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Not enjoying the view

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Tim S, 10 Feb 2007.

  1. JaredC01

    JaredC01 Hardware Nut

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    Love the article.

    I find it a bit funny and ironic that the company that's been known for having terrible graphics card drivers had 100% Vista support for both 32 bit and 64 bit before Vista was out, and nVidia is pulling this move in an attempt to force people to upgrade.

    Now I'm even more glad I'm an ATi fanboy :p
     
  2. Flibblebot

    Flibblebot Smile with me

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    The reason people always gave for not using an MS operating system before SP1 was down to stability. Microsoft had the reputation (in the business IT world) for pushing unstable OSes out of the door, so IT departments would wait until an odd-numbered service pack before deploying (it was SP3 with NT4 & SP1 with 2000, I believe). It had nothing to do with driver support because most business PCs don't need many drivers outside of what Windows installs.

    I'm dual booting Vista, and driver issues aside, I haven't had a single problem with Windows itself.

    Out of all the hardware I have installed on my PC, only 3 pieces are working properly (or at all) - my Nikon camera, which works out of the box; my ATi graphics card; and my Ximeta network storage box. My soundcard (XiFi) is running beta drivers atm.

    All of the other hardware is made by large companies, and none of those companies has drivers even available (most of the hardware manufacturers state that drivers will be available "in the first half of 2007"). Not good.

    It's not even as though they can blame the new Vista driver model, or the fact they're not allowed to run in kernel mode any more - Microsoft has been talking about that for about 18 months now, and the final driver model was finalised before Vista went to public beta. We've had Vista available in beta form since the middle of 2006, and there's just no excuse for every hardware manufacturer to have fully working drivers available for launch day.

    Like everyone else, I'm annoyed - but at the hardware manufacturers, not Microsoft.
     
  3. perplekks45

    perplekks45 LIKE AN ANIMAL!

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    Very nice article! :thumb:
    Have to agree with you in almost every aspect.

    I have Vista running since Thursday and yea, it was a pain in the a** to get my WLAN card working (1 hour) and no, I'm not satisfied with the drivers for my 8800GTS and hell yes, I'm pissed because Office 2007 won't install, whether in Admin mode or not and all that safety stuff is more annoying than useful. Why the hell do I have to say "YES! I DO want to start that bloody program! Just like the last 20 times..." and if I turn off the user account whateverthehelltheycallit I keep getting annoyed by that little red + white shield telling me something so bad happened to my security that Vista won't stop throwing pop-ups at me until I turn user account youknowwhatImean back on. Oh, did I mention McAfee VirusScan Plus 2007 is a program with "known issues" running on Vista? And 3D Mark 06 won't start if you don't install DX9.0c?

    Other than that: I runs great on my setup, it looks even better with all the eye candy turned on (even though XP + StyleXP or Windows Blinds ain't that far away), the Sidebar is a nice addition (yea, I know Konfabulator/Yahoo Widgets...), most of the stuff still works or got updates to make it work, nearly all my hardware got detected in like 5 sec and all in all I just like Vista. At the moment it's as good as XP, prettier, a bit slower IMO and almost bug free. I still remember XP less than 2 months after official launch. I think MS learned something. They still have a lot to do/learn but they're on their way. Some others (nVidia, McAfee...) are not.

    But before you ask: If I had had to pay for Vista, I wouldn't be anywhere close to the level of satisfaction I am right now. :) But long live university and my Business edition of Vista FOR FREE. :D
     
  4. sadffffff

    sadffffff Minimodder

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    *applauds article*
    well said
     
  5. randosome

    randosome Banned

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    All this driver support stuff sickens me, Ive lost count of how much stuff just ends up getting trashed because they can no longer be bothered to make drivers, or update drivers (because the old ones have terrible bugs in)

    However, technically, when you bought your hardware, did they actually say "we promise to support the latest OS and our card for the next 5 years" ?
    Now ill probably get flamed for that comment, but technically, am i not right ?

    Even hardware that's 12 months old usually doesn't get driver updates, or software has the same problem, requiring you to purchase a "new" version

    Its not just hardware that this happens, its software as well, everyone just wants their cake and they want to eat it to, sometimes i wonder if people who hate computers are on to something
     
  6. lamboman

    lamboman What's a Dremel?

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    Can I just say, that there isn't an official driver, but there is a beta here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_x86_100.59.html

    It supports SLI for 8800's in DirectX 9, but not 10, and, as the link says, is for Vista.
    Happy gaming 8800 owners (can't wait to become one!!)
     
  7. Da Dego

    Da Dego Brett Thomas

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    :duh: wow...way to both totally miss and totally prove my point all in one post. ;)
     
  8. Tyinsar

    Tyinsar 6 screens 1 card since Nov 17 2007

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    :thumb: The only thing I would add is that I don't think MS is totally innocent in all this either - I get the feeling they're doing everything they can to kill OpenGL (esp given it's poor performance in Vista)
    They told the same lie with the "Live!" cards, I haven't bought from then since.
    Quoted for truth.
     
  9. lamboman

    lamboman What's a Dremel?

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    I know, I can't believe that nobody has known about the driver. I knew there was and would be one. Duh!! N always bring out Beta drivers. Da Dego and lamboman's tip: Look for the beta drivers as well as the official ones!
     
  10. Da Dego

    Da Dego Brett Thomas

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    :sigh:
    lamboman, I knew about that driver. In fact, I tried it. Anyone with an SLI rig that isn't using 8800 series cards will actually be unable to use it.

    The point I was not-so-subtly making in my post above was....nevermind, this shouldn't really require explanation.
     
  11. Veles

    Veles DUR HUR

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    They just need kicking.

    Bought a USB bluetooth dongle a while ago, worked fine, then I made my new PC and switched over to XP Pro, wouldn't work at all. No excuse for that.
     
  12. Kipman725

    Kipman725 When did I get a custom title!?!

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    Creative cards are for people who think headphones need surround sound, (hint you have two ears). nuff said'

    As for razer they have brought out the most gimiky peice of crap known to man with there headphones and soundcard. If your looking for a better card than the xfi ESI make a nice card with very good drivers:
    http://www.esi-pro.com/viewProduct.php?pid=43
    (Although no vista one yet)
     
    Last edited: 10 Feb 2007
  13. randosome

    randosome Banned

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    Do bit people read anymore ? This is like the 5th article where people just seemed to have skimmed, missed all the points and then posted in the forums (as an EG the one about the vadim case, people thinking all 12 fans (or whatever) would be loud when you said they were quiet)

    Seriously, not meaning to flame or anything, but jeez, if you dont read dont post

    Just to clarify, Vista has been around (in RC builds) for like 6 months atleast, and nvidia only have beta drivers ? come on get your a** in gear guys
     
  14. EQC

    EQC What's a Dremel?

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    I'm not flaming you, I'm friendly...

    but I think a big issue with this is that even if my hardware is "5 years old" -- I can still buy it today. You can go to your local retailer and still buy an nVidia FX5000 series GPU, the 6000 series, the 7000 series, etc. This will cover all price points from $30 and up. They are still selling these chips now. The only 8000 series video cards available are the 8800's -- ranging from $350-$700.

    It'd be one thing if nVidia was sending a message saying "time to upgrade your $30 FX 5200 to our new $50 8100"...but by not having drivers out for Vista, they're sortof saying: "Spend $350 or more, or there's no gaming under Vista for you."

    When "average joe" (well, slightly above average if he's building his own computer, but still doesn't know about driver issues with Vista) goes to put together a new computer....he might be aiming for midrange with a 6600 or 7600...and of course he's going to buy Vista for a new build. nVidia needs to get some blame for still selling their old hardware but not offering any reasonobly priced options for timely Vista compatibility.
     
  15. TMM

    TMM Modder

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    Because it says on the 8800 box that it does DX10, so if they don't get DX10 going on those cards there will be a riot. Meanwhile everyone else has to wait patiently :)
     
  16. Syphon Filter

    Syphon Filter What's a Dremel?

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    That's no excuse. Are you trying to suggest that Nvidia either does not have/cannot take on enough coding knowledge to write drivers for more than one product at a time?

    What happened to "unified driver architecture"?

    I for one applaud tihs article. It's telling it how it is and anyone who thinks otherwise is deluding themselves.

    I would expect any Nvidia card from 6 series upwards to be working just fine in Vista, possibly even some older cards...
     
  17. [cibyr]

    [cibyr] Sometimes posts here

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    Why does anyone want to use vista anyway? The only reason I'll be upgrading is DX10, and until there are some DX10 games out XP is the best option.

    I usually agree with the columns here but this one sounds like a big cry about nothing.

    As for SLI: it still doesn't work properly on the 6 series! Why would it be working well on the 8 series under vista. Any why do people buy the GX2s when they know SLI is broken and there are less expensive single-chip options that perform better?
     
  18. eddie_dane

    eddie_dane Used to mod pc's now I mod houses

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    An overwhelming majority of Vista licenses sold will be in new systems via Dell, etc. It only makes sense that driver writers would make those customers the priority.
     
  19. Steelez

    Steelez Minimodder

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    Logitech is another company that is not releasing Vista drivers for a lot of it's products and instead they just link you to products to buy that are compatible.

    I think some companies have just seen Vista as a cash cow. Needless to say, the products they are no longer supporting I've purchased replacements from alternative manufacturers.
     
  20. his3j3t

    his3j3t What's a Dremel?

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    pretty much answered your own question! :D
     
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