guys, I will definately get an ups right away.

Also, I figured I would update you that I found A Driver From Nvidia that was used to create Far Cry 2 & so far so good.

Again I ask if anybody knows anything about CUDA. It's supposed to be good according to Nvidia's website but I haven't really found out much about it in the gaming world. Just alot of programmer talk. Anybody know where I can find some good info other than this website cause' it doesn't really say much about whether it will improve graphics for gamers or not.

http://www.behardware.com/articles/678-1/nvidia-cuda-plus-pratique.html

 

[paulbelk]

you can also try to backup-image your system after you installed everything. just my 2 cents.

Hey, maybe you or someone else can give me some advice on the best way to do this. I've tried using the backup service with Windows & with Mcafee but all have been practically useless.

I've even tried to use UBCD 4 Win (Ultimate Boot CD) but have failed to understand it correctly. I've tried several times to no avail.

Is there a recemmended program out there to do what you're talking about? (backup-image).

Apparently I need a simplistict program to do this. I have considered myself to be rather tech-savvy in the past but it seems like the more I find out the more I forget, or simply can't figure out.


ausch30: Thanks for the link. That gave me a lot better knowledge of the program.

So, I guess now I need a software that will allow me to do a clean install & still set me back to where I was before I installed a bad driver.