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nVIDIA |
At long last ... GWeb finally presents its nVIDIA page. The links here are just those that I've found useful myself; if there are any related resources you'd like GWeb to monitor, drop me a line. As usual, the links and information in this page are of most relevance to Win98SE users. For reference, I'm running a Creative Labs GeForce4 Ti 4600 (which is actually an nVIDIA board rebadged) under a Pentium 4 on an Intel 845 chipset motherboard.
First and foremost, here's a link to the GeForce FAQ, a superb reference point for answering almost all GeForce questions. The FAQ was originally a single document founded by Christopher Hill, but is now hosted in a forum-like interface over at the The Technology Vault.
Detonator XP Drivers
nVIDIA offer a FAQ for installing a new Windows 9x driver here. Many nVIDIA board users recommend uninstalling your present driver before installing a new version. Detonator Destroyer can be used to manage driver uninstallation - you can download a copy of it below.
nVIDIA have a public-access FTP site which (currently) offers downloads of Detonators 12.41 - 44.03 for a range of Windows OSs. Just why those particular revisions are available, I don't yet know ... when I find out, I'll post the information here. They're not all WHQL certified... If you're looking for a version not listed there, or you want to get hold of the latest leaked drivers, head over to Guru3D and follow the Videocard Drivers link. nVIDIA also have a Windows 95/98/ME driver archive here.
A quick word about the 43.45 (English, 7,200Kb) Detonators ... under Windows 98, I had to revert back to the 41.09 (13,805Kb) Detonators. Running UnrealTournament under 43.45, with Quincunx anti-aliasing on, when I exit the game Windows is left in some weird state where it looks like anti-aliasing is still switched on, and screen refreshes take a looong time. Note that this doesn't happen with the 45.23 drivers.
Also, if you're playing Enter the Matrix, Atari support recommend that you do not use the 44.03 drivers, but use 43.45 instead, as "these work better with the game" (FAQ). There's nothing in the FAQ about the 45.23 drivers yet. Frankly, I haven't even started up Enter the Matrix in the last couple of months, so for me it's not an issue. I'm currently using 45.23 and haven't noticed any problems,
| File | Date | Description | Info | Size |
| 45.23_win9x_english.exe | 13.08.03 | nVIDIA reference drivers (English) 45.23 for Windows 95/98/ME. These are the latest 'official' drivers published by nVIDIA, and don't contain any manufacturer-specific customisations. There's no mention of WHQL certification; I seem to recall hearing Microsoft won't certify '98-based drivers any more. If I get any more info on this, I'll post it here. If the File link expires, follow the Info link and download from there. There are also links to release notes and various user guides (all in Acrobat reader format) under the Info link. |  nVIDIA |
7,787Kb |
| 40.72_win9x_WHQL.exe | 08.11.02 | nVIDIA reference drivers 40.72 for Windows 95/98/ME. These are (according to nVIDIA) the latest WHQL-certified drivers published, and don't contain any manufacturer-specific customisations. If the File link expires, follow the Info link and download from there. | nVIDIA |
12,271Kb |
Detonator Destroyer
Detonator Destroyer is used to manage driver uninstallation before installing a new Detonator driver. Basically, it wipes cleam all traces of a previous Detonator installation (if used correctly). Be sure to read the author's readme file before starting the process (included in the download).
Version 1.2 is the first I've used that runs the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs entry for the Detonators automatically, so if you want to uninstall your drivers, just run Detonator Destroyer and click it's Uninstall button.
| File | Date | Description | Info | Size |
| dd.zip | 19.11.02 | Fatman's Detonator Destroyer 1.2. After downloading, unzip into a folder of your choice (no installation required). You may want to create a shortcut to dd.exe for quick access to the program (the executable name has changed from detdest.exe to dd.exe). | Guru3D |
73Kb |
Tweaking Utilities
Most nVIDIA users end up overclocking or tweaking their boards in one way or another, and because of the size of the user community, there are a number of utilities that make it pretty easy to do so. Although I didn't bother overclocking my board to begin with, I did use RivaTuner to enable the side-band addressing and fast AGP write features. Now, I'm overclocking using RivaTuner as well. I've tried each of the utilities shown below, and my personal favourite is definitely RivaTuner.
aTuner offers a simple way to control Vsync, Anti-Aliasing (including all unofficial modes), Anisotropic Filtering and the MipMap LOD Bias, and you can create profiles for individual game settings.
| File | Date | Description | Info | Size |
| Guru3D |
30.09.03 | RivaTuner 2.0 Release Candidate 14. Use the File link to get to Guru3D and follow the Download RivaTuner link. The download is now a full installer and will upgrade an existing installation. | Guru3D |
918Kb |
| Guru3D |
29.11.02 | aTuner 1.2.4.4. Use the File link to get to Guru3D and follow the Download aTuner link. After downloading, unzip into a folder of your choice (no installation required). You may want to create a shortcut to aTuner.exe for quick access to the program. | Guru3D |
398Kb |
| GTU |
24.09.01 | GeForceTweak Utility 3.1.2 (Final). Use the File link to download, then run the file (it's an installer). | Guru3D |
572Kb |