NVIDIA 100.14.19 Display Driver

After a very slow summer, NVIDIA has finally rolled out an updated Linux proprietary display driver. The release highlights are quite extensive. However, as NVIDIA did not have the courtesy to allow for testing this driver in advance and right now we are out covering Intel's IDF, we do not have benchmarks to share. However, as time permits over the next day or two we hope to publish some new Linux NVIDIA GeForce 8800 benchmarks.

The NVIDIA 100.14.19 display driver does feature new GPU support, which includes the Quadro FX 290, 370, 570, and 1700. For those using Compiz, Beryl, or Compiz Fusion will be pleased to know that there is improved GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap out-of-memory handling. The long-standing performance regression with NVIDIA's GeForce 8 series has also been fixed. Other improvements for the GeForce 8 series include Xv brightness and contrast controls, stability fixes, fixed rotation, and support for bridgeless SLI.

Some of the other notable improvements include improved power management support that not only affects the GeForce 8 series but all of NVIDIA's recent GPUs. Last but certainly not least, there is improved compatibility with recent X.Org X servers, which means X.Org 7.3 support. There is also support for the Linux 2.6.23 kernel.

While we knew this new driver release was coming, it caught us off guard at Intel IDF Fall 2007 but with the huge change-list present for NVIDIA 100.14.19 we will be back in the coming days and weeks with benchmarks as we dissect this new driver closely. If you have tried the new 100.14.19 release for Linux or Solaris, share your experiences on the Phoronix Forums. The NVIDIA 100.14.19 release isn't available for FreeBSD at this time.

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