Someone reviewed v on Jul 5, 2022

Pros: 555

Cons: 555

Bottom Line: 555

sam13484 reviewed v77.72 WHQL Official on Dec 22, 2005

These drivers that are found on the nVidia download page have not changed for some time. However, if you go to the FTP site:

ftp://download.nvidia.com/Windows/81.98

You will see that there are 81.98 drivers for Windows 9X machines!

Jeffsoft reviewed v45.23 Official on Aug 14, 2003

finally an excellant one!

unger71 reviewed v41.09 on Jan 2, 2003

my old agfa scanner 1212p(newest driver) from 2001 doesn't work with 40** and 4109 (2942 does)

eviljolly reviewed v40.72 on Nov 11, 2002

Don't get me wrong, these drivers are still on the cutting edge of technology, but I saw a small loss of performance on my 3Dmark benchmarks. Not much, but not a 25% gain as claimed either. Perhaps they are making this claim based on benchmarks against the standard OEM drivers that came with the card because I could definitely see a 25% improvement there. These drivers are worthy of a 5 star rating as far as their overall quality, but they are not a necessary upgrade. The largest improvement I have seen over my previous 29.42 drivers would be the user interface in the configuration page of the display properties. Overall a good driver, but I would have waited longer before bothering to release it.

Tux0Racer reviewed v40.72 on Nov 10, 2002

Is it just me, or do they claim "Up to 25% preformance increase" in *every* release? Hell if that's true by now the cards are 10-20 faster then they were when they were first released, just due to the drivers.

seany187 reviewed v40.72 on Nov 10, 2002

over all, they are very nice drivers, I like the new control panel a lot, lots of new features there. One problem. Lord of the rings, now has a garbled screen, other then that, everything is excellent.

cupnoodle reviewed v40.72 on Nov 9, 2002

just another .01 update that claims to be faster
personally i dont get higher fps in anything
everything appears to run the same speed

Mr Crisp reviewed v28.32 Official on Apr 9, 2002

I own a Geforce3 Ti card, and found no real improvement in framerates using XP drivers.
Some apps and games hate the drivers, and Counterstrike flickers bad in 1024x768 mode even tho the refresh rate is set to 100hz, some reason the XP drivers lag to, being a GF3 owner with a 21" monitor, i should be able to run 1600x1200 mode, no probs, but alas, the Detonator XP drivers usually crash at anything above 1024x768!
Pap! I hate these new all-in-one drivers!

stalinhb reviewed v28.32 Official on Mar 30, 2002

Sorry!
I meant Detonator XP 23.11 instead of 11.23....Sorry!

OddFox reviewed v28.32 Official on Mar 21, 2002

Disregard my previous comments on past reviews, I didn't notice that they were for previous versions (even the topmost reviews, figured at least SOMEONE would have reviewed so far). My bad, kinda tired, I guess.

BillyBoy666 reviewed v21.85 on Oct 16, 2001

You will not get any performance increase out of any of the new nVidia DetonatorXP drivers unless you are using WindowsXP or have a GeForce3.

Unfortunately, I have neihther of these :(

ditoa reviewed v21.85 on Oct 16, 2001

yup are you right, if they do make a final release because ICQ aint open source they would technically have to charge, i think! AOL would make them anyways! so keeping it in BETA is just a way of saying it is finished but still has minor updates etc, just like WinAmp. at least i think this is right, i could be wrong tho! ICQ is crap now anyways, download an older version from icq-4u.com or something and use the 99b versions they are the best, SMS was great but is now capped :(

espectro reviewed v21.85 on Oct 16, 2001

You realize they call the final software "beta" just because if Icq goes non-beta then they will start charging for the software? Says so on the webpage... So what i am trying to say, is that, on Icq, beta is final and alpha is beta
Anyway, you can kill the banners, and icq is still good piece of software then. But the principle of IM software is dying, back in the old days all you could do was type messages and send files, but now everyone wants to support phone calls, videoconferencing and lots of other crap most people dont need chewing off their pc's ram. I guess that's why purists like icq99 or 98, and why the old 3.6 messenger it's still there. Now with msn 4.5 coming, prepare to get some more ram chewed

snol reviewed v21.85 on Oct 16, 2001

yeah, why are they messing with 2000b when they really ought to go all the way back to 99b...?

FunkyFred reviewed v21.85 on Oct 16, 2001

Clide Frog, considering all versions of ICQ have either been alpha or beta, your statement isnt very accurate.

Why are they still messing with 2000b though?!

1450 reviewed v21.85 on Oct 14, 2001

WARNING: Using these drivers is bad for your computer unless you are running Windows XP. It makes a powerful computer into a puny pile of junk, Why? Because it slows your graphics so damn much, I feel my old ATI rage pro agp is faster, actually to be honest I feel my old Cirrus Logic ISA Video Card Is Faster. DO NOT DOWNLOAD!!!!!

Wackey reviewed v21.83 on Oct 12, 2001

well, when i installed this driver, for my Geforce 256 Pro,
My PC lagged soooooooo Much!!
my fps for a few games went down to about 10fps !! and usually its about 70

i don't like this all-in-one driver...
-Wackey

DooDoo reviewed v21.83 on Oct 12, 2001

It's time nVIDEA sorted its forking act out. How many same-platform betas do we need floating around at once? It is obviously confusing many users, including me. nVIDEA should plug the leaks and establish a sensible, logical beta program.
Now to the review: I tried it, but this version is not stable on my machine. Back to my old Detonator driver then.

davidsmith reviewed v21.83 on Oct 12, 2001

Well, I installed this update yesterday. Within 2 hours I had 2 blue screens which named the file nv4disp as the culprit.... so I have gone back to the built in drivers which work fine (I have an Abit VP6, Dual P3 + GeForce2 GTS)

mlbl reviewed v21.81 on Sep 14, 2001

I've been using the new drivers for a while and find that they don't seem to provide any improved performance, but instead it makes the game performance worst. I'm using a Geforce DDR, i've played both Max Payne and Project IGI and it seems that the game lags while moving into certain areas in these two games. But after i have reverted back to the old drivers, everything was fine. I did a second time reinstall on the new drivers and the same thing occured...so i just had to go back with my old drivers which is : 4.12.01.0635. I'm not too sure if this is an official driver but it works fine for me.

akr reviewed v21.81 on Sep 14, 2001

I experience a hang-up in MS Combat Flight Simulator2's 3D c***pit.

democlees reviewed v21.81 on Sep 12, 2001

YESSS finally got the new dets 2181 to load. They automatically installed when i went to look at them, thats abit frightening its never happened tome before anyhow. Does it get rid off all the old dets or what? Ididn't get much increase when i benched it(3d Mark)i have a geforce2mx and was expacting somthing good to keep up with stiff opposition from people i know uppdating to newer cards.Still after 3 times downloading it its in there i'll let you know if its not stable.

shard reviewed v21.81 on Sep 12, 2001

Hi, I haven't used the drivers yet, but they ARE released version from nVidia, they're not beta anymore, they're part of detonator XP. I've downloaded them and I'm eager to install them and test drive them, NVidia has by far the BEST driver support team when compared to any hardware vendor I've dealt with. Their drivers are stable on my GeForce 2 GTS(even the betas), and when I try out the newer drivers it's like I'm getting a brand new graphics card, they RuLe!!! As far as the 14.xx drivers go, I "think" they're meant for the GeForce 3 guys? I might be wrong, but that's my opinion, I think they were meant more for OpenGL applications. I use the 12.90 beta currently, and it's stable and the best driver set to date(excluding the ones I just downloaded which I have yet to test). As far as that whole TNT problem goes, I agree with that guy who said you probably have to just get the VIA 4in1 set, it's supposed to fix stuff like you describe. I also agree that these betas aren't REALLY "leaked", otherwise nVidia woulda done something. I think it's just their way of saying...use it, test it, any problems, report them, but we claim NO responsibility for what happens to your system. I for one praise that system, their betas are stable as far as I am concerned, and even with released drivers...EVERYONE is always a beta tester whether they wanna be or not! With this system, you're a beta tester and the beta eventually becomes an alpha, meaning that you just get a performance increase way before the rest of the gaming community(G). :-)

NipKick reviewed v21.81 on Sep 11, 2001

well i installed these babies, expecting to get a huge framerate increase as the hype made me think, and i was disappointed to discover that the framerate stayed exactly the same. not sure if it's only for certain cards (i have a geforce2 pro), but oh well.

heero_j_yuy reviewed v14.61 Beta on Sep 8, 2001

I have no idea while you are all complaining! I have a GeForce2mx200 32mb AGP and this driver totaly enhanced performance. When I first installed my card with official drivers, 3d design programs would not work and certain programs would crash. Now everything works the best I've seen! Rendering a 10000+ polygon 3d file happens in a snap, not 10 minutes like my old card! The new drivers also enhanced gameplay with bleem! and all my games, so this drver does not suck!!!!

democlees reviewed v14.61 Beta on Aug 20, 2001

Tried nvidea 1461 Itslowed down my graphics.Tried it on my onion 3D marks,crashed and burned it knocked 1000 points of my usual scores, over 30%. Back to the drawing board Nvidea

crabbyappleton reviewed v14.61 Beta on Aug 17, 2001

Hey Nvidia To heck with these, post the 20.80 you've been bandying about! Thats what your customers want.

Palomino reviewed v12.90 Beta on Jun 23, 2001

I got a 6.5% increase in my 3DMark2001 score with these drivers. I miss the ability to adjust the gamma, brightness and contrast. My last drivers were the 10.80s.

grdh20 reviewed v12.60 Beta on Jun 6, 2001

These 12.60 drivers are older than the 12.40 one. The inf is dated in March when you try to install them!

skull54 reviewed v12.60 Beta on Jun 6, 2001

Sweet Program, but I am wondering who is gonna pay for this...Make it Freeware and ask for donations...you'll make more..

laurea reviewed v12.60 Beta on Jun 6, 2001

The beta 5 is at least available since february ;-)

dj_harry21 reviewed v12.60 Beta on Jun 5, 2001

hey guys...
one question... what planet are you all on
i mean the review is based upon the 12.60 drivers not the 6.5's or 7's or whatevers...
the 12.60 drivers are stable as all s**t on my system in everything i run.. im a bit disappointed with the performance increase though over the 6.5s or even 10's though... however i only benchmarked in one game..
but overall not too bad...
ps. dont take what i said the wrong way guys..
Aaron

phaetoon reviewed v6.50 on Feb 6, 2001

This is the official release of the nVidia Detonator driver. The 7.17 and 6.67 is UnOfficial Beta drivers (e.g. Leaked)

Bilto reviewed v6.50 on Feb 6, 2001

Having used NAV for the past 2 years I had been happy with it's performance and features. It always did it's job effectively, however, my WinME box had been experiencing severe memory leaks and various associated problems which I isolated to NAV 2001. I switched to AVX Pro... No more problems! My Windows 2000 box developed a really strange problem early last week; it rebooted immediately after starting up every *second* time it was booted!?! I didn't have enough time to investigate the problem, but I thought it might just be NAV 2001 again. It was! To conclude, I will not be using or recommending NAV until/unless I see significant changes to the program. Symantec produce some excellent products and it is a shame that their virus checker no longer measures up to the standard of their other products. For now AVX Pro seems to be a remarkably solid virus protection product.

Null2K reviewed v6.50 on Feb 6, 2001

Hmmm 7.17 = 6.72 = 6.50 ?!?!?!?!?!!?!??

estops reviewed v7.17 on Jan 15, 2001

7.17 has been out for MONTHS. And they have been working great on my Creative Anhilator 2.

n10city reviewed v7.17 on Nov 11, 2000

Locked me up in Quake III gave me NVOPENGL ERRORS. Went back and used 6.35.

docco reviewed v7.17 on Nov 11, 2000

Its still buggy!
Most of my D3D apps, especially those who use T&L looked like one big mess.
Its been a first for me, because I usally don't install nVIDIA betas and now I see its for a good reason ;-)
Waiting for the non-beta...

f0xmuld3r reviewed v7.17 on Nov 11, 2000

What the hell is a Detonator graphic card

jeffs reviewed v7.17 on Nov 11, 2000

The worst drivers for it when using DX8. For a true test all those who have worms armagedon, try to play and see what happens; slows to a crawl.

ZeroEpoch reviewed v7.17 on Nov 10, 2000

I dont know if anyone else had the same problem but when I tried doing anything OpenGL with the 7.17 drivers nvopengl.dll bit the dust. (Counter-Strike for example)

Fragaday reviewed v6.32 on Oct 8, 2000

The beta/leaked 6.34 (9x,NT4,2k) can be found all over then net now, e.g. http://zoiah.m3dzone.com/

My take on this leaking thing is that its just a ploy by nvidia so they dont have to offer tech support until they see no more complaints floating around, then they release them as official - if they really didnt want them out there they would take some measures to stop it.

cyberia reviewed v6.32 on Oct 6, 2000

When people post altered files, they should say what's been changed in them.

NVidia has 6.31. They're fine on my WinME TNT. Why would I even try an anonymous 6.32 unless someone can tell me the advantage.

Yakumo- reviewed v6.32 on Oct 6, 2000

woah, typo city, oops :o/

sugar-s reviewed v6.32 on Oct 6, 2000

Is it use for Windows Me?

docco reviewed v6.32 on Oct 6, 2000

Are those official drivers?
because for now, NVidia's drivers section (both HTTP and FTP) contain only the previous version.

archangel42069 reviewed v6.31 on Oct 1, 2000

The detonator drivers are in my opinion superior to any other reference drivers i have seen for nvidia chips. Properly installed they increased my 2d performance twofold and 3d performance by about 20 percent over the creative drivers. I definitely recommend them to anyone using an Nvidia GPU

speedmeister reviewed v6.31 on Oct 1, 2000

My experience with nvidia's 'Detonator 3' drivers was disastrous. I verified that I was using a card with a TNT2 GPU and when I restart after installing the drivers windows refused to display anything with them once it left real mode. After I restored my old drivers I detonated these things off my drive. Supposedly there is a patch for an issue dealing with my Athlon but the link is dead and I can't find it anywhere. I wish Nvidia would it more clear about making it easier to identify whether these were proper drivers. I guess I was naive to put blind truse on that decision.

modem reviewed v6.31 on Oct 1, 2000

Definately not perfect, but definately not worthless. These are beta drivers and I'm taking a chance with them but so far non the less they have solved my Windows me "Windows protection error" during shut down after exiting open GL games. That alone is worth using them while I've been gettnig about 5-10 fps better than with the 6.18 drivers.

Miln@Y reviewed v6.26 on Sep 16, 2000

Hey! anyone checkout the File Description?.He,he..you guy's know anyone with a Detonator Graphics card?.

Hoagie reviewed v6.01 on Jul 21, 2000

I find the whole deal with people leaking beta drivers and especially the silly ferals that install them to be a joke. If it's beta it *will* cause more harm then good. That's what the beta cycle is all about.

Asmo reviewed v6.01 on Jul 21, 2000

Yeah i got 2D glitches in IE and on my desktop (little grey bars appearing ontop of things). Obviously this release is quite bugged, anybody else notice the file date on the drivers is older than 5.32?

shawkins reviewed v6.01 on Jul 21, 2000

from reactorcritical.com:
21 July - Detonator 6

TNT/TNT2/GF Reference Windows 95/98-driver, version 6.01
The driver is slightly older than the version 5.32. Two new variables have appeared in the OpenGL section in the registry - TexStagingBufferSize and TexStagingBufferMultSize. The single NV11 (GeForce2 MX) line have transformed into three - NV11, NV11 DDR and NV11 GL.

First tests indicated that the Detonator 6 is in almost all cases slower than the 5.32.

Update: Many people report 2D glitching on this driver. So I don't recommend to use it.

mismis reviewed v5.32 on Jul 4, 2000

Why cant you release a driver for pci
in your driver you say
AGP166E.EXE - AGP support file for Aladdin TNT2 (not present in PCI driver package)

But how great is that when you still aint got any PCI package online for download , what is happning
Is pci now equal with OLDEST DRIVERS RUNS OK FOR YOU

GET A GRIP SERVE THE CUSTUMERS

GHackmann reviewed v5.16 on May 1, 2000

These drivers should not be posted here. They are leaked beta drivers and are thus illegal.

Thunderbird reviewed v5.16 on May 1, 2000

It's hard to give the drivers any rating because they don't work with a PCI TNT card. The drivers don't include the correct INF file for PCI. Nothing on your site says the files won't work with PCI cards.

apocalance reviewed v5.16 on Apr 30, 2000

ACK! Stability at the cost of fps! I still have my STB Velocity 4400 TNT, I won't be upgrading :) I really need to get that GeForce DDR.....