NVIDIA releases new Windows 8 Driver updates, now at version 306.20

NVIDIA have released another of their driver updates for Windows 8 taking them to version 306.20.

This is a beta driver from the R304 family of drivers (304.xx to 306.xx).

New in R304 Drivers:

• GPU Support
  • Supports the new GeForce GTX 660 Ti GPU.
  • Legacy Support Notification: GeForce 6-series and GeForce 7-series GPUs will be moved to legacy support after GeForce R304 drivers. GeForce R310 drivers (the next major family of drivers) will not support these products.

• Adds support for NVIDIA TXAA
  • NVIDIA TXAA is new film-style anti-aliasing technique designed specifically to reduce temporal aliasing (crawling and flickering in motion) through a combination of hardware AA, custom CG film style AA resolve, and a temporal filter.
  • The Secret World is the first game to support TXAA. Read about it on GeForce.com.
  • TXAA is supported on GeForce GTX 600-series Kepler-based GPUs.
  • Learn more about TXAA on GeForce.com.

• Performance Boost – Increases performance for GeForce 400/500/600 Series GPUs in several PC games vs. GeForce 301.42 WHQL-certified drivers. Results will vary depending on your GPU and system configuration:

GeForce GTX 680:

• Up to 18% in Batman: Arkham City
• Up to 15% in Dragon Age II
• Up to 10% in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
• Up to 60% in Total War: Shogun 2 (fixes performance issue with latest game patch)

GeForce GTX 560:

• Up to 14% in Batman: Arkham City
• Up to 5% in Battlefield 3 with SLI
• Up to 4% in Dragon Age II
• Up to 8% in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings with SLI
• Up to 7% in Lost Planet 2

• NVIDIA SLI Technology – Adds or updates the following SLI profiles:
  • Alan Wake’s American Nightmare – added
  • Borderlands 2 – added
  • Darksiders 2 – added
  • End of Nations – added
  • F1 2011 – updated
  • F1 2012 – added
  • Final Fantasy XIV – updated
  • Nexuiz – added
  • Orcs Must Die! 2 – added
  • PlanetSide 2 – updated
  • Saints Row: The Third – updated
  • Shogun 2: Total War – updated
  • Sleeping Dogs – added
  • Spec Ops: The Line – added
  • The Secret World – updated
  • Torchlight II – added
  • Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier – added
  • Tornado Force – added
  • Tribes: Ascend – updated

• NVIDIA 3D Vision – Adds or updates the following 3D Vision profiles:
  • Alan Wake’s American Nightmare – rated Not Recommended
  • A New Dawn – rated Fair
  • All Zombies Must Die! Scorepocalypse – rated Good
  • ARMA 2: Operation Arrowhead – rated Fair
  • Bang Bang Racing – rated Excellent
  • Borderlands 2 – updated profile with new convergence settings
  • Brave – rated 3D Vision Ready
  • Devil May Cry 4- rated Fair
  • Depth Hunter – updated rating to 3D Vision Ready
  • Dishonored – rated Good
  • End of Nations – rated Good
  • London 2012 The Official Video Game – rated Fair
  • Mad Doc Jr.’s Doom Rails – rated Excellent
  • Mass Effect 3 – updated in-game compatibility message and profile to be more compatible with community 3D mods
  • Max Payne 3 – updated rating to Excellent and updated in-game compatibility message to inform users to use DirectX 11, disable MSAA and use SSA0.
  • Raiderz – rated Fair
  • Roller Coaster Rampage – rated 3D Vision Ready
  • SCANIA Truck Driving Simulator – rated Fair
  • Street Fighter X Tekken – rated 3D Vision Ready
  • Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends – rated Good
  • Tiger Woods PGA 12: The Masters – rated Good
  • Tribes: Ascend – rated Fair
  • The Secret World – rated Good
  • The Walking Dead – rating Good

• Other Profile Updates
  • Added NVIDIA Control Panel antialiasing support for Diablo III
  • Added NVIDIA Control Panel antialiasing support for L.A. Noire
  • Added NVIDIA Control Panel antialiasing support for Rayman Origins
  • Added NVIDIA Control Panel ambient occlusion support for Star Wars: The Old Republic
  • Added NVIDIA Control Panel ambient occlusion support Counter-strike: Global Offensive
  • Added NVIDIA Control Panel ambient occlusion support MechWarrior Online
  • Added NVIDIA Control Panel ambient occlusion support for Guild Wars 2
  • Disabled FXAA for several Windows programs like Media Player and Movie Maker.

• NVIDIA Surround
  • Surround settings now persisted after new driver overinstall.

• NVIDIA CUDA
  • Includes support for applications built using CUDA 5 Preview or earlier version of the CUDA Toolkit. More information at http://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-toolkit

• Key Fixes
  • Fixes an intermittent vsync stuttering issue with GeForce GTX 600-series GPUs.
  • Fixes an issue where some manufacturer’s factory overclocked cards default to and run at lower clocks.
  • Fixes a performance issue in Total War: Shogun 2 with the latest game patch.

Additional Details

• Installs PhysX System Software v9.12.0604.
• Installs HD Audio v1.3.18.0.
• Supports OpenGL 4.3 for GeForce 400-series and later GPUs.
• Supports DisplayPort 1.2 for GeForce GTX 600 series GPUs.
• Supports multiple languages and APIs for GPU computing: CUDA C, CUDA C++, CUDA Fortran, OpenCL, DirectCompute, and Microsoft C++ AMP.
• Supports single GPU and NVIDIA SLI technology on DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 11, and OpenGL, including 3-way SLI, Quad SLI, and SLI support on SLI-certified Intel and AMD motherboards.