Thursday, June 18th 2009

NVIDIA GeForce 186.18 WHQL Drivers Released

by
btarunr
 Discuss (11 Comments)
NVIDIA released the GeForce 186.18 WHQL driver suite for Windows, close to a fortnight after the release of version 186.08 beta. This release claims to patch numerous bugs from previous versions. It packs PhysX system software version 9.09.0428, and supports the complete range of GeForce GPUs from 6-series up to the latest GTX/GTS 200 series, and NVIDIA Ion platform. The following prominent features are introduced by the 186/185 series drivers:
  • Adds support for Ambient Occlusion - the newest NVIDIA Control Panel feature to offer enhanced 3D gaming realism exclusively to GeForce GPUs.
  • Adds support for CUDA 2.2 for improved performance in GPU Computing applications. See CUDA for more details.
  • Expands GPU hardware acceleration for the NVIDIA Video Encoding library to GPUs with less than 32 cores. Applications using this library include CyberLink PowerDirector 7, Nero Move it 1.5, Loilo SuperLoiloScope MARS, and CyberLink MediaShow Espresso.
Application performance increments advertised are: up to 25% performance increase in The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, up to 22% performance increase in Crysis: Warhead with antialiasing enabled, up to 11% performance increase in Fallout 3 with antialiasing enabled, up to 14% performance increase in Far Cry 2, up to 30% performance increase in Half-Life 2 engine games with 3-way and 4-way SLI, and up to 45% performance increase in Mirror's Edge with antialiasing enabled.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 186.18 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit | Windows 7/Vista 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit | Windows XP 32-bit

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11 Comments on NVIDIA GeForce 186.18 WHQL Drivers Released

#2
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
Downloading now, I'll install them when I get home from work.
DanishDevil186.18 or 186.08!?!?!?
186.18
Posted on Reply
#4
phanbuey
182.50's are still the best for SLI, even better than the 190.15's
Posted on Reply
#5
Weer
btarunrUp to 30% performance increase in Half-Life 2 engine games with 3-way and 4-way SLI.
So, for people who are getting 300 FPS @ 2560x1600/16xQAA.. there's a 30% performance increase. :banghead:

They need to work only on games that are difficult to run!
Posted on Reply
#6
OnBoard
Anyone tried the 3D stuff? Does every game work with red/blue glasses too, that are supported in the 3D Vision thing?

Have to give these drivers a go, seem to get positive feedback
Posted on Reply
#7
MilkyWay
top drivers, dont crash in any games at all, seem to have a good IQ and AA and AF actually looks great too

FPS (frames) seem to be solid

last drivers where good too this is more of the same its the 186.06 i used to have

as long as they are stable and IQ is good then its keepers as ive seen some drivers with horrible AA and AF over the years
Posted on Reply
#8
Kenshai
OnBoardAnyone tried the 3D stuff? Does every game work with red/blue glasses too, that are supported in the 3D Vision thing?

Have to give these drivers a go, seem to get positive feedback
It's not any 3d glasses it's there specific ones that plug in via usb that drivers will tell the glasses when and at what rate to refresh.
WeerSo, for people who are getting 300 FPS @ 2560x1600/16xQAA.. there's a 30% performance increase. :banghead:

They need to work only on games that are difficult to run!
I'm pretty sure they aren't targeting specific games but the changes they make optimize many games. They only advertise the ones that make a big difference.
Posted on Reply
#9
manson_ze
can use these on my laptop 9800gs
Posted on Reply
#10
PatWang5000
Broken Sound w/ this driver

Installed 186.18 and it broke my sound for some reason. I rolled back the driver and the sound came right back up. Any ideas as to what may be causing this?

Here are my spec's

EVGA 9600GT 512MB
XFX 680i LT SLI MoBo
Realtek HD Audio onboard sound

any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Posted on Reply
#11
ShadowFold
WeerSo, for people who are getting 300 FPS @ 2560x1600/16xQAA.. there's a 30% performance increase. :banghead:

They need to work only on games that are difficult to run!
Half-Life 2 probably means the source engine in general, and nvidia needs all the optimizations they can get for it.
Posted on Reply
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