Tips for new 6800 users

[CaptNKILL]

Ok, my 6800 GT should be arriving today and I need some tips! If enough information gets posted here, might want to make it a sticky because a lot of people are probably wondering the same things I am.

1. Drivers:
As of right now there arent any official ones on the Nvidia page that support the 6800 cards, so which ones are most of you guys using with no problems(and of course, performance matters too :D). Looking ay Guru3d, I see that these are all very popular driver sets:
61.36 WHQL , 61.71 BETA , 61.40 , 61.11 , 61.12
So im assuming these are my best choices. Which should I go for?

2. Tweaker\Overclocking Program:
Is the new version of Riva Tuner good? It was always the best tweaker when I had nvidia cards (up to the 5600). Im looking for something that does overclocking and also lets me have a LOT of control over my settings (in case I want to remove all optimizations, or turn on more or something). Ive also seen something about Coolbits2, how is that for a tweaker?

3. Quick Tweaker:
By this I mean a tray icon that allows me to adjust settings quickly before playing a game. Does the default nvidia system tray program provide enough options or is it too limited?

4. Games:
Ok this is something thats bugging me. I have no new games! Battlefield 1942 DC, Arx Fatalis, Vietcong and Morrowind are pretty much the only games ive got that I couldnt have totaly maxed out on my 9600 Pro. I dont really want to buy any games without playing them, but are there any recent demos(or even freeware) that you guys recommend? If I see something I really enjoy I might go buy it... as of right now I dont even have BF1942 or Vietcong here to install(someone borrowed them) so im stuck with Arx and Morrowind(which arent installed either!)... /me wonders how Half-Life looks and runs at 1600x1200 with 4xAA and 16xAF High Quality

5. Tweaks:
Are there any specific things that you guys recommend changing right off the bat? Are there any settings that have problems, or that really should be enabled but arent by default? The same goes for optimization settings.

I think thats about it. Please post as much info as you can guys :)

[nvnews-reader]

If you are looking for free gaming head over to www.nzone.com. There is a good collection of demos as well as some freeware.

[Ruined]

Also for Intel D865PERL motherboard users, driversets 61.21 whql and 61.71 seem to cause stuttering in games. 61.36whql seems to fix this mostly.

[OWA]

1. Drivers:
61.34 or 61.45.

2. Tweaker\Overclocking Program:
I use coolbits. The drivers now let you disable most of the optimizations. RivaTuner is probably the most popular tweaker though.

3. Quick Tweaker:
The nvidia tweaker provides most of what you'd want but not as much as something like ATI Tray Tools. IMO, this isn't needed nearly as much now since nvidia supports application profiles.

5. Tweaks:
Install coolbits or one of the plus versions of it (always first thing I do), followed by setting up the refresh rate over-rides (on the nvidia side I usually just use the driver provided refresh rate over-ride, on the ATI side I use reforce -- not sure that is the official name or not).

Edit: ...and check this thread for help on setting up application profiles.

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=31529

Edit 2: Using the built-in overclocking, you usually have to set and apply the overclock settings for 2D *and* 3D. I usually go through it 2 twice but I think you only need to set it once for each one. If you only set it for the 3D, for example, it'll end up getting reset. Search the forum for better instructions on this.

[CaptNKILL]

You know, i just realized this would probably be better suited to the Nvidia Graphics forum... since its more than just driver related.

Can someone move it please?

Thanks

[gozu]

Dont mean to be bringing up an old forum. But are these problems in the new WHQL'd drivers? :angel2: