This article provides information about the Nvidia GeForce/Ion Graphics Driver 257.15 Beta for Windows Vista/7, a significant driver release from NVIDIA. This particular driver package falls within the Release 256 family, encompassing versions 256.xx through 259.xx. It’s designed to support a broad range of NVIDIA desktop GPUs, including the GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200, 300, and 400 series, as well as ION desktop GPUs.
Key Features and Enhancements in Version 257.15
The Nvidia GeForce/Ion Graphics Driver 257.15 Beta for Windows Vista/7 introduced several noteworthy improvements and new features, catering to both gaming enthusiasts and professional users. Here’s a breakdown of the most significant changes:
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Blu-ray 3D Support: A major highlight of this release was the addition of support for Blu-ray 3D content when paired with NVIDIA 3D Vision technology. This allowed users with compatible hardware and software to enjoy immersive 3D movies on their PCs. For detailed information on the specific hardware and software requirements, users were directed to the NVIDIA website.
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Performance Optimizations for GeForce GTX 400 Series: The driver package included performance enhancements specifically targeted at the GeForce GTX 400 series GPUs. NVIDIA reported measurable improvements in various PC games, with the GeForce GTX 480 used as the benchmark for quantifying these gains. It’s important to note that the actual performance increase experienced by individual users would vary depending on their specific GPU model and system configuration. Some of the highlighted performance improvements included:
- Up to 14% in Aliens vs. Predator (1920×1200, no AA/AF, Tessellation on)
- Up to 4% in Batman: Arkham Asylum (1920×1200, 4xAA/16xAF, PhysX=High)
- Up to 5% in BattleForge (1920×1200, 4xAA/16xAF, Very High settings)
- Up to 5% in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (1920×1200, 4xAA/16xAF)
- Up to 4% in Crysis: Warhead (1920×1200, 4xAA/16xAF, Enthusiast setting)
- Up to 24% in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (1920×1200, no AA/AF)
- Up to 9% in Far Cry 2 (2560×1600, 8xAA/16xAF)
- Up to 25% in Just Cause 2 (2560×1600, no AA/AF, Concrete Jungle)
- Up to 7% in Metro 2033 (1920×1200, no AA/16xAF, Tessellation on)
- Up to 40% in Metro 2033 with SLI (1920×1200, 4xAA/16xAF, Tessellation on)
- Up to 8% in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (1920×1200, no AA/AF, Day)
- Up to 110% in Stone Giant with SLI (2650×1600, Tessellation on, DoF on)
- Up to 6% in The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena (2560×1600, no AA/AF)
- Up to 9% in Unigine: Tropics (2560×1600, no AA/AF, OpenGL)
- Up to 5% in 3DMark Vantage (Performance and Extreme Presets)
- Up to 19% with Transparency AA (1920×1200, 4xTrSS, measured in Crysis)
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PhysX System Software Update: The driver package included an upgrade to the PhysX System Software, bringing it to version 9.10.0222. This update ensured compatibility and optimal performance with games and applications leveraging NVIDIA’s PhysX technology for realistic physics simulations.
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OpenGL 4.0 Support: GeForce GTX 400 Series GPUs gained support for OpenGL 4.0 with this driver release. This opened up new possibilities for developers and users utilizing OpenGL-based applications and games, allowing them to take advantage of the latest features and capabilities of the OpenGL API.
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CUDA Toolkit 3.1 Support: The Nvidia GeForce/Ion Graphics Driver 257.15 Beta for Windows Vista/7 also introduced support for CUDA Toolkit 3.1. This toolkit provided developers with the necessary tools and libraries to create applications that leverage the parallel processing power of NVIDIA GPUs for computationally intensive tasks. CUDA Toolkit 3.1 included significant performance enhancements for double-precision math operations, further boosting the capabilities of CUDA-enabled applications.
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Enhanced Antialiasing Modes for SLI Configurations: For users with 3-way SLI PCs, the driver added support for new extreme antialiasing modes. This included up to SLI48x AA for GeForce 200 series GPUs and up to SLI96x AA for GeForce GTX 400 series GPUs, providing even greater image quality and smoother visuals in demanding games.
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Ambient Occlusion Control Panel Feature: A new ‘Quality’ mode was added to NVIDIA’s Ambient Occlusion control panel feature. Ambient Occlusion is a rendering technique that enhances the realism of shadows and lighting in games, and the new ‘Quality’ mode allowed users to fine-tune the balance between visual fidelity and performance.
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SLI and PhysX Control Panel Setup: The driver introduced a dedicated NVIDIA Control Panel setup page for SLI and PhysX configurations. This provided users with more granular control over multi-GPU setups, allowing them to optimize their systems for specific games and applications.
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CUDA GPU Control: A new NVIDIA Control Panel feature gave users the ability to choose which GPU would power each CUDA application. This allowed for more efficient resource allocation and could improve performance in multi-GPU systems.
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Bug Fixes: The driver package included numerous bug fixes addressing various issues reported by users. Detailed information about these bug fixes was available in the release notes accompanying the driver.
Additional Information and Supported Technologies
Beyond the major features, the Nvidia GeForce/Ion Graphics Driver 257.15 Beta for Windows Vista/7 also included several other enhancements and supported various technologies:
- HD Audio Driver: The driver package installed HD Audio driver version 1.0.9.1 for supported GPUs.
- Adobe CS5 Support: The driver supported the new GPU-accelerated features in Adobe CS5, enabling faster and more efficient performance in applications like Photoshop and Premiere Pro.
- Adobe Flash 10.1 Support: The driver supported GPU acceleration for smoother online HD videos with Adobe Flash 10.1.
- MotionDSP vReveal Support: The driver supported the new version of MotionDSP’s video enhancement software, vReveal, which added support for HD output.
- DirectCompute Support: The driver supported DirectCompute with Windows 7 and GeForce 8-series and later GPUs.
- OpenCL 1.0 Support: The driver supported OpenCL 1.0 (Open Computing Language) for all GeForce 8-series and later GPUs.
- OpenGL 3.2 Support: The driver supported OpenGL 3.2 for GeForce 8-series and later GPUs.
- SLI Technology: The driver supported single GPU and NVIDIA SLI technology on DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 11, and OpenGL, including 3-way SLI, Quad SLI, and SLI support on SLI-certified Intel X58-based motherboards.
- GPU Overclocking and Monitoring: The driver supported GPU overclocking and temperature monitoring by installing NVIDIA System Tools software.
Driver Download Links
You can download the Nvidia GeForce/Ion Graphics Driver 257.15 Beta for Windows Vista/7 from the following link:
Here are some alternative download links:
It is always recommended to download drivers from trusted sources to avoid malware or corrupted files. Always check the file’s integrity after downloading.