Nvidia Unleashes 'Release 256' Graphics Drivers

By Marcus Yam
published

These will make your Fermi even faster.

Nvidia this week introduced the Release 256 family of its drivers. Nvidia marks this as a revolutionary release that should bring both new features and some pretty significant performance boosts.

Those with Fermi-based GPUs will get some better performance in games. Check the graph below to see what sort of gains Nvidia is talking about.

Aside from that, the Release 256 drivers also bring:

  • Blu-ray 3D
  • New Visual Quality Modes
  • New Multi-GPU Setup Controls
  • CUDA 3.1
  • OpenGL 4.0

Check out the Nvidia blog post (opens in new tab) for the full details.

Version 257.15 beta can be downloaded here for GeForce and ION GPUs (opens in new tab) (a WHQL-certified version is planned for early June). 

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
57 Comments Comment from the forums
  • nforce4max
    Took long enough but funny that the first Geforce was a 256.

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/KL_NVIDIA_Geforce_256.jpg
    Reply
  • AsianJetlag
    Yawn.

    GTX480 are all out of stock at $500, you have to pay at least a $50 premium for one.

    In which case, a $600 Radeon 5970 still rapes the f**k out of the GTX480.
    Reply
  • Regulas
    Cool my XFX GTX 285 will like it but I will wait for the WHQL driver, they are buggy enough even certified to not want the beta. That goes for ATI too.
    And to the above post, man these cards are getting pricey, I thought $300 was over the top.
    Reply
  • ksa-_-jed
    I wish they do something about the heat that is the real problem with the GTX480
    Reply
  • back_by_demand
    ksa-_-jedI wish they do something about the heat that is the real problem with the GTX480It's not a problem, it's a feature!
    There is an OC version planned called the "Aga Edition"
    As well as playing games it can heat your home
    Reply
  • d-block
    Fermi is available from multiple stores. Pretty easy to find one for $500.
    Reply
  • duckmanx88
    AsianJetlagYawn.GTX480 are all out of stock at $500, you have to pay at least a $50 premium for one.In which case, a $600 Radeon 5970 still rapes the f**k out of the GTX480.
    in what imaginary world do you live in that you've found 5970's for 600?
    Reply
  • SchizoFrog
    All these comments about the heat of Fermi is just as retarded as 'Can it play Crysis?'

    GET OVER IT!

    Has anyone even heard of a Fermi card failing due to heat?
    Reply
  • joytech22
    SchizoFrogAll these comments about the heat of Fermi is just as retarded as 'Can it play Crysis?'GET OVER IT!Has anyone even heard of a Fermi card failing due to heat?
    Nope, my GTX470 sit's around 70-95C most of the time and it's running beautifully! Hoping to get another for SLi, absolutely rapes a 5970 (of course the 5970 being a single slot card owns all other single slot solutions..)
    Reply
  • back_by_demand
    SchizoFrogAll these comments about the heat of Fermi is just as retarded as 'Can it play Crysis?'GET OVER IT!Has anyone even heard of a Fermi card failing due to heat?Ooooo... touched a raw nerve there methinks...
    Reply