NVIDIA Issues 185.xx Stable Linux Driver Update

[phoronix]

Phoronix: NVIDIA Issues 185.xx Stable Linux Driver Update

While NVIDIA's driver engineers are hard at work on the 190.xx driver series, which among other features does bring OpenGL 3.2 support, for those living by the stable releases there is a new driver that's out today. The NVIDIA 185.18.29 Linux driver was uploaded to NVIDIA's FTP server this morning and does bring a number of changes as listed in their official release highlights.There are a few general bug-fixes in this release like addressing a graphics corruption problem caused by an enabled Unified Back Buffer and an X Server crash, but most of the changes come down to fixes for CUDA, VDPAU, and Quadro GPUs...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=NzQxNQ

[gsacks]

Well, that's nice. I just switched my HTPC from an AMD/ATI with 780G integrated to an intel/nvida with 9300 integrated graphics. Two days later a new driver comes out. I can't say that VDPAU has made a great difference for me, but then again my TV is only 720P, and both my Athlon 5400+ and my new Pentium E6300 can handle that no problem. It is nice to have smooth video on a composite desktop though +1 Nvidia for that. On the other hand, it was easier to compensate for my TVs 2% overscan with the ATI driver. I haven't figures out how to do it with Nvidia yet.

[Kano]

720p is no problem for standard cpus, maybe your athlon needs vdpau for 1080p, just check cpu load.

[gsacks]

720p is no problem for standard cpus, maybe your athlon needs vdpau for 1080p, just check cpu load.

I was actually very pleased with my AMD based HTPC, but my wife needed a new computer, so I gave it to her and built a new one for the a/v setup. And since my last two builds where AMD, I decided to go with Intel this time. I was reusing the ITX case from her old PC which does not have the best air flow, so I went with the intel/nvidia combo board with the hope of keeping the CPU load/temp very low with vdpau doing most of the work.

[thefirstm]

NVIDIA and VDPAU have more advantages than just performance. A mid-range NVIDIA GPU using VDPAU can easily deinterlace 1080i content using Spatial-Temporal deinterlacing. That type of algorithm would be impossible to perform on a CPU.

[gsacks]

NVIDIA and VDPAU have more advantages than just performance. A mid-range NVIDIA GPU using VDPAU can easily deinterlace 1080i content using Spatial-Temporal deinterlacing. That type of algorithm would be impossible to perform on a CPU.

Yes, I do see that. I started with the 180.x drivers, which is what Ubuntu still loads through the restricted driver gui, and they were buggy for me so I removed them and installed the 185 drivers the old fashioned way. 185 has been much more stable for me, and my CPU usage is now where I expect it to be (single digits) using vdpau. Too bad an XBMC crash took out my sound last night. Two steps forward, one step back...