The last time that NVIDIA has released a graphics driver for Windows 10, they added a download category to their website for the pre-release operating system. Since about January, graphics driver updates were pushed by Windows Update and, before that, you would need to use Windows 8.1 drivers. Receiving drivers from Windows Update also meant that add-ons, such as PhysX runtimes and the GeForce Experience, would not be bundled with it. I know that some have installed them separately, but I didn't.
The 352.84 release, which is their second Windows 10 driver to be released outside of Windows Update, is also certified by WHQL. NVIDIA has recently been touting Microsoft certification for many of their drivers. Historically, they released a large number of Beta drivers that were stable, but did not wait for Microsoft to vouch for them. For one reason or another, they have put a higher priority on that label, even for “Game Ready” drivers that launch alongside a popular title.
For some reason, the driver is only available via GeForce Experience and NVIDIA.com, but not GeForce.com. I assume NVIDIA will publish it there soon, too.
has there not been a update
has there not been a update since omega on the amd side? That’s not so good…….
No need to update drivers if
No need to update drivers if they’re perfect.
_IF_ 😛
There have been drivers, they
There have been drivers, they have all been beta drivers.
This probably makes a lot of sense for AMD. Think about the people that update their drivers. New users that just got a card, system manufacturers, and gamers.
New users simply want the card to work. There is some overlap with the gaming market, but gamers self select themselves out of this group. They just bought the card because the old one broke, they need 4k support, they need extra monitors, they are doing GPGPU computing and need a set feature set. All of these things benefit from have well tested drivers, with set expectation of stability.
System manufacturers care about one thing when they are update drivers: support. And providing a well tested supported driver that works and is stable is all to their benefit. The really like this model. These guys also benefit greatly from well tested drivers, with a set expectation of stability.
Gamers are the odd duck out. They want the latest and greatest, and are willing to deal with issues in order to have it. They know the exact model of their card, and know what driver they have. They are also likely to be the ones to buy that new game on launch day. They benefit from new features early. They are early adopters.
When looking for drivers, the first group finds exactly what they expect, stable drivers, when they use AMD’s easy tool to find the latest driver for their card.
The second group either uses their connections in the industry to get model specific drivers by manufacturer, i.e. Gigabyte, or gets the drivers directly from AMD from essentially an LTS branch.
The last group, gamers and enthusiasts, look at the features they need, or the game they want to play, then find the driver for that game. Or they simply update to the regular monthly beta driver.
Under the current model, AMD has to support the regular users and manufacturers with one code base and one release, since most users never update their drivers anyway, this greatly reduces the support cost side of their driver strategy.
For gamers, who for the most part were already using the beta drivers anyway, AMD makes no promises for support, but still uses the feedback for their next big release.
The advantage to AMD should be obvious, and realistically it should actually mean more man hours into fixing the big releases, as well as time for the important DX12 and Vulkan drivers coming soon.
Wish someone from AMD would spell that out.
Quite frankly, as an AMD user
Quite frankly, as an AMD user (too), I’m appalled by this new/current policy. There is simply no excuse for not providing a certified driver in 5+ months.
If you’re peddling your products as cards made for gaming, keeping up with new games coming out and providing timely drivers is merely keeping your end of the bargain.
Do these drivers only support
Do these drivers only support a certain model of card? The installer won’t find my GTX 560…
There is no Fermi support yet
There is no Fermi support yet so some of the low end 600 series will also not work yet. There is some more detailed information over on AnandTech.