Nvidia launched new GeForce Game Ready WHQL drivers on Wednesday for its family of graphics chips, version 368.69. These drivers can be accessed through the company’s free GeForce Experience desktop client via the Drivers tab, or by heading over to Nvidia’s website to grab them manually. The company also unleashed a new beta of GeForce Experience packing an interface overhaul and improved features.
According to Nvidia, the big feature introduced in the new driver set is support for Codemasters’ DiRT Rally VR, which soon lands on the Oculus Store. An update will also be unleashed later this month to PC gamers who already own the $60 game through Steam. In other words, the VR edition seems to be an Oculus exclusive during a short window.
In addition to supporting the Codemasters game, Nvidia’s new drivers update the current SLI profiles of five titles: Armored Warfare (DirectX 11 SLI), Dangerous Golf (SLI-Single), iRacing: Motorsport Simulator (DirectX 11 SLI), Lost Ark (DirectX 9 SLI), and Tiger Knight (SLI-Single). No new 3D Vision profiles or 3D Compatibility Mode profiles were added.
The new drivers also address a number of issues relating to Windows 10. For instance, there was a bug that caused Windows Media Player playback to crash via a blue-screened death when Fast Sync was enabled. There was also an issue where GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition cards would spin up and down rapidly. Sony Vaio laptops with an LCD screen would even fail to boot into the new Windows platform before this driver release.
Naturally, the new drivers have a number of known issues that have yet to be fixed, some of which Nvidia hasn’t even investigated and some of which may not be related to Nvidia at all. For instance, character faces in Assassins Creed Syndicate (which is on sale at Amazon for $18 right now) have intermittent flickering black or white patches. Also, the performance of Street Fighter V will drop when the game is played in 4K with SLI enabled. These are just two issues revolving around Windows 10.
The company points out that laptop users with supported Nvidia GPUs can download and use these new drivers. However, the company clearly states that OEMs typically provide certified drivers for their specific notebook configurations. That said, the new drivers may or may not work correctly despite the Nvidia GPU mounted inside, and that OEMs may not be able to provide technical support for unfamiliar drivers. Simply put, if you have a laptop, stick with the OEM’s drivers and pray they get updated on a somewhat regular basis (yes, that’s funny, we know).
As for Nvidia’s new GeForce Experience client launched alongside the 368.69 drivers, the beta provides an overhauled visual experience that simplifies the presentation, pushing the user’s installed games front and center in the main “Home” window. The drivers section is provided as a second tab while all other GeForce Experience features are tucked away by way of a settings icon. This beta provides 4K image capturing and Imagur uploading with a simple click, 1080p game broadcasting on Twitch and YouTube Live, and co-op gaming with GameStream.
While some of us aren’t all too crazy about the overhauled beta, Nvidia said it will hand out a fresh new GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card each week to select customers who log into the new beta with their Nvidia account. Other goodies Nvidia plans to dish out include game codes, early access to upcoming games, and other fun stuff.
