# [XFastest] GeForce 185.20 Released - Now With Ambient Occlusion



## AuDioFreaK39

XFastest are the first to release the new GeForce 185.20 drivers, including a new version of [email protected] for NVIDIA GPUs.

http://www.xfastest.com/viewthread.p...extra=page%3D1

Links are now up:

[email protected]_GPU_v620nv

ForceWare 185.20 XP (32-bit)

ForceWare 185.20 XP (64-bit )

ForceWare 185.20 Vista (32-bit )

*^ These drivers are confirmed working for Windows 7 Ultimate build 7000 as well.*

ForceWare 185.20 Vista (64-bit )

Interestingly enough, these new drivers contain a new Ambient Occlusion setting in the Nvidia Control Panel:










*
Don't forget to read the description of Ambient Occlusion at the bottom ^.







*

The effect of this new feature is particularly emphasized in titles such as Crysis:

*Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
GeForce 185.20
Nvidia PhysX 8.11.18
Crysis: WARHEAD
DirectX 10

2048 x 1152 (16:9)

Core i7 965 Extreme @ 3.74GHz
GeForce GTX 280 @ 685/2240

AO OFF (19fps)










AO LOW (17.8fps)










AO MEDIUM (16.6fps)










AO HIGH (13.1fps)








*

3DMark Vantage results:

*Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit SP1*










*Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit build 7000*










Hardware-Infos.com has its own review up of the drivers now. Please check it out:

*http://www.hardware-infos.com/tests.php?test=52*


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## Dar_T

What does ambient occlusion do?


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## msremmert

Alas, another quiet driver "leak" but at least we know nVidia are actually doing their job.








I'll give em a go now.
Good find +REP.

Edit: *122mb?!* What in the name of all that is/was/might be holy have bundled in there?!
I miss the days where drivers were only a few meg.

Ambient Occlusion : Wikipedia

Quote:



*Ambient occlusion* is a shading method used in 3D computer graphics which helps add realism to local reflection models by taking into account attenuation of light due to occlusion. Ambient Occlusion attempts to approximate the way light radiates in real life, especially off of what is normally considered non-reflective surfaces. For example, in the way light through a small crack in the curtain in an otherwise darkened hotel room can slightly illuminate the entire room, and not just the path of light passing through the crack itself.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambient_occlusion


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## [email protected]

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dar_T*


What does ambient occlusion do?


It says in the screenshot.


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## losttsol

So, High Ambient Occlusion = Low Ambient Lighting?


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## tonyhague

the [email protected] app is datestamped 27.08/2008 (in the rar file) so I'm not sure it's the latest version. Good find with the driver, though


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## i_ame_killer_2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *losttsol*


So, High Ambient Occlusion = Low Ambient Lighting?


I dont know if you can say that but:

From wiki

Quote:



Ambient occlusion is a shading method used in 3D computer graphics which helps add realism to local reflection models by taking into account attenuation of light due to occlusion. Ambient Occlusion attempts to approximate the way light radiates in real life, especially off of what is normally considered non-reflective surfaces. For example, in the way light through a small crack in the curtain in an otherwise darkened hotel room can slightly illuminate the entire room, and not just the path of light passing through the crack itself.


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## Ecchi-BANZAII!!!

Quote:



Originally Posted by *AuDioFreaK39*












You forgot to set it to Trilinear mipmaps.


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## The_Rocker

Yoink


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## AuDioFreaK39

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ecchi-BANZAII!!!*


You forgot to set it to Trilinear mipmaps.


Thanks for the tip.


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## Hueristic

Quote:



Originally Posted by *msremmert*


I miss the days where drivers were only a few meg.


I miss the days where drivers were only a few k


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## TnB= Gir

Are there any mirrors? Slow DL is SLOWWWWWW.


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## Outcasst

The control panel is very buggy. It won't let me change application settings for any of my games now.


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## AuDioFreaK39

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TnB= Gir*


Are there any mirrors? Slow DL is SLOWWWWWW.


I'm workin on it (uploading to FileFront).


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## Hueristic

http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost.ph...8&postcount=22


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## royo

Rapidshare link:
Vista64:http://rapidshare.com/files/17873107..._20Vista64.exe
Vista32: http://rapidshare.com/files/17875424..._20Vista32.exe
XP32: http://rapidshare.com/files/17875421..._20WinXP32.exe


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## USFORCES

The Crysis before and after look nice.


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## bluedevil

Wow...DLing now.....I hope it makes my 8800GT fly


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## TnB= Gir

Ugh, these drivers don't work with a dedicated PhysX card either. NO 180+ driver has worked for me. I've had to revert back to 178 drivers to get it to work.


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## AN HERO

This isn't real mathematical AO (like I expected). It's just a contrast filter of sorts, see the fuel barrel touching the ground (with REAL AO it's supposed to have shadows/darkening)


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## dmreeves

The last release I saw was 181.00 And THOSE were betas, howd we jump 4.00 driver versions ???


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## Sly.aces

Quote:


Originally Posted by *dmreeves* 
The last release I saw was 181.00 And THOSE were betas, howd we jump 4.00 driver versions ???


Dude, I was thinking the same thing!


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## AuDioFreaK39

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AN HERO* 
This isn't real mathematical AO (like I expected). It's just a contrast filter of sorts, see the fuel barrel touching the ground (with REAL AO it's supposed to have shadows/darkening)

Those images are just samples of AO that I pulled off the web. Perhaps the driver will render different results.


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## Evostance

*Uploading to rapidshare now. I'll update the list as they come*

[email protected]_GPU_v620nv

ForceWare 185.20 Vista (32-bit )

ForceWare 185.20 XP (32-bit)

ForceWare 185.20 XP (64-bit )

ForceWare 185.20 Vista (64-bit )


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## nasher27

Wow, that AO screen of Crysis looks really nice. How does it hit performance, though? I already barely hit 30 frames, don't want to venture much lower.


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## TnB= Gir

Occlusion is already in Crysis.


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## AuDioFreaK39

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Evostance* 
*Uploading to rapidshare now. I'll update the list as they come*

[email protected]_GPU_v620nv


Thanks, I'll update the original post as they come.


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## Evostance

Theyre all uploaded now

EDIT: You should add [XFastest] to the thread name too


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## nafljhy

i find it nice that nvidia is all up on their drivers but i don't get how xfastest came out with a new [email protected] prog. was it a tweak to work better with these drivers or is it actually a new prog?


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## TnB= Gir

Drivers are buggy. I had graphical glitches in all Source games, didn't try others.


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## Evostance

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TnB= Gir*


Drivers are buggy. I had graphical glitches in all Source games, didn't try others.


Oh noes...which ones you get?


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## Cryptedvick

Quote:



Originally Posted by *nasher27*


Wow, that AO screen of Crysis looks really nice. How does it hit performance, though? I already barely hit 30 frames, don't want to venture much lower.


ive tried them and it DOES hit performance .. however .. in a very good way 
i had ~+2FPS and the game ran smoother ... (had 180.84 beta3)


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## AuDioFreaK39

According to my benchmarks (original post), Windows 7 runs the drivers better in terms of GPU rendering.

However, because of a lack of CPU optimization on the beta OS, the overall 3DMark score was lower.


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## XenoRad

I don't understand. Crysis already has Ambient Occlusion (Screen Size Ambient Occlusion actually) and you can set it to whatever you like via console commands. You can make it look like the first screenshot, the second or any other combination.


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## sabermetrics

Has anyone tried the "new" [email protected] client?


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## AuDioFreaK39

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sabermetrics*


Has anyone tried the "new" [email protected] client?


Nah, I prefer the Nvidia graphical client instead. I like watching them proteins fold at random intervals of the day.


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## Tricky

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TnB= Gir* 
Drivers are buggy. I had graphical glitches in all Source games, didn't try others.

Are they better in GTA IV though? Compared to the 181.00s


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## yukiz

Rapidshare??

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?p=2969196

Faster connection....


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## Microsis

This whole news post is plagiarized.

Please wrap quote tags around something that is not your own words, and also link the original source which is VR-Zone


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## Cryptedvick

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Tricky* 
Are they better in GTA IV though? Compared to the 181.00s

they are better compared to 180.84 beta3
i used to get 53pfs average and now i got 56fps with these drivers
worth updating


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## conor-w

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Microsis* 
This whole news post is plagiarized.

Please wrap quote tags around something that is not your own words, and also link the original source which is VR-Zone


have you noticed that the author of this and that are a little alike?


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## wire

Gained ~200 3Dmark06 points from X-TremeG 181.00s.


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## Anth0789

So I guess these drivers are a go?


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## royo

I'd still wait for WHQL signed ones, since this doesn't look like a final version, though I'm not sure.


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## Hueristic

Quote:



Originally Posted by *AuDioFreaK39*


Nah, I prefer the Nvidia graphical client instead. I like watching them proteins fold at random intervals of the day.










 It Is graphical client


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## HowHardCanItBe

Wow thanks mate...









One question.... Beta or...WHQL???


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## Badie05

Thanks alot. Installing now.


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## Microsis

Quote:


Originally Posted by *conor-w* 
have you noticed that the author of this and that are a little alike?

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.







touche.


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## Hueristic

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Microsis* 
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.







touche.












































:rol leyes:


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## Poppinj

I would love to try these, but my days with beta drivers are over. I'll just have to wait for WHQL drivers I suppose. I really want either new drivers for GTA4 or a patch to help stability.


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## Hueristic

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Poppinj* 
I would love to try these, but my days with beta drivers are over. I'll just have to wait for WHQL drivers I suppose. I really want either new drivers for GTA4 or a patch to help stability.


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## default501x

<3 rapidshare
thanks for the share, installing now


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## Ecchi-BANZAII!!!

Quote:



Originally Posted by *AuDioFreaK39*


Thanks for the tip.










You're welcome.
I always look for the best graphics


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## LegendaryC

I took a comparison screenshots to see if Ambient Occlusion did anything in CoD4.

AO Off:










AO High:










The only difference I can see is the inside of the back end of the Heli is a bit lighter with AO on High. Of course, I highly doubted the modified Quake 3 Engine that CoD4 runs on would support AO.


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## Poppinj

Quote:



Originally Posted by *LegendaryC*


I took a comparison screenshots to see if Ambient Occlusion did anything in CoD4.

AO Off:










AO High:










The only difference I can see is the inside of the back end of the Heli is a bit lighter with AO on High. Of course, I highly doubted the modified Quake 3 Engine that CoD4 runs on would support AO.


Nice job. I can tell a pretty big difference in the whole picture though, not really a good or bad thing. Its almost like you just turned the gamma up a notch and the whole screen is lighter. I guess its a good thing overall as you can see into the helo better, both in the rear and through the front windshield.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Hueristic*


























I guess I said something dumb... but I'm to dumb to know it.


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## AN HERO

100% confirmed. There isn't ANY AO being done.

It's just gamma/per pixel color adjustment. Phail.


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## startekee

Its not available in my control panel. I've installed the 185.20s and its not there


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## AuDioFreaK39

**update**

Added Hardware-Infos driver review to original post.


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## bobalobabingbong

Thanks. Installing now!


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## USFORCES

I noticed my GTA 4 went up a couple FPS.


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## jrharvey

Ambient Oclusion is a VERY complex mathematical rendering method that I seriously doubt this is doing in real time. It may MIMIC AO but I just dont see it. Just my 2 cents.


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## AN HERO

Quote:



Originally Posted by *jrharvey*


Ambient Oclusion is a VERY complex mathematical rendering method that I seriously doubt this is doing in real time. It may MIMIC AO but I just dont see it. Just my 2 cents.


SSAO is mathematically cheaper. Crysis used it.

Some say it's present in some games (FarCry 2 and Team Fortress 2), but with a near 100% performance hit on the first, and buggy on the second.


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## jrharvey

Quote:



Originally Posted by *AN HERO*


SSAO is mathematically cheaper. Crysis used it.

Some say it's present in some games (FarCry 2 and Team Fortress 2), but with a near 100% performance hit on the first, and buggy on the second.


So what exactly is SSOA?


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## AN HERO

Screen Space Ambient Occlusion.

It takes much less samples, blurs them, and uses that as the final illumination sample. Not accurate, but pleasing to the eye I guess.

Real schotastic AO is slow, but not as slow as GI or Radiosity.


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## AuDioFreaK39

*Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit*
*GeForce 185.20*
Nvidia PhysX 8.11.18
*Crysis: WARHEAD*
*DirectX 10*

*2048 x 1152 (16:9)*

Core i7 965 Extreme @ 3.74GHz
GeForce GTX 280 @ 685/2240

*AO OFF (19fps)*










*AO LOW (17.8fps)*










*AO MEDIUM (16.6fps)*










*AO HIGH (13.1fps)*


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## xwinx

/ downloads

oh wait, should i?


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## jrharvey

I cant see a diff in crysis warehead. At least the ones you posted.


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## AN HERO

Crysis itself already uses SSAO, so no big differences in images or quality.


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## AuDioFreaK39

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jrharvey* 
I cant see a diff in crysis warehead. At least the ones you posted.

View the images in separate tabs, then you'll notice a difference.


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## Nanner

ok, so wut is the difference between this driver and nVidia's drivers?


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## tweakboy

Im not touching these or no more beta drivers. Stickin with WHQL ,, once a month. thx


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## bejito81

difference is quite easy to find between none and low, but i d like to know what are the differences between low and high


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## trueg50

FYI DO NOT RUN THIS UNDER GLOBAL SETTINGS!

I did that, and it tried to use it in L4D, and dropped my FPS to under 30 (from over 100 ish).


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## jrharvey

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


FYI DO NOT RUN THIS UNDER GLOBAL SETTINGS!

I did that, and it tried to use it in L4D, and dropped my FPS to under 30 (from over 100 ish).


Could you at least see a difference?


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## dieanotherday

yeh it hurts framerates badly


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## xSeany

I think I'll pass on these... but thanks. Just doesn't seem, exactly safe.


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## Urufu_Shinjiro

Anyone else getting glitches in Source games like Gir?


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## trueg50

Quote:



Originally Posted by *jrharvey*


Could you at least see a difference?


I exited out and disabled it after a few minutes in game, I will try it later today perhaps and see what sort of results it yields.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dieanotherday*


yeh it hurts framerates badly


I have an 8800GTS 512, and playing L4D is childs play at max settings, however it really must have dropped my FPS into the 20's. I think it is just the way the Source engine handled it. Deadspace was also unsupported, and it was fine, however World in Conflict was supported, and it hit those frame rates quite hard (minus 10 FPS from the max and minimum frame rates.)

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xSeany*


I think I'll pass on these... but thanks. Just doesn't seem, exactly safe.


It is safe, worst comes to worst, the performance hit is large.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Urufu_Shinjiro*


Anyone else getting glitches in Source games like Gir?


yup, as stated above, it looks like the source engine doesn't like it much.


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## xSeany

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


I exited out and disabled it after a few minutes in game, I will try it later today perhaps and see what sort of results it yields.

I have an 8800GTS 512, and playing L4D is childs play at max settings, however it really must have dropped my FPS into the 20's. I think it is just the way the Source engine handled it. Deadspace was also unsupported, and it was fine, however World in Conflict was supported, and it hit those frame rates quite hard (minus 10 FPS from the max and minimum frame rates.)

It is safe, worst comes to worst, the performance hit is large.

yup, as stated above, it looks like the source engine doesn't like it much.


I live off Source.


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## trueg50

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xSeany*


I live off Source.


All you have to do is click the game, and set the AO to high.

I just was suggesting not to set it under the "global" tab, thus making all games try and use it.


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## xSeany

Quote:



Originally Posted by *trueg50*


All you have to do is click the game, and set the AO to high.

I just was suggesting not to set it under the "global" tab, thus making all games try and use it.


Hmmm... I see, I miss interpreted that. I'll give it a try and play TF2 again.


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## Anth0789

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Urufu_Shinjiro*


Anyone else getting glitches in Source games like Gir?


Yep with TF2 yes I see all black when turning the Ambient on.


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## FearMeansControl

These were less stable on my GeForce 8800GT rig than the current WHQL's, no go for me


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## Cerberus

WTH i do not have ambient occlusion....


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## Anth0789

The Xtremes are way better then these regular beta's.


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## Oblivion77

any improvements with these drivers over 180.48?


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## kpo6969

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Cerberus*


WTH i do not have ambient occlusion....


Vista or Windows 7 only feature I believe.


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## mr. biggums

fancy got to love nvidia drivers are being blasted at us


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## ipod4ever

Thanks Ill give these a try


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## Valicious

hmm..
The XTreme drivers are 45mb for vista 32bit, but the 185.20 drivers by XFastest are 108.6mb...
Why the freakin huge size difference? Which one is better?


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## Duesco

I couldn't even get these drivers to function, so I'll stay with the 181.00 betas...


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## skydeaner

more performance even if you dont use AO, so that's good. I'll have to try them once i get windows 7 installed tonight. I've been dual booting but decided just to use it outright i like it so much.


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## lordikon

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Dar_T*


What does ambient occlusion do?


Imagine two objects, like two bookshelves, which are 6 inches apart. In most lighting conditions, the area between those bookshelves would be darker than a more open space. If you moved the bookshelves a couple of feet apart that area would likely receive more light. Areas that are more "crowded" will often receive less light, this is where ambient occlusion comes in.

Often it is used very well in scenes with static lighting, which is usually the case with indoor environments. What game developers will do is "bake" ambient occlusion into the objects in the level (or pre-calculate ambient occlusion). This prevents any calculations having to be done at run time.

I'm not sure how nVidia has managed any kind of real-time ambient occlusion, I'm very skeptical about this claim.


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## Duesco

Wait a second: I solved the problem.

3DMark06 runs yielded the following:

181.00 Betas (with sig rig, and 9600GT at 700/1900): 9,124.
185.20 Betas: *9,266*.

Not bad. Not bad at all.


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## skydeaner

sweet i can't wait, +rep for the results duesco!


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## Fossil

Quote:



Originally Posted by *AuDioFreaK39*


View the images in separate tabs, then you'll notice a difference.


At first I was like pssh no change, but then I did view them in different tabs like you said and noticed.


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## DFS

Fallout 3 crashed these drivers for me... Am I alone on that?


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## RAFFY

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DFS*


Fallout 3 crashed these drivers for me... Am I alone on that?


these drivers suck. now i am seeing lights threw walls in CS:S but ONLY with SLI enabled.


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