Questions After Clean Install of Nvidia GTX 950 Driver

[Moondoggy]

I'm hoping someone can provide me with some feedback on my reinstall of my GTX 950 Video Driver on my Windows 10 Pro rig.

To make a long story short I downloaded NVCleanstall today and told it that I only wanted to install the latest driver and to do a clean install on my system. It correctly built the package as requested and the only Nvidia Service that's installed is the Nviidia Display Container LS and the Container process is the only process I found running.

When I checked the task scheduler there were many scheduled tasks left scheduled so manually deleted the tasks where the executables in Program Files no longer existed. The only scheduled task left in task Scheduler is NVNodeLauncher which runs C:\ProgramFiles (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\NVNode\nvnodejslauncher.exe -- Launcher= TaskScheduler. and that EXE does exist.

So, am I correct in assuming that this is as clean of a driver install I can get? If yes, do I just need to run NVCleanstall every so often to verify whether I have the latest driver? One additional question I have is whether I even need to keep installing new drivers? To be blunt, my rig is OLD and I'm just holding on to it until Windows 10 reaches it's end of life. I'm not a gamer and bought this card when I upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 as it was a short card that fit the slot in my motherboard.

Any help/advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I'm hoping someone can provide me with some feedback on my reinstall of my GTX 950 Video Driver on my Windows 10 Pro rig.

To make a long story short I downloaded NVCleanstall today and told it that I only wanted to install the latest driver and to do a clean install on my system. It correctly built the package as requested and the only Nvidia Service that's installed is the Nviidia Display Container LS and the Container process is the only process I found running.

When I checked the task scheduler there were many scheduled tasks left scheduled so manually deleted the tasks where the executables in Program Files no longer existed. The only scheduled task left in task Scheduler is NVNodeLauncher which runs C:\ProgramFiles (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\NVNode\nvnodejslauncher.exe -- Launcher= TaskScheduler. and that EXE does exist.

So, am I correct in assuming that this is as clean of a driver install I can get? If yes, do I just need to run NVCleanstall every so often to verify whether I have the latest driver? One additional question I have is whether I even need to keep installing new drivers? To be blunt, my rig is OLD and I'm just holding on to it until Windows 10 reaches it's end of life. I'm not a gamer and bought this card when I upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 as it was a short card that fit the slot in my motherboard.

Any help/advice will be greatly appreciated.

Your conclusion is correct.

 

[Moondoggy]

Your conclusion is correct.

So, my install is correct and it's as lean and mean as they come and I'm also correct in assuming that I'll be checking NVCleanStall to determine if a newer driver exists to install but what about my question regarding the need to even install a newer driver if one is available? Is it really worth it to keep the driver current given the fact that my hardware is otherwise old and I'm not a gamer who needs updates to enjoy the latest game? Quite honestly, with all of the driver updates that I've ever installed I've never noticed one that increased the stability and/or noticeably improved performance of my system.

 

[Shou Miko]

NVCleanstall findes the newest version for your card and than you can modify it.

I used it on my Lenovo ThinkPad T480 20L6 laptop with a Nvidia GeForce MX150 cut out everything but driver, PhysX, HD Audio via HDMI, USB-C driver because it's a work laptop not really a gaming laptop even it can do a put of gaming but that's not why I brought the configuration I did earlier this year.

 

[AusWolf]

You don't need to install the newest driver every time. They might contain optimisations for games that you want to play, and some bug fixes, but that's all. Read the release notes and decide for yourself if you want it or not.

Also, you don't need to do a clean install every time you update your driver.

 

[Moondoggy]

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. I just stumbled onto NVCleanStall yesterday by accident as my system was being hammered and PROCMON was telling me that it was NVIDIA that was the bringing my system to its knees. Now with all of the bloat gone my drive light just pulses every so often. Thanks again for the help.

 

[bug]

If you want the cleanest possible install, remove the driver completely (driver cleaner or whatever). Windows will install just the driver for your hardware and it will take care of keeping it updated. Though updates the benefit a GTX 950 have long dried up anyway, you can just stick with whatever driver you currently have forever.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Windows will install just the driver for your hardware and it will take care of keeping it updated. Though updates the benefit a GTX 950 have long dried up anyway, you can just stick with whatever driver you currently have forever.

The "default" drivers from microsoft do not include full 3D game support. Using them is very much NOT recommended.

 

[bug]

The "default" drivers from microsoft do not include full 3D game support. Using them is very much NOT recommended.

Well, it depends how "clean" the OP wants them, I guess.
I believe what you mean is they don't include game profiles. And without the control panel you can't create profiles yourself either.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I believe what you mean is they don't include game profiles. And without the control panel you can't create profiles yourself either.

No, what I mean is that the default drivers from microsoft for NVidia GPU's are basic and only includes what is needed for desktop operations and VERY rudimentary gaming.

 

[bug]

No, what I mean is that the default drivers from microsoft for NVidia GPU's is basic and only includes what is needed for desktop operations and VERY rudimentary gaming.

Ah, no. It will install the proper driver from Nvidia.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Ah, no. It will install the proper driver from Nvidia.

You're talking about Windows update, and even those are incomplete.

 

[AusWolf]

Ah, no. It will install the proper driver from Nvidia.

For a GTX 950, the automatic windows update installer will download version 300 something. I wouldn't recommend it either.

 

[lexluthermiester]

For a GTX 950, the automatic windows update installer will download version 300 something. I wouldn't recommend it either.

Yeah, that isn't a great thing. Either option from microsoft isn't a good one.

 

[Dr. Dro]

No need to be mental, just do like I do with my 3090:

Run nvcleanstall again monthly or quarterly to upkeep updates, with the 950... hell, do it now and check again next time you run some maintenance on your system. It's as low priority as it gets these days, should go into maintenance mode/security updates only like Kepler did really soon.

 

[bug]

For a GTX 950, the automatic windows update installer will download version 300 something. I wouldn't recommend it either.

It's fine, it's probably the last version that received any meaningful updates for that card.

 

[AusWolf]

It's fine, it's probably the last version that received any meaningful updates for that card.

There's a fine line between 'it's fine" and "it's good". Installing the latest version doesn't cost a penny, so why not give it all you can.

 

[lexluthermiester]

There's a fine line between 'it's fine" and "it's good". Installing the latest version doesn't cost a penny, so why not give it all you can.

Right?
@Moondoggy There is a point of diminishing returns to going lean on driver installs. The config shown by @Dr. Dro above is the best you can do with full functionality intact. Go with that, call it good!