Windows 10: Nvidia releases GeForce drivers for the final version of Windows 11

Nvidia released updated Game Ready and Studio drivers for the final version of Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system today. The company did release its first Windows 11 ready drivers back in July, but the drivers released today are designed for the final version of Windows 11, which Microsoft plans to release on October 5, 2021.

Nvidia customers who plan on upgrading their devices to Windows 11 the moment the new operating system is released, or purchasing a new gaming PC or laptop in the first week of general availability, can point their browsers to the official GeForce Game Ready driver download page or the Nvidia Studio driver download page to download the latest drivers to the system for installation.

Windows 11 includes several new gaming related features. Three core features are DirectX 12 Ultimate, Auto HDR and DirectStorage.

Auto HDR is designed to bring High Dynamic Range to games that don't support it. It requires compatible hardware, a monitor with HDR support, and a simple flip of a preference to enable the feature on Windows 11.

Windows 11 users find the setting under Settings > System > Display > Windows HD Color Setting (link). Use HDR needs to be enabled on the page that opens, and Auto HDR as well.



DirectStorage is another new feature, albeit not exclusive to Windows 11 as Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system supports the technology as well. It requires compatible hardware as well, a fast NVMe SSD to be precise on the Windows PC, and games that support the new API. Microsoft promises faster loading times of games and and improved gaming experience.

DirectX 12 Ultimate finally "codifies several RTX graphics rendering innovations such as Raytracing, Variable Rate Shading, Sampler Feedback, and Mesh Shaders to help developers make bigger, better worlds with faster performance" according to Nvidia.

Nvidia Studio customers get a new driver and access to new features on Windows 11 as well. Nvidia lists the following three specifically:

Faster NVIDIA Broadcast Performance: NVIDIA Broadcast is the industry’s leading video and audio enhancement app, using the power of AI and our GPU’s Tensor Cores to make audio clearer, eliminate background noise, and improve video quality. In Windows 11, GPU-accelerated hardware scheduling receives numerous improvements and is enabled by default, enabling users to use NVIDIA Broadcast while they livestream and run a game or 3D app seamlessly.

Windows Enhance Audio: A new Sound panel enables Windows 11 users to improve and enhance the audio coming out of their speakers and headphones, making dialog clearer.

Integrated Microsoft Teams: Chat, call and conference via Microsoft Teams, which is now integrated into the taskbar, providing a faster way to connect to colleagues, friends, and family. And with our Windows 11 drivers, GPU acceleration is fully supported, and via the Teams options you can route your audio and video via NVIDIA Broadcast to enhance calls and video conferences.
​

You can read the official announcement on the Nvidia blog.

Now You: do you plan to upgrade to Windows 11?

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NVIDIA GeForce Driver Version 182.05 BETA Released

NVIDIA today also released new BETA GeForce driver version 182.05 for both Windows Vista and Windows XP. Some games will run a bit faster with this driver compared to the latest official version 181.22:

• Up to 8% performance increase in Fallout 3 at high resolution and AA.
• Up to 10% performance increase in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
• Up to 9% performance increase in Half-Life 2 at high resolution with AA.
• Up to 11% performance increase in Left 4 Dead at high resolution with AA.
• Up to 10% performance increase in Race Driver: GRID at high resolution and AA.

Unfortunately, direct links from NVIDIA give me "Page Not Found" message, so I'll give download links from our colleagues at Guru3D.


DOWNLOAD: GeForce Release 181.22 BETA
Source: NVIDIA, Guru3D

 

NVIDIA Releases GeForce 185.66 BETA Drivers

The day after releasing the GeForce 182.50 WHQL drivers, NVIDIA has also released a GeForce BETA driver with version 185.66, for both Windows Vista and XP.

New in Release 185.66:

• Adds support for the new GeForce GTX 275 GPU.
• Adds support for Ambient Occlusion – the newest NVIDIA Control Panel feature to offer enhanced 3D gaming realism exclusively to GeForce GPUs. (Vista Only)
• Adds support for CUDA 2.2 for improved performance in GPU Computing applications. See nvidia.com/cuda for more details.
• Accelerates performance in several 3D applications. The following are examples of improvements measured with Release 185 drivers vs. Release 182 drivers (results will vary depending on your GPU, system configuration, and game settings):

• - Up to 11% performance increase in Call of Duty: World at War
  - Up to 5% performance increase Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
  - Up to 22% performance increase Crysis: Warhead with antialiasing enabled
  - Up to 11% performance increase in Fallout 3 with antialiasing enabled
  - Up to 14% performance increase in Far Cry 2
  - Up to 45% performance increase in Mirror’s Edge with antialiasing enabled

• Supports GeForce Plus Power Pack #3. Download these FREE PhysX and CUDA applications now!
• Numerous bug fixes. Refer to the release documentation notes.

DOWNLOAD: GeForce 185.66 BETA for Windows XP 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit | Windows Vista 32-bit | Windows Vista 64-bit

UPDATE: The day following the release of the 185.65 BETA drivers this article originally covered, NVIDIA removed the driver links and updated the BETA to 185.66, this article has therefore been updated accordingly.

 

NVIDIA GeForce Driver Version 182.06 WHQL Released

Just over a week since we covered the release of the 182.05 BETA driver, NVIDIA have now released a WHQL with version number 182.06. The driver has been released for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP and Vista and is for GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, and 200-series desktop GPUs.

New in Release 182.06:

• Recommended for the best experience in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
• Boosts performance in numerous 3D applications. The following are some examples of improvements measured with Release 182.06 WHQL drivers vs. Release 181.22 WHQL drivers (results will vary depending on your GPU, system configuration, and game settings):
• Up to 8% performance increase in Fallout 3 at high resolution and AA.
• Up to 10% performance increase in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
• Up to 9% performance increase in Half-Life 2 at high resolution with AA.
• Up to 11% performance increase in Left 4 Dead at high resolution with AA.
• Up to 10% performance increase in Race Driver: GRID at high resolution and AA.
• Includes full support for OpenGL 3.0 on GeForce 8-series, 9-series, and 200-series GPUs.
• Automatically installs the new PhysX System Software version 9.09.0203.
• Additional information on specific bug fixes can be found in the release documentation notes.

DOWNLOAD NVIDIA Forceware 182.06 WHQL for Windows XP 32-bit | Windows Vista 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit | Windows Vista 64-bit