Glitchy NVIDIA graphics driver cooks graphics cards

[dlevere]

By Jon Fingas

Many gamers will tell you to hold off on installing the latest drivers for your video card until you know they're safe... and here's why.

NVIDIA has pulled a GeForce driver (364.47) after numerous reports of problems with the installation.

The symptoms vary from freezing and visual glitches to serious crises like failures to boot or burnt out cards. That's not fun if it turns your costly Titan X into a paperweight. The exact cause isn't clear, but NVIDIA's early look suggests that choosing the express installation creates the problem. Some fans suggest that it may be due to a conflict between old and new software.

The glitch could be a bummer if you're hoping to play The Division, since NVIDIA released the drivers with the Tom Clancy-inspired shooter partly in mind. Take heart, however: there are beta drivers (364.51) that should solve the problem for early adopters, and a Microsoft-certified release should be available soon if you're only willing to trust polished code. Whichever way you go, it's clear that patience really is a virtue in the PC gaming space - it might just save you from buying a replacement GPU.

Via:
Destructoid

Source:
NVIDIA, GeForce.com

Coverage:
GeForce.com Forums, Reddit, GeForce.com

[bungholio]

If Nvidia releases this and it destroys people's cards, do they refund or something? It seems like I read this months ago, I don't think it's a new thing.

[MIR]

liekly no. On the lnux side there have been issues with the nvidia driver but nothing compaired to AMD's nvidia driver. If you want a stable linux graphics driver... go intel. If you want to game on linux go Nvidia.

[Duncan Idaho]

liekly no. On the lnux side there have been issues with the nvidia driver but nothing compaired to AMD's nvidia driver. If you want a stable linux graphics driver... go intel. If you want to game on linux go Nvidia.

I'd find such a concept ridiculous, it's their faulty driver that damaged your product, one of the base principles of agreements is that the one who damages another's propiety must do something about it.

[MIR]

Well several months ago when AMD released a driver that caused damage on the R9 and Fury card, they didnt replace any of the damaged cards. Why should Nvidia?

[bungholio]

They should because they are providing the software for their product to work. If they provide it and it destroys their own product, they should be buying you a new one, that's their fault and not yours. People selling you things and then destroying it after they have your money is the next best thing to them robbing you.

[MIR]

here is the thing. Nvidia isnt selling you something, it is different manufactures like PNY, Zotac, EVGA and others. So unless you are buying an Nvidia branded made and manufactured one, then you are SOL. Same goes with AMD.

It is those manufactures who are Nvidia's Customers, they buy the NVIDIA gpu's to put onto their own board with their own custom cooling system and custom overclocking. Nvidia just makes a universal driver so you dont have to get a different driver for an EVGA 780TI verses a Zotac 780TI.

[bungholio]

Now I'm confused as I've never bought this stuff before. So Nvidea doesn't make the cards, just the software to operate them?

[MIR]

Nvidia makes the GPU that is then put onto the card you then insert. Nvidia also makes the chip that laptop manufactures put into their laptops. Same goes with AMD with AMD's exception being their APU's as those like Intelss graphics are on the processor die. Nvidia DOES make their own cards, i know as i own a GTX460 by Nvidia. I also own a GTX 460 from EVGA and the EVGA is overclocked and better spec'd with a larger memory bandwidth than the official Nvidia.

Because of those changes the EVGA card runs warmer than the Nvidia and whys it has a different cooling system with a different style of heat sink piping to pull the additional heat away from the GPU die.

Agian... Nvida/AMD make the GPU and provide the software to use them so that the consumer has an easier time getting the graphics processor working. It is up to the indivigual card manufactures and laptop manufactures to actualy implement the physical GPU die into their system either onboard or in an addon card.

Edit: i can give you an example.

The card manufactures make their own firmware for controling the card. sone use the stock OEM one from Nvidia while others do their own. I have a Palit GT430 card that for some reason stopped working in my windows machine. Turns out the firmware on the card got corrupted during a driver upgrade. I contacted Nvidia and they where unable to help due to it not being one of their cards. This is where i ran into trouble, Palit left the American market many many years ago and has since abandoned all support for those markets. This means i had to get in contact with their European branch, Which didnt respond because i was in an area they dont support. I ended up having to have a german friend get me the firmware from Palit's german site, which happened to be older tha the installed firmware.

I got the card working only to have it corrupt on me multiple times due to driver upgrades or Nvidia Experience spike crashes. Now should Nvidia replace my card because it is their driver that corrupted my firmware and thus bricked my graphics card? Or should Palit who manufacture a card that doesnt use a standard firmware and can be corrupted by driver issues?

[bungholio]

I'd ask what Palit does for support for their card. Can they assure you what they have works, or do they just throw Nvidea on it for money and brush off customers? Why wouldn't they just go with Nvidea's stuff. You take what they give you and if you refuse then you take the responsibility for your choice. If their thing goes to crap, why? What about Nvidea's firmware did they not like and choose to scrap it for only to be left behind causing their card to go bad? They brought Nvidea on board and changed it. If you buy a car from some local dude who does the usual "Blah blah I added pipes and this and that and it's THUPER BADAZZZZ MAN!" and it dies right away when the original thing was fine, it's local dude's fault, trouble comes his way for modifying the original perfectly fine and working product, but you're also a sucker for it too because it's cars. But throwing that in this situation, if they buy it from somebody else and mod it and sell it to you, it just became their responsibility, boot them in the behind for it.

[MIR]

Agian Palit no longer supports North America. Palit overclocked the card using their own special firmware.

You mentioned cars... lets go with Motors. You can buy the Hellcat motor from Dodge and put it into nearly any car if you thus have the desire. A GPU is like that motor as it can be put onto a board or computer as the person who perchases the part wishes.

Now thats where some of the similarities end as Dodge offers a warranty on their engine unless you violate their "EULA" if you want to think of it that way.

GPU's are not sold with warranties and thus it is up to the individual manufactures to deal with it.

[bungholio]

GPU's aren't sold with warranty? So if they buy it broken, too bad?

[MIR]

that is correct. it isnt you buying the die, it is the card or computer manufactures who implement it. there is a thing called Quality Control.

[bungholio]

I'd still say one of them needs a boot in the butt for it. Palit or Nvidea. Can't just go around selling garbage and say "it's not my fault". It's somebody's fault, at least somebody should be paying for the junk. If Nvidea has it working fine and Palit takes it, changes it but doesn't fix it enough that it conflicts with Nvidea stuff and breaks, that's Palit fault. Either Palit leaves it working as it is and Nvidea takes the crap for it or Palit takes responsibility for modifying a perfectly working thing and screws it up and takes the crap for it. We can't have a no blame, no responsibility world, there's already enough chaos in life.