Bman212121
12-18-08, 09:45 PM
Long the bane of mobile gaming's existence, NVIDIA has taken the first step in allowing all users of notebook computers that want to the best possible gaming performance access to NVIDIA updated drivers. Why is this news? Since the beginning of time, users that wanted an updated graphics driver for their laptop had to wait for their hardware vendor to update it on its own support site. This happened fairly infrequently and often times not at all.
Well starting today, if you have a GeForce 8-series or 9-series or Quadro NVS-based notebook you can access beta drivers from nvidia.com directly, by passing the bureaucracy of hardware vendors. Could this be the first step required to notebook-based gaming finally on par with the desktop experience?
http://www.pcper.com/comments.php?nid=6564
Also, there is a Q & A section. Most importantly for me...
Q: Does this driver support Macbooks/Macbook Pro?
A: Yes, these XP and Vista drivers can be used with Boot Camp.
:D
Q: Why is NVIDIA offering driver support direct from NVIDIA.com for OEM notebooks after 8 years of not doing it? What has changed?
A: Notebook manufacturers have historically only allowed graphics drivers to be offered directly from them. This was due to the fact that the drivers had to be customized in order to maintain unique implementations of dedicated hotkeys, power management, and smooth suspend/resume. NVIDIA has worked diligently over the past year to modularize its driver architecture and develop a unified driver install package that will not only work with laptops from all manufacturers but also maintain all of their specific model customizations such as hotkeys and suspend and resume functionality. Consumer demand for timely driver updates has outgrown the rate at which drivers are currently supplied to the market. Customers need new drivers in order to be able to take full advantage of the latest visual computing applications.
Q: How do I know if my system will support the new driver?
A: The December beta release will support GeForce 8, GeForce 9, and DirectX 10-class Quadro NVS branded notebooks. The intelligent installer for the update driver will check which GPU is installed in your notebook and install only on supported systems. Notebooks with earlier GPUs, motherboard GPUs, or with Quadro FX GPUs, will be added early next year.
http://www.pcper.com/comments.php?nid=6565
Well starting today, if you have a GeForce 8-series or 9-series or Quadro NVS-based notebook you can access beta drivers from nvidia.com directly, by passing the bureaucracy of hardware vendors. Could this be the first step required to notebook-based gaming finally on par with the desktop experience?
http://www.pcper.com/comments.php?nid=6564
Also, there is a Q & A section. Most importantly for me...
Q: Does this driver support Macbooks/Macbook Pro?
A: Yes, these XP and Vista drivers can be used with Boot Camp.
:D
Q: Why is NVIDIA offering driver support direct from NVIDIA.com for OEM notebooks after 8 years of not doing it? What has changed?
A: Notebook manufacturers have historically only allowed graphics drivers to be offered directly from them. This was due to the fact that the drivers had to be customized in order to maintain unique implementations of dedicated hotkeys, power management, and smooth suspend/resume. NVIDIA has worked diligently over the past year to modularize its driver architecture and develop a unified driver install package that will not only work with laptops from all manufacturers but also maintain all of their specific model customizations such as hotkeys and suspend and resume functionality. Consumer demand for timely driver updates has outgrown the rate at which drivers are currently supplied to the market. Customers need new drivers in order to be able to take full advantage of the latest visual computing applications.
Q: How do I know if my system will support the new driver?
A: The December beta release will support GeForce 8, GeForce 9, and DirectX 10-class Quadro NVS branded notebooks. The intelligent installer for the update driver will check which GPU is installed in your notebook and install only on supported systems. Notebooks with earlier GPUs, motherboard GPUs, or with Quadro FX GPUs, will be added early next year.
http://www.pcper.com/comments.php?nid=6565