UT3 Benchmarking
UT3: Forceware Driver Review Archive
Previous Forceware Updates
18/03/2008 Update! Forceware 174.74 and 174.70 beta were released by nVidia!
Application Error : The instruction at "0x03c4580e" referenced memory at "0x121c4d40". The memory could not be "read".
Click on OK to terminate the program
Once again the latest 174.xx came out with impressive performance records, although when I close the UT3.exe application, I receive the following error message:
Other than that, the performance was right up there with the other 174 series drivers. In fact, on my chart you can see a gradual performance incline in the Average Frames Per Second line (the blue one).
22/03/2008 Update! Forceware 174.60 and 174.70 betas were leaked on xfastest and are the best of the 74.xx series to date. I've read reports about SLI being broken, but I can't reproduce the bug. Some of the old frame rate dips have returned, though not as drastic and the overall boost more than makes up for it. Mini update: the 174.70 version was much easier to install and ended up with a higher % above 30fps. Take a look at the charts and decide!
19/03/2008 Update! Forceware 174.53 beta drivers released courtesy of Guru3d Forums! This driver set continued the trend of great performance with increasing stability. I've read a lot about people crashing with beta drivers, but not of this behaviour have plagued my system. You'll notice on the table that the averages are almost identical to last week's set. Let's keep this trend going, nVidia!
18/03/2008 Update! Forceware 174.40 beta drivers linked via Guru3d Forums! These were excellent for problem areas of large maps where framerates tend to drop. These are the best performers in a while. I've updated both my table below and the chart page.
06/03/2008 Update! Forceware 169.44 beta drivers released by EVGA, the very same manufacturer that made my GPU's! Released for the latest Crysis patch, these are the very best of the 169.xx series. The 17x.xx drivers still have a slight edge for UT3, however. Read the updated data table!
04/03/2008 Update! Forceware 174.20 and 174.31 beta drivers leaked via Guru3d! These latest additions to the 174.xx series are great with the Unreal Engine 3: fast and stable framerates are reported along with great image quality. Read down for more info.
17/02/2008 Update! Forceware 174.16 beta drivers leaked via Guru3d! Don't go and sell the stock yet though: they come with some heavy downward performance spikes. Read down for more.
17/02/2008 Update! Forceware 174.12 beta XP and Vista drivers leaked via ElectronicPunk! Word is that these have it all...
15/02/2008 Update! Forceware 171.17 WHQL and 171.23 beta were leaked on station-drivers.com and have been added to the list!
13/02/2008 Update! Forceware 169.39 WHQL appeared on ElectronicPunk.com via Guru3d Forums. Forceware 169.61, 169.38 and 171.16 beta (XP 32) drivers leaked!
My data chart continues to be updated and now spread results over more test runs to generate more accurate reports.
My previous high fps record with the 169.32 driver was re-indexed with aggregate data and the driver reinstalled (temporarily). I trimmed the mean (as I now do with all tests) by running 5 tests and discarding the highest and lowest scores on each map to eliminate lucky runs and make the whole data collection process more scientific. I now show the discarded rows with a strike-through. 169.32 is still great for UT3, but there are several superior challengers among the 171.xx series.
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After over 10 years or beta driver testing, I have supreme confidence in beta version nVidia Forceware (formerly Detonator) drivers and almost equal confidence with ATI Catalyst betas (I just haven't owned more than one ATI card.)
What people might not know is that many of these drivers are released quickly to answer a demand for graphical, performance and crash fixes for newly released games. The release of Crysis saw 3 different Forceware versions released specifically to address performance shortcomings in the new game which touted the new, cutting-edge Cry Engine.
UT3 and Beta Forceware Drivers
My initial testing with Forceware driver 169.13 in the default SLI performance mode worried me a bit. As a tweaker, I know when my framerates are dipping below 30fps and it bothers me. With the 169.13 driver I had no crashes, but my frame rates were usually in the 40's and that's a bit low for my taste: especially since I have a high-end, SLI GPU configuration. As per usual however, subsequent beta drivers have proven to boost that performance and we haven't seen the plateau yet.
Forceware 169.28 was release specifically for UT3 to cure random crashes, slowdowns and graphical anomalies. It was a clear winner over 169.13, but since then a flood of newer drivers have entered the arena.
Actually, it was released for Vista users and only for XP systems running a Geforce 8800GS. But by modifying the .inf file, we are able to make the driver work for all nVidia GPU's. This is not something I typically do, but I don't yet have 100% of my frame rate above 30% and there's always room to improve. As they say, "every little bit helps."
I am obliged to put out a disclaimer, however. Every beta driver carries a "use at your own risk" warning and could potentially damage your hardware, your stored data and excessive tweaking and benchmarking could ruin your marriage. Thankfully, my honey was out of town during the busiest beta release week I've ever seen.
Try the new Chart View!
Test Results: Significant Improvement
The final results show quite clearly that the Unreal Engine still hasn't seen its full potential yet. Please use caution with beta drivers however: use them at your own risk. ;)
