Don't update your Nvidia drivers.

[Heretic Machine]

Cards are dropping like flies. The newest drivers from a couple of days ago (officially released drivers, not beta) are making the fans work improperly, cards are overheating and dieing. The drivers in question are 196.75 Apparently they have pulled the drivers (http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/05/nvidia-pulls-196-75-driver-amid-reports-its-frying-graphics-car/), but I'm sure there are still third-parties distributing them, so be warned.

[H.Bogard]

Oh Nvidia, what has become of you? Gone are the glory days of the 8800GT. They're now reduced to rebranding old cards and delayed products stuck in sub-par-engineering limbo.

... And killer drivers too, now.

[tacitus]

I read an article a few months ago about nvidia graphics - nvidia has spent a boatload of R&D money in the last couple of years on handleheld graphics and at the time of the article they haven't produced anything commercial. So if this article was accurate we know where their effort is now.

[OrangePulp]

Fuck, I have these. Time to roll back or downgrade or whatever.

Edit: Uninstall/reinstall complete. Thanks for the heads up.

[TrackZero]

Since I'm on an 8800GTS, I just rely off the windows7 approved drivers to auto-update, I assume they're far enough back to not be hit by this.

[Wilkz07]

Since I'm on an 8800GTS, I just rely off the windows7 approved drivers to auto-update, I assume they're far enough back to not be hit by this.

same here. have a 260 and it was in windows update the other day. so far no issues.

[Seika]

Good thing I always set the EVGA fan tool manually to 100% before running anything graphics intensive. :)
My card never goes over 60C anyway, so I think its ok.

Uninstalled, just in case.

[Wraith]

Ugh, I just updated ... last weekend? Not sure if I got that version. Will check. It ran civ IV ok. Does it affect all series heforce cards? 7900gtx here.

[Wraith]

Geforce that is. Stupid mobile browser isn't letting me edit.

[MachEnergy]

I read an article a few months ago about nvidia graphics - nvidia has spent a boatload of R&D money in the last couple of years on handleheld graphics and at the time of the article they haven't produced anything commercial. So if this article was accurate we know where their effort is now.

Does that not include the Tegra chip? My ZuneHD runs like greased lightning....but that might fall outside the time period of the R&D you are mentioning.

[LiquidRain]

I updated, and I'll be keeping them since I use a 3rd party cooler anyway, though I've noticed strange graphical issues with TF2. I think it's that new ambient occlusion business they've added.

[Hawkzombie]

LMAO...figures. I finally get my card's fan and underclocking features to work right after this updated, and it turns out it's broken. Jesus fucking christ.

[Savok]

*pets his 5770*

[Hawkzombie]

Yep, this has officially pushed me over to ATI. I've had it with nVidia's shitty cards and support. This was the last straw.

[Grifter]

Damn, my card just died yesterday and I believe it took my motherboard’s PCI-E slots with it. I’ve barely had the thing a couple weeks.

[Lekon]

Whew, I updated recently, but seems I'm on 196.21, so I'm safe. Yay! Thanks for the heads up, Perigon!

[Goronmon]

Glad I picked up my 5850 when I put together my current system.

[LordDon]

Yep, this has officially pushed me over to ATI. I've had it with nVidia's shitty cards and support. This was the last straw.

MagGnome's experience with his ATI has made me swear them off, personally.

[Wraith]

MagGnome's experience with his ATI has made me swear them off, personally.Well, since nVidia sucks, and AMD(ATI) sucks, we could always go with another GPU maker. Since there are so many to choose from.

Ok, technically there's Matrox (they are still around, right?), and Intel onboard, but they're both crap for gaming. Oh, and VIA and S3.

[Hawkzombie]

They all suck. I'm just gonna see if ATI ass rapes me with lube instead.

[Heretic Machine]

I gave up on ATI with the last card I had from them; caused me nothing but problems. But yes, both companies are shitballs, when it comes right down to it. I'm just used to Nvidia at this point.

[Hawkzombie]

See, I've had nothing but problems with the last THREE nVidia cards, and the fact that whenever I save a profile for my GPU settings (I underclock it and ramp up the fan so it doesn't crash when I play games, since the things a POS) it doesn't load it even though I set the options correctly...it's just aggravating.

[jpublic]

I've never had a problem with nVidia, but then, I tend to get to a stable driver release and not update for ages. I think I'm still on a 192 release. No reason to upgrade unless I have a problem.

[Ghostbear]

MagGnome's experience with his ATI has made me swear them off, personally.

Except for the part where it turned out to be his ram and not the video card.

[Panthera]

Both companies have a lot of problems, really. I stick with ATI because they have better support for older games.

[Jackel]

Except for the part where it turned out to be his ram and not the video card.

Some people hate because they don't know any better. Like folks who refuse to buy a particular brand of HDD because they had a bad experience with one. Without realizing that ALL brands have drives that fail.

[Spectre-7]

Well, that's a bummer. I was really pleased with the performance of the 196.75s, too. :(

[TrackZero]

Well, since nVidia sucks, and AMD(ATI) sucks, we could always go with another GPU maker. Since there are so many to choose from.

Ok, technically there's Matrox (they are still around, right?), and Intel onboard, but they're both crap for gaming. Oh, and VIA and S3.

S3 is still around? You can't be serious. I haven't heard of them since I bought that shitty S3 Virge card, I thought they were bought out about 10 years back.

Edit: Just read their wiki page. Ugh.

[Hawkzombie]

Huh...THIS (http://www.s3graphics.com/en/products/class3.aspx?productId=19) is their most advanced piece of hardware. I honestly dunno how they can still be in business.

[Panthera]

S3 is still around? You can't be serious. I haven't heard of them since I bought that shitty S3 Virge card, I thought they were bought out about 10 years back.

Edit: Just read their wiki page. Ugh.

S3d Virge? Oh god, I thought I was the only one who remembered that piece of shit decelerator.

[Spectre-7]

S3d Virge? Oh god, I thought I was the only one who remembered that piece of shit decelerator.

Ugh. The world's first 3D decelerator. It was a pain in the ass trying to explain to customers that the 3d acceleration advertised on their computer's box was in fact an elaborate joke, and that they'd need an aftermarket card if they wanted to play anything resembling a game.

The ATI chips of the time (Mach64 stuff) were hardly better, and it's taken me this long just to get over that grudge.

[Ravenlock]

Yeesh, what a mess. Thanks for the warning - I hadn't updated, but certainly might have. I'll be sure to hold off a few days after their next "official" release, then.

[JayK47]

Yep, this has officially pushed me over to ATI. I've had it with nVidia's shitty cards and support. This was the last straw.

I said the same thing about ATI about 8 years ago. Perhaps it is nVidia's turn to suck ass.

I wonder if they will send you a new card after the driver fries yours? Doubtful. More like a 20% off coupon towards a new nVidia card. Ha.

[jpublic]

I actually dislike ATI because we have them in a lot of the PCs here, and the shenanigans we have to go through with their drivers is insane.

[LordDon]

Some people hate because they don't know any better. Like folks who refuse to buy a particular brand of HDD because they had a bad experience with one. Without realizing that ALL brands have drives that fail.

Didn't hear it was the ram, I redact my complaint about Mag's issues with ATI.

[Wraith]

Guess I'm still on 196.21. No worries.

[CappinCanuck]

Guess I'm still on 196.21. No worries.

Ditto. I wish they'd release the drivers soon. Apparently the new releases this month came packaged with some new stuff that needs a corresponding driver update or else you get driver errors.

[MagGnome]

Damn, my card just died yesterday and I believe it took my motherboard’s PCI-E slots with it. I’ve barely had the thing a couple weeks.

The card you just bought off of a poster here? That really sucks.


MagGnome's experience with his ATI has made me swear them off, personally.

Except for the part where it turned out to be his ram and not the video card.

Didn't hear it was the ram, I redact my complaint about Mag's issues with ATI.

Ghostbear is right for the most part. My main issues did lie with the RAM in the end.

However, I have had some problems with my ATI card, but it's nothing out of the ordinary. Some older titles have issues (which might be Windows or CPU related, who knows?) and I have had the graphics driver crash a few times, although it only required a reboot once. Windows recovered and reset the driver the other times that it happened.

Overall I'm quite happy with the card now. Every game I've tried (except the aforementioned older titles) looks fantastic and runs like a dream. Finally being able to max out the settings in every title I own is fantastic. :D


Well, since nVidia sucks, and AMD(ATI) sucks, we could always go with another GPU maker. Since there are so many to choose from.

Ok, technically there's Matrox (they are still around, right?), and Intel onboard, but they're both crap for gaming. Oh, and VIA and S3.

It's sad that there isn't more competition in this space.

[Grifter]

I should have updated my post sooner, my GTX 275 is fine (as far as I can tell at the moment) it was my motherboard that died and I should have a new one here no later than Monday.

[MagGnome]

Oh okay, I'm glad to hear the card is fine. Sorry to hear about your MOBO though.

I got a store credit from Newegg for my bad RAM, but a few days later I got another e-mail that appears to take away my store credit and instead refund my original purchase of the RAM. It's quite confusing, and I need to call Newegg and see what's going on.

They send far too many e-mails every time you order from them. Other than that they've been fantastic.

[CappinCanuck]

Oh okay, I'm glad to hear the card is fine. Sorry to hear about your MOBO though.

I got a store credit from Newegg for my bad RAM, but a few days later I got another e-mail that appears to take away my store credit and instead refund my original purchase of the RAM. It's quite confusing, and I need to call Newegg and see what's going on.

They send far too many e-mails every time you order from them. Other than that they've been fantastic.

Why would you call them... keep the refund... what are you doing man?!

On a related note, I'm waiting for these damn Nvidia drivers...

[MagGnome]

Why would you call them... keep the refund... what are you doing man?!

On a related note, I'm waiting for these damn Nvidia drivers...

I definitely want the refund. I'm just not sure if I'm getting a refund, or a store credit, or what. Originally they were giving me store credit, and they did, but then a few days later I got ANOTHER e-mail (they've sent at least seven so far for my last RMA) that appears to revoke my store credit and refund my original purchase. It isn't very clear though, as it's just an invoice. Hence the desire for further clarification.

[nabokovfan87]

*pets his 5770*

Yep, this has officially pushed me over to ATI. I've had it with nVidia's shitty cards and support. This was the last straw.

Heh, thanks for the laughs. Has anyone made the obligitory "But I thought ATI had shitty drivers" joke yet?

[roboninja]

Heh, thanks for the laughs. Has anyone made the obligitory "But I thought ATI had shitty drivers" joke yet?

Nope, you're the first.

[Hawkzombie]

Heh, thanks for the laughs. Has anyone made the obligitory "But I thought ATI had shitty drivers" joke yet?

Oh what I'd give for an eye rolling emote right about now...