These beta drivers enable 3D vision support for the Oculus Rift, which is a pretty huge deal. There is currently no head tracking, but it's a start. Inside the Rift the game is rendered as if it were on a giant wrap around movie screen in front of you. It's not as immersive as proper native Rift support, but it does add a lot of immersion to existing games. The effect is enabled whenever you turn on the 3D vision portion of the drivers and have the Rift set as the primary display. This has unfortunately also broken some games that had existing Rift support, such as Elite: Dangerous. Only solution is either to use Direct to Rift if possible, or roll back drivers.
LOL... you're right. And the thing is, I saw that somewhere and thought someone was just not a native English speaker. Hmmm... Ground Zeroes. That sounds so wrong.
OMEGA: um, clearly there is going to be testing on discrete GPUs. Will we see APU data also. I think it should look like A10, A8, A4. I'd like to see some bottom of the barrel APU numbers.
I have been working on a friend's laptop; HP with an A4-3300M (dual core). The laptop is slow, but it has a regular HDD in it. 1GB of Windows updates took more than overnight. On the processors behalf, it was running at about 205 utilization. I take that as the hard drive being so slow that it isn't pushing the CPU. I was wondering what it would be like with an SSD in it.
I typically work on laptops with i5's . I was curious how well this would game and I read on another site that the OMEGA drivers give a boost to APUs. For gaming on Intel I have a baseline of the HD4000 in Ivy Bridge; I found it tolerable. This is with StarCraft II, which taps both CPU and GPU pretty equally.
I tested on desktop GPUs, as sadly I have no AMD APUs. If you don't include BioShock Infinite, most of the gains are marginal at best from what I've seen. There was a regression in performance from 14.9 to 14.11 Beta as well, and Omega at least mostly restores the lost performance (with Shadow of Mordor being one exception).
It's possible the revision bump is due to a code branch release and these betas have a feature disabled with a feature flag, but it's still there and built with the new revision of code.
Yeah, someone (SH SOTN) just emailed me noting that OpenGL 4.5 is now in main driver branch... well, except this is a beta branch. Also, CUDA 7.0 might be in the drivers as well (again, from information from SH SOTN). My NVIDIA contact just told this was a "routine update (for now)". LOL -- so I know as much about the "for now" part as you.
And if you're using HDMI, apparently the ability to go to full range colors is now fixed for RGB mode. I never noticed as I was on DisplayPort I think, though now I need to go test....
this update didn't fix the displayport issue not detecting display upon cold boot or display getting fuzzy with my gtx 970. i am using DVI so it's fine. I am able to circumvent this issue. but, it's weird that nvidia has been mum about this. there is supposedly a hot fix (driver 344.80). But, haven't tried it, yet. My monitor, FYI, is an Asus PA238Q. A lot of people in various forums has been complaining about this. Seems like a defect in the hardware if Nvidia has been quiet. Usually means a big problem when the other party is all mum like. Like a mummy.
People have been saying that 344.80 fixes that, so I'm sure that change will get merged to the other branch soon.
OpenGL 4.5 support was released in a driver on the day of its announcement.
The 346 branch did make some changes to "dramatically improve OpenGL Framebuffer Object creation performance", so maybe that was a major code change that justified a new branch. Plus a lot more EGL work.
I have a GTX 970 setup that hasn't given me any issues with DisplayPort. Is the problem perhaps with the display (or the DP cable -- I *have* had issues there, though with AMD GPUs, not with NVIDIA), or maybe only certain cards are affected, like a 5% failure on a DisplayPort component or something? I do have to say that having only recently switched to using a DP connected monitor (after years running dual-link DVI with my 30" HP LP3065), I've encountered more oddities with DP in just a few months than I had in the previous seven or so years of running DL-DVI.
I returned my original gtx 970 thinking it was a defect and since it also had coil whine. my second and current gtx 970 doesn't have coil whine and from a different manufacturer, but, still had the same DP issue. I am not completely sure and certain that it is Nvidia or actually the technology in Displayport itself, or if it is that and the combination with the monitor I am using? All I know is that the Displayport fuzzy screen and not detecting display is real with GTX 900 series owners. Just visit the Geforce and EVGA and other forums and you'll find a slew/horde of owners getting black screens related to Displayport issues. I never had any DP issues from my previous card, which was a GTX 680. The only reason why I can't fully point the finger at Nvidia is that my Macbook Pro also has weird oddities when I have it on DP. Although, the MBP does have Nvidia GT330m inside. Hmmm.... coincidence? Anyway, the oddity is not a complete black screen or no video signal issue. But, weird artifacts on the screen when I am working on it. I've switched to HDMI and this artifacting doesn't show up. The artifacts look like lines or tears on the screen when I am working in Pixelmatr and zooming in and out. It would appear then disappear. So, with this anecdotal experience in mind, there is something happening that shouldn't be happening when I am using DP on either the PC with GTX 970 or MBP with GT330m. I like to almost call it a NoVidia issue. Don't sue me NoVidia. Just stating facts!
Oh, and I also bought a second DP cable! Same thing. I've since returned the cable since it didn't work. Or I'm sure it works but it didn't work for my setup as mentioned above. So, no dice getting a different DP cable, for me.
nah a lot the people using the 3x Display port 900 series cards have this issue. I myself, have this issue, and when the display gets fuzzy, i turn the monitor off then on again, and all i get is black screens on all monitors.
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Phaedrux - Friday, December 19, 2014 - link
These beta drivers enable 3D vision support for the Oculus Rift, which is a pretty huge deal. There is currently no head tracking, but it's a start. Inside the Rift the game is rendered as if it were on a giant wrap around movie screen in front of you. It's not as immersive as proper native Rift support, but it does add a lot of immersion to existing games. The effect is enabled whenever you turn on the 3D vision portion of the drivers and have the Rift set as the primary display. This has unfortunately also broken some games that had existing Rift support, such as Elite: Dangerous. Only solution is either to use Direct to Rift if possible, or roll back drivers.mfenn - Friday, December 19, 2014 - link
That's Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, get in tune with your inner Kojima. ;)JarredWalton - Friday, December 19, 2014 - link
LOL... you're right. And the thing is, I saw that somewhere and thought someone was just not a native English speaker. Hmmm... Ground Zeroes. That sounds so wrong.eanazag - Friday, December 19, 2014 - link
OMEGA: um, clearly there is going to be testing on discrete GPUs. Will we see APU data also. I think it should look like A10, A8, A4. I'd like to see some bottom of the barrel APU numbers.I have been working on a friend's laptop; HP with an A4-3300M (dual core). The laptop is slow, but it has a regular HDD in it. 1GB of Windows updates took more than overnight. On the processors behalf, it was running at about 205 utilization. I take that as the hard drive being so slow that it isn't pushing the CPU. I was wondering what it would be like with an SSD in it.
I typically work on laptops with i5's . I was curious how well this would game and I read on another site that the OMEGA drivers give a boost to APUs. For gaming on Intel I have a baseline of the HD4000 in Ivy Bridge; I found it tolerable. This is with StarCraft II, which taps both CPU and GPU pretty equally.
JarredWalton - Friday, December 19, 2014 - link
I tested on desktop GPUs, as sadly I have no AMD APUs. If you don't include BioShock Infinite, most of the gains are marginal at best from what I've seen. There was a regression in performance from 14.9 to 14.11 Beta as well, and Omega at least mostly restores the lost performance (with Shadow of Mordor being one exception).hfm - Friday, December 19, 2014 - link
It's possible the revision bump is due to a code branch release and these betas have a feature disabled with a feature flag, but it's still there and built with the new revision of code.JarredWalton - Friday, December 19, 2014 - link
Yeah, someone (SH SOTN) just emailed me noting that OpenGL 4.5 is now in main driver branch... well, except this is a beta branch. Also, CUDA 7.0 might be in the drivers as well (again, from information from SH SOTN). My NVIDIA contact just told this was a "routine update (for now)". LOL -- so I know as much about the "for now" part as you.And if you're using HDMI, apparently the ability to go to full range colors is now fixed for RGB mode. I never noticed as I was on DisplayPort I think, though now I need to go test....
wurizen - Friday, December 19, 2014 - link
this update didn't fix the displayport issue not detecting display upon cold boot or display getting fuzzy with my gtx 970. i am using DVI so it's fine. I am able to circumvent this issue. but, it's weird that nvidia has been mum about this. there is supposedly a hot fix (driver 344.80). But, haven't tried it, yet. My monitor, FYI, is an Asus PA238Q. A lot of people in various forums has been complaining about this. Seems like a defect in the hardware if Nvidia has been quiet. Usually means a big problem when the other party is all mum like. Like a mummy.jwcalla - Friday, December 19, 2014 - link
People have been saying that 344.80 fixes that, so I'm sure that change will get merged to the other branch soon.OpenGL 4.5 support was released in a driver on the day of its announcement.
The 346 branch did make some changes to "dramatically improve OpenGL Framebuffer Object creation performance", so maybe that was a major code change that justified a new branch. Plus a lot more EGL work.
JarredWalton - Saturday, December 20, 2014 - link
I have a GTX 970 setup that hasn't given me any issues with DisplayPort. Is the problem perhaps with the display (or the DP cable -- I *have* had issues there, though with AMD GPUs, not with NVIDIA), or maybe only certain cards are affected, like a 5% failure on a DisplayPort component or something? I do have to say that having only recently switched to using a DP connected monitor (after years running dual-link DVI with my 30" HP LP3065), I've encountered more oddities with DP in just a few months than I had in the previous seven or so years of running DL-DVI.wurizen - Saturday, December 20, 2014 - link
I returned my original gtx 970 thinking it was a defect and since it also had coil whine. my second and current gtx 970 doesn't have coil whine and from a different manufacturer, but, still had the same DP issue. I am not completely sure and certain that it is Nvidia or actually the technology in Displayport itself, or if it is that and the combination with the monitor I am using? All I know is that the Displayport fuzzy screen and not detecting display is real with GTX 900 series owners. Just visit the Geforce and EVGA and other forums and you'll find a slew/horde of owners getting black screens related to Displayport issues. I never had any DP issues from my previous card, which was a GTX 680. The only reason why I can't fully point the finger at Nvidia is that my Macbook Pro also has weird oddities when I have it on DP. Although, the MBP does have Nvidia GT330m inside. Hmmm.... coincidence? Anyway, the oddity is not a complete black screen or no video signal issue. But, weird artifacts on the screen when I am working on it. I've switched to HDMI and this artifacting doesn't show up. The artifacts look like lines or tears on the screen when I am working in Pixelmatr and zooming in and out. It would appear then disappear. So, with this anecdotal experience in mind, there is something happening that shouldn't be happening when I am using DP on either the PC with GTX 970 or MBP with GT330m. I like to almost call it a NoVidia issue. Don't sue me NoVidia. Just stating facts!wurizen - Saturday, December 20, 2014 - link
Oh, and I also bought a second DP cable! Same thing. I've since returned the cable since it didn't work. Or I'm sure it works but it didn't work for my setup as mentioned above. So, no dice getting a different DP cable, for me.Morawka - Saturday, December 20, 2014 - link
nah a lot the people using the 3x Display port 900 series cards have this issue. I myself, have this issue, and when the display gets fuzzy, i turn the monitor off then on again, and all i get is black screens on all monitors.Its a known issue with 900 series cards
B3an - Saturday, December 20, 2014 - link
Still waiting for a detailed article about AMD's Omega driver.TheSlamma - Sunday, December 21, 2014 - link
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