Questions about AGEIA Nvidia drivers

174.55 with CUDA contain CUDA support the 175.50 doesn't.

@whitelighting - i will :evilgrin:

gotta go play some more brb to check on the thread later, post your experience with the drivers peeps.

 

I might have found the answer to my own question. On the following page:-

http://www.nvidia.com/object/cuda_learn.html

I found the following info:-

The CUDA™ Toolkit is a C language development environment for CUDA-enabled GPUs. The CUDA development environment includes:

• nvcc C compiler
• CUDA FFT and BLAS libraries for the GPU
• Profiler
• gdb debugger for the GPU (alpha available in March, 2008)
• CUDA runtime driver (now also available in the standard NVIDIA GPU driver)
• CUDA programming manual

See the bit I highlighted. So it should be in the drivers. Just a matter of it
being called into use by software.

 

I think that's the difference between the CUDA and not CUDA drivers.

The "NVIDIA Driver for Microsoft Windows Vista with CUDA Support (174.55)" got CUDA enabled, but the ordinary 174.55 doesn't..

I guess that means the latest driver with CUDA is currently 174.55, and that all 175.xx drivers don't got CUDA enabled.


Perhaps there is some CUDA 175.xx drivers out there somewhere?



But how well does this driver perform and work under Vista 64bit?

 

But CUDA Tookit it something you download beside of the CUDA driver itself?

So you mean the reason why the latest CUDA driver is v174.55 is simply because all the regular 175.xx drivers got CUDA enabled by default?

But how do you explain that people claim the IQ to be so much better?

 

maybe the Cuda drivers enabled something in the gpu that improved iq who knows.

click this image and once it loaded if it is resized click it to view it enlarged, i highlighted a few parts of the map where you can see a difference between 175.16 whql (or earlier) and the Cuda drivers.

left image = non-cuda - right image = cuda

check also the character body detail and the mountain outside the door.

 

Did you try v175.16 with the "PhysX_8.04.25_SystemSoftware"?


Perhaps that's what's makes the difference?
I guess when you was using 175.16 you didn't even think of installing the PhysX Software, but when you installed the CUDA driver you installed the PhysX Software afterwards, might be something to do with that?

The drivers might need the PhysX software to make the CUDA kick in?

 

i installed the PhysX software, then the gfx drivers...great IQ!

 

IMO, the right picture lacks atmospheric haze/smoke.

Currently there's no driver that enables GPU accelerated physics.

 

just tried the 175.16 with physx 8.04.25 didn't look as good or as fast m8.

i get the haze and smoke not sure why it wasn't in the image but it's in the game with both 174 and 175.

 

Well I'll give it a try when I have installed Server 2008

 

So year, did you enable anything ?
Because my IQ is exactly the same.

 

Where did you read that?

Hmmmm that's weird... Looks like the CUDA driver disabled all the ambient smoke effects.

 

Cuda is a way for Developers to Have The "C" program talk to the GFX card, So if the game isnt made with cuda in mind it wont do anything.

 

I was under the impression that since AGEIA physics was being incorporated into the CUDA driver that it would be able to accept instruction sets from AGEIA PhysX compatible games?

 

Nope, It allows Programmers to Have There instructions goto the GFX card instead of the CPU. it allows more than just "video" instructions.

in a way it has nothing to do with ageia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CUDA

 

http://www.nzone.com/page/nzone_section_hardware.html

As it says in nzone about NVIDIA PhysX:

"Today’s AGEIA PhysX processor provides an exponential increase in physics processing power and soon PhysX-ready GeForce processors* will be enabled to take gaming physics to the next level."

"*Note: NVIDIA will deploy PhysX on CUDA-enabled GPUs later this year. The exact models and availability will be announced in the near future."


PhysX has to do with cuda quite alot. All NV GPU's from G80 and up will be able to use PhysX in near future, including all the games released to this day with PhysX physics engine. New NVIDIA PhysX drivers will be using this cuda to communicate with GPU, but still maintaining compatibility with Ageia PhysX accelerators (PPU's) also.

Edit:
Ofcourse if you were meaning just Ageia, isn't NVIDIA and Ageia basicly the same thing nowadays..?

 

cuda has nothing to do with Physx,

Cuda Allows Phsyx (or anything for that matter) to work on GPU, But they are not related.

 

What I have read, PhysX SDK has already been ported to CUDA.
Just waiting when NVIDIA will release it.

I'm not sure anyway what you mean by that CUDA and PhysX has nothing to do with each other. Yes I know that CUDA is just GPGPU environment for accessing graphics hardware with C language, but future PhysX system software will use that to communicate with NVIDIA GPU's enabling PhysX acceleration with all NV GPU's for G80 and above still preserving compatibility with old Ageia PPU's also.