|
Briana Dawson
Attach to Mouth
Join date: 23 Sep 2003
Posts: 5,855
|
10-03-2008 06:20
I have a Dell XPS with a ATI HD 2600XT 256mb video card. I checked DXDIAG and it says my dirvers are version 7.15.00.10.0119 with a date of 6/2/2008.
I see people mention driver issues constantly. But honestly, i NEVER update drivers and things like that because im afraid SL will stop working.
Does it make a difference if i update those drivers? I have a crash free SL experience, no issues or video anomalies.
So what is the big deal about drivers and why are people always updating them? Are my version drivers considered good or bad for SL (they seem good to me)? I do not intend on changing them but I am very curious as to whether or not my driver version is one of those bad ones, good ones, or neutral ones for ATI & SL.
Thanks!
|
|
Osgeld Barmy
Registered User
Join date: 22 Mar 2005
Posts: 3,336
|
10-03-2008 10:30
if it aint broke ...
the reason people upgrade drivers is because in each release they usually code something better, or access the hardware more efferently, ect and it gives you a speed increase, or more stability, or better effects ect
and as far as good or bad drivers for ATI and SL... if SL runs with your ATI card, then its probably good heh
|
|
Ceera Murakami
Texture Artist / Builder
Join date: 9 Sep 2005
Posts: 7,750
|
10-03-2008 11:51
Personally, I upgrade drivers only when a new release of SL seems to have broken something, and a driver upgarde reportedly fixes it. Then I may need a better driver to use the new code.
The very latest drivers for any card, be it ATI, Nvidia, or IBM integrated graphics, may cause problems with any high-performance application that places high demands on the video card.
Rigt now, the latest and greatest ATI drivers for SOME specific ATI cards do have trouble with SL. But it is very dependant on your exact model of card and the operating system of your computer. Other cards from the same manufacturer, or other operating systems, may be just fine.
If in doubt, wait, and see if someone else has had good success with your particular card and OS and that hot new driver release.
If you want to go boldly ahead, do so. You can always downgrade back to the earlier driver rev if the new one fails.
_____________________
Sorry, LL won't let me tell you where I sell my textures and where I offer my services as a sim builder. Ask me in-world.
|
|
Peggy Paperdoll
A Brat
Join date: 15 Apr 2006
Posts: 4,383
|
10-03-2008 17:30
I would never update a driver (especially a video driver) unless I felt it was necessary. If your card is performing with the driver you are using to your satisfaction then I say leave it alone. You will very seldom see any increase in performance with a new driver if your old driver was doing the job before. Of course if you need to update your driver then by all means do so. But don't update just because it's newer and "better"..........too many times it's just newer and not better at all. And, as stated a couple times already, that new driver introduces more problem for you deal with.
The driver I run in this machine is probably 6 months old. NVidia 169.25..........I think nVidia is up to 180.xx now. I ain't changing till I need to.
|
