Nvidia Releases Windows 8 WHQL Driver for Desktop GPUs
Nvidia confirmed that it has the first set of WHQL-certified Windows 8 drivers for its desktop graphics cards available.
The software was released as version 302.82 and has been made available for the Windows 8 Release Preview in 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
According to Nvidia, the driver supports the new Windows 8 display driver model WDDM 1.2 and should not be used on Windows 7 and Windows Vista systems. It's not a flawless driver and the company notes that GT 520 users will see flickering in DirectX applications when launched with FXAA turned on from the Nvidia Control Panel.
As with previous 302 driver releases, this version also supports Nvidia's GeForce 8, 9, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600-series desktop GPUs as well as ION desktop GPUs. The driver requires a minimum of 200 MB (English, 32-bit), and a maximum of 360 MB (64-bit, international) of space.
does this mean its certified to crash once per day?
I'll install the next non-Windows 7 driver in the future. Promise.
does this mean its certified to crash once per day?
Because AMD knows Windows 8 is going to suck so they aren't in a hurry. LOL
And as far as crash protection, with WDDM 1.2, it handles crashes on a per application basis. This is in contrast to Win 7 where it would reset the entire adapter in the event of a program behaving poorly.
Regardless of your personal opinion of the UI, the underlying technology is improved over 7 as 7 was over vista.
AMD already has working Windows 8 drivers. If Nvidia is being proactive, then AMD was preemptively proactive in comparison.
not really...i haven't seen any drivers from AMD
When you go to download a driver for your specific operating system right on the main page of amd.com, Windows 8 x86 and Windows 8 x64 are the first two options from the top. If you didn't find any Windows 8 drivers from AMD, then that means that you didn't look with the intent of finding them. It took me less than a minute to do it. Considering that it's in a simple drop-down menu, I'm inclined to think that you haven't even looked. I'm also forced to consider the fact that you've so conveniently ignored the one or two articles here on Tom's that were dedicated to AMD's Windows 8 drivers. AMD has had Windows 8 drivers for weeks.
i did look but i did not see anything...hmmm, i need to check my ad-block settings
I call it a wast of nvidia's resources seeing as how windohs 8 will probably sale worse than vista did. the reasons why I believe this are
1. every one is hating win 8 already and it's not even out
2. win 8 is forcing drastic changes in options on "how we compute" onto consumers merely for the sake of making a moble OS the thing is NOT being designed for PC's
3. WWWAYYY to soon for a new OS, win vista was like 4-5 years after win XP , and people thought that was to soon and clung on to Xp till win 7 hit. win 7 is what 2 years old now at most ???? no one is looking to update OSes again not when they paid 200-300 buck just 2 years ago (or less in most cases) for win7
MS is really setting them selves up to go pop on this one. I seriously don't see win 8 selling even half the numbers that win 7 has pulled thus far. it might sell half those numbers if MS prices win 8 at no more than 150 but that is as likely to happen as pigs flying out of my a--. I'd believe win 8 might even break even with win 7 if they priced it at 50-100 dollars ... but well i think i have a better chance of Elvis and aliens landing on on my head while pigs also fly out of my a-- , than the chance of us seeing that price point.
And as far as crash protection, with WDDM 1.2, it handles crashes on a per application basis. This is in contrast to Win 7 where it would reset the entire adapter in the event of a program behaving poorly.
Regardless of your personal opinion of the UI, the underlying technology is improved over 7 as 7 was over vista.
So what do you call software that hasn't been released to manufacture(RTM)? Beta? Or if your Microsoft you call it a release candidate which is a beta version with potential to be a final product. None the less Windows 8 is still in Beta testing.
In fact it is more stable than 301.42 I used prior to installing it. It also allows me to play Civ5 in Dx 10&11, which crashed all the time on 301.42 for some reason.
I've also yet to experience 1 of the random 'graphics driver has stopped working' messages I got with 301.42. it popped up at least once a week, out of the blue no matter what I was doing on the computer.
My first computer with a hard drive was a Tandy 1000 SL with a 20MB "Hard Card" ARLL drive (a variant of RLL where interleaving was optimized to provide better performance). Most people I knew with a Tandy had bought a 1000 EX which was an PC-in-keyboard design and looked like a C-64 (but was far more powerful). You have to remember that these computers even predated high-density floppies, so you could only use "double-density" 360KB 5.25" and 720KB 3.5" disks. I remember when King's Quest 5 came out, and although I got the "EGA" (it had Tandy 1000 16-colour graphics too) version, it only shipped on high-density 5.25" disks and I only had the stock 360KB 5.25" drive installed. I had to buy a 720KB 3.5" drive for the computer and order the trade-up disk package from Sierra.
If my memory serves me, it cost around $3000 when new.
Why not? Microsoft isn't certifying that the product (driver/software/hardware) is a bulletproof feat of engineering, it's simply confirming that all tests done on the part of the third-party (in this care nvidia) is conforming to the testing and deployment standards needed to ensure Windows compatibility.