aCk

New NVIDIA update, do I or don't I?
XP, 1.21 Viewer yada yada yada

If your current drivers are working, let someone else go first.

don`t

There is an issue with the way SL uses textures by default, which is not compatible with the new drivers.

http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-7957?focusedCommentId=81471#action_81471

For some reason, SL defaults to palettized textures, which is an old way of saving memory; so old it's generally considered outdated, and it's starting to cause trouble now with nVidia dropping/changing the way they support it.

The workaround is easy (uncheck Advanced->Rendering->Features->Palettized Textures), but you have to do it every time you log in.

It will be fixed in SL in the next update, but didn't make it into the recent 1.21.

If you can live with the workaround, the buzz is that the new drivers actually help performance noticeably (on some cards, at least), but I haven't tested myself.

That's what I have been doing everytime I login,
I was wondering if getting the update would have helped.
I have been seeing people showing mars on their avies, spots and random black lashes, discoloring and don't want to level up to that headache.
None of my "gamer" friends use SL, so I rely on SL residents' feedback, opinion,
so I appreciate any input.

Actually, if you are sporting that many problems already, I'd do the update. Just read up on it and it's supposedly aimed at a lot of compatibility issues with 3D games. Heck, can't get much worse for you. If it does, you can always roll back to your old drivers.

I just have the albino eyelashes and Appearance made clothes issues the work around fixes.
But I read something here that might nix that, I don't remember, the viewer or the NVIDIA update.