Those running Windows 7

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For all those running Windows 7, I would love to know which drivers you are using. I started off with Dox's 182 and they worked fine but there occasionally came up with the nvkdm or whatever error so I didn't even dare try anything too graphically intense.

Since then, I've bricked my computer so I had to do a reinstall so I installed beta build 7068. Reading the comments on 181.71 for win7 I wass skeptical in downloading it from this site. So I decided to wait and see what windows update offered me. As expected, it came up with the option to install the driver so I took the risk and am so glad to have done. Performance is off the charts (well not really) on my xps m1530 with 8600m gt ddr3 3dmark06 scores are now far improved (you can see in my sig on the left) from vista's 4600 points at stock. As you can see, according to notebookcheck.com, my over clocked 8600m gt runs almost as fast as two of them at stock in SLi which I think is an awesome achievement.

So for those experiencing the BSOD on your systems, get rid of the drivers you manually installed and install through windows update. It is WWDM for a reason and that its actually stable from microsoft (i can't believe I'm actually saying this).

Try it and see for yourself. Your card should be recognised in windows update.

PS for the overclock, I used nvidia system tools 6.03 from guru3d. Temperatures never went above 75, a bit hot but for that amount of performance gain seems worth it.

Peace

[Guest Guest]

I do not find the 1.81 update in my windows update. I also tried updating the driver through device manager, says it's up to date, and I have the 179 release

[Kade]

For me, the 185.65 drivers worked fine without the BSOD and other visual glitches. I can assure you that I've been experiecing similar problems with quite a few drivers including most of the 182.xx versions. Obviously, my temps are lower, although powermizer is off by default, which I must learn to activate. Furthermore, since I can't run 185.66 on my OS (doesn't install) I'm kinda' forced to use 185.65; however, other Dell XPS M1730 users have strong things to say about 185.66, and that works just as well as .65 but with even fewer bugs.

I might give this windows update a try, but you should know that a previous update via Windows 7 offered me similar drivers that performed badly and caused BSODs, so it's not always a sure-shot, even with Microsoft approved stuff.

[Gameo]

I've had no problems with drivers on Windows 7 whatsoever, and I'm now using DOX 185.68 without any troubles at all. They are the best both performance-wise and temperature-wise.

75c is a bit hot?! I always fight to keep mine below 96c so it doesn't stutter(Yes I've cleaned my laptop as much as I can, it unfortunately can't be opened manually).

(I have the same card as you)

Luckily, with the new drivers I can now run stuff like Burnout Paradise(Which appearently is the game that makes my laptop scorching hot)at 90c +- 3c. After a long time of gaming I have to underclock a bit but that's fine as the games still run with fluent fps.

Anyway, no drivers are the best for anyone, it will always be different from system to system, from laptop to laptop. Even though a majority may like a driver more than another, there will never be such a thing as "The best driver".

However, I appreciate your effort and the work you put into telling us about your experiences. Thank you.

[Guest StormKingPin]

I'm using Dox 182.46 on my 8800GTS and no isseus so far (running x64 build 7057).