NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards

**MIG-31** · Mar 5, 2010, 06:36 AM

Several StarCraft II beta testers have reported their PC or video cards have died after installing the NVIDIA 196.75 drivers. The large amount of reports have prompted Blizzard Entertainment to issue an official statement on the tech support forums after identifying the source of the problem.

Some players were blaming the StarCraft II Beta client's latest patch, but a Blizzard Tech Support representative quickly explained the issue is caused by the latest NVIDIA 196.75 drivers.
_____________
Source: Inc Gamers

Tipstaff · Mar 5, 2010, 11:23 AM

Nvidia still hasn't said why, rather just pulled the drivers, recommending that users go back to the 196.21, but apparently it has to do with the fan control, or rather the lack there of, and the cards overheat.

MythicaL · Mar 5, 2010, 11:28 AM

I thought the cards have overheat protection?

comp_ali · Mar 5, 2010, 11:31 AM

Hmm , And I thought the drivers were good. Evey site was bitching about the huge FPS gain in Crysis and Dirt2 for single card and Sli after this update. I just hope they replace the cards for people who died on them.

crowTrobot · Mar 5, 2010, 11:33 AM

Workaround available for those who have it:
Official NVIDIA Forceware 196.75 display driver feedback thread - NVIDIA Forums

MitchRapp · Mar 5, 2010, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comp_ali

Hmm , And I thought the drivers were good. Evey site was bitching about the huge FPS gain in Crysis and Dirt2 for single card and Sli after this update. I just hope they replace the cards for people who died on them.

My guess is when you click "ACCEPT" to install the drivers, there's a little paragraph that nobody reads that probably says "IF YOUR CARD EXPLODES, LOLZ TOUGH"

mkk · Mar 5, 2010, 05:27 PM

See it as a quality assurance test. Now you'll know if the components on your card are good enough.

crowTrobot · Mar 5, 2010, 05:39 PM

It seems most affected are the single slot and older cards as well as GTX 295s. Weird.
I had no problems when I ran it for 2 days. Temperature was fine and MSI Afterburner was set to auto fan control. Temps were the same. I rolled back just in case plus there's no 3D vision drivers for the latest one yet.

LesserHellspawn · Mar 5, 2010, 06:13 PM

No problem on my twin 9800GTX. I just tried out the furmark furnace, and the fans were spinning up as they should.

mkk · Mar 6, 2010, 12:03 AM

MSI Afterburner takes over the fan control from the driver. Works on most cards by the way, I tested it to lower the fan speed below 20% on my custom cooled HIS 5850.

crowTrobot · Mar 6, 2010, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkk

MSI Afterburner takes over the fan control from the driver. Works on most cards by the way, I tested it to lower the fan speed below 20% on my custom cooled HIS 5850.

yup.

Also time to shamelessly plug the skins I made for it:

Custom skins for MSi Afterburner

MythicaL · Mar 6, 2010, 01:36 AM

Doesn't affect my 8800. I wonder why some are experiencing the issue while others aren't.

MousePotato · Mar 7, 2010, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MythicaL

Doesn't affect my 8800. I wonder why some are experiencing the issue while others aren't.

same here, no issues with my Asus 8800 GTX

Rosco[CoF] · Mar 7, 2010, 09:30 PM

I didn't have any issues with it, but I reverted back to 196.34 just in case. I hope it gets fixed soon though, the 196.75 set gave me the best performance I have ever had with my EVGA GTS 250.

Sihastru · Mar 8, 2010, 08:22 AM

295GTX single PCB here, no problems, I played Grid and a few Source games (like CSS) and the fan ramps up as expected.

Judas · Mar 9, 2010, 03:46 PM

interesting as i had someone report that their card was giving them greif like this and they had the latest drivers.....guess we know what the problem was

nicnik · Mar 11, 2010, 09:27 PM

I used the .75s and they were fine. I do however use evga precision for fan control and always have it on.

I assume the issue only affect some cards and only if no fan tool is used at all.

MythicaL · Mar 12, 2010, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicnik

I used the .75s and they were fine. I do however use evga precision for fan control and always have it on.

I assume the issue only affect some cards and only if no fan tool is used at all.

I don't run a fan tool. Maybe it's a result of people not using a program like Driver Sweeper to clean up.

Mr cairo · Mar 12, 2010, 09:35 AM

Running a 9800GT here and i dont use a fan tool but after installing these i had 3 ctd's with Bad Company 2 in a matter of an hour and had previously had no problems

after reading this i went back to the older set , that cured the CTD's and i use Driver cleaner for every install of a driver set

i figure that possibly the card was overheating but theres no way to be sure

nicnik · Mar 12, 2010, 07:31 PM

it's always better to use a fan tool, I always have done for every gpu i've owned (if it's available that is), there's no harm, i just disable it whenever i change drivers. I've never been happy with stock fans at their stock settings, for both nvidia and ati (especially ati) it's just not sufficient. Having it run cooler for slightly more noise would prolong the components as well, even though a gpu likely won't fail within the 3~ years of usage.

seems this issue affects the 98XX most though.

I've reverted back to older drivers to be safe :P

LesserHellspawn · Mar 16, 2010, 07:43 AM

Could it be that NV have a bigger problem there ? Those drivers took very long themselves after the previous beta, and still there's no hotfix in sight.

Edit: Wow, triple strike now. 197 betas, new nforce WHQLs new PhysX.

nicnik · Mar 18, 2010, 12:34 PM

yup, seems to be fixed now. took them time though

Mar 5, 2010, 06:36 AM	#1
MIG-31 HardwareHeaven News Mod Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 56,848 Rep Power: 471 System Specs	NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards Several StarCraft II beta testers have reported their PC or video cards have died after installing the NVIDIA 196.75 drivers. The large amount of reports have prompted Blizzard Entertainment to issue an official statement on the tech support forums after identifying the source of the problem. Some players were blaming the StarCraft II Beta client's latest patch, but a Blizzard Tech Support representative quickly explained the issue is caused by the latest NVIDIA 196.75 drivers. _____________ Source: Inc Gamers __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here

Mar 5, 2010, 11:23 AM	#2
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,773 Rep Power: 191 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards Nvidia still hasn't said why, rather just pulled the drivers, recommending that users go back to the 196.21, but apparently it has to do with the fan control, or rather the lack there of, and the cards overheat. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick.

Mar 5, 2010, 11:28 AM	#3
MythicaL I like computers. Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: In front of a monitor Posts: 3,399 Rep Power: 89 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards I thought the cards have overheat protection? __________________ Always knew I didn't belong in this world. I wasn't made for this. But I'll never forget those who betrayed me, and those who never failed my trust.

Mar 5, 2010, 11:31 AM	#4
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,469 Rep Power: 339 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards Hmm , And I thought the drivers were good. Evey site was bitching about the huge FPS gain in Crysis and Dirt2 for single card and Sli after this update. I just hope they replace the cards for people who died on them.

Mar 5, 2010, 11:33 AM	#5
crowTrobot HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 699 Rep Power: 83 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards Workaround available for those who have it: Official NVIDIA Forceware 196.75 display driver feedback thread - NVIDIA Forums

Mar 5, 2010, 05:27 PM	#7
mkk Cthulhu/Dagon 2012 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gefle, Sweden Posts: 4,495 Rep Power: 132 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards See it as a quality assurance test. Now you'll know if the components on your card are good enough.

Mar 5, 2010, 05:39 PM	#8
crowTrobot HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 699 Rep Power: 83 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards It seems most affected are the single slot and older cards as well as GTX 295s. Weird. I had no problems when I ran it for 2 days. Temperature was fine and MSI Afterburner was set to auto fan control. Temps were the same. I rolled back just in case plus there's no 3D vision drivers for the latest one yet.

Mar 5, 2010, 06:13 PM	#9
LesserHellspawn HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 68 Rep Power: 0	AW: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards No problem on my twin 9800GTX. I just tried out the furmark furnace, and the fans were spinning up as they should.

Mar 6, 2010, 12:03 AM	#10
mkk Cthulhu/Dagon 2012 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gefle, Sweden Posts: 4,495 Rep Power: 132 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards MSI Afterburner takes over the fan control from the driver. Works on most cards by the way, I tested it to lower the fan speed below 20% on my custom cooled HIS 5850.

Mar 6, 2010, 01:36 AM	#12
MythicaL I like computers. Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: In front of a monitor Posts: 3,399 Rep Power: 89 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards Doesn't affect my 8800. I wonder why some are experiencing the issue while others aren't. __________________ Always knew I didn't belong in this world. I wasn't made for this. But I'll never forget those who betrayed me, and those who never failed my trust.

Mar 7, 2010, 09:30 PM	#14
Rosco[CoF] HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Traverse City, MI Posts: 158 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards I didn't have any issues with it, but I reverted back to 196.34 just in case. I hope it gets fixed soon though, the 196.75 set gave me the best performance I have ever had with my EVGA GTS 250. __________________ Consoles are schwag

Mar 8, 2010, 08:22 AM	#15
Sihastru Never been clicked Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 433 Rep Power: 46 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards 295GTX single PCB here, no problems, I played Grid and a few Source games (like CSS) and the fan ramps up as expected.

Mar 11, 2010, 09:27 PM	#17
nicnik In the Land of Snow Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 569 Rep Power: 46 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards I used the .75s and they were fine. I do however use evga precision for fan control and always have it on. I assume the issue only affect some cards and only if no fan tool is used at all. __________________ Follow Me on Twitter Battlefield 3 \| youtube \| TwitchTV

Mar 12, 2010, 09:35 AM	#19
Mr cairo F0rum For Humans Only Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Slightly to the left Posts: 1,780 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards Running a 9800GT here and i dont use a fan tool but after installing these i had 3 ctd's with Bad Company 2 in a matter of an hour and had previously had no problems after reading this i went back to the older set , that cured the CTD's and i use Driver cleaner for every install of a driver set i figure that possibly the card was overheating but theres no way to be sure __________________ *Please consider Sponsoring my wife for the race for life*

Mar 12, 2010, 07:31 PM	#20
nicnik In the Land of Snow Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 569 Rep Power: 46 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards it's always better to use a fan tool, I always have done for every gpu i've owned (if it's available that is), there's no harm, i just disable it whenever i change drivers. I've never been happy with stock fans at their stock settings, for both nvidia and ati (especially ati) it's just not sufficient. Having it run cooler for slightly more noise would prolong the components as well, even though a gpu likely won't fail within the 3~ years of usage. seems this issue affects the 98XX most though. I've reverted back to older drivers to be safe :P __________________ Follow Me on Twitter Battlefield 3 \| youtube \| TwitchTV

Mar 16, 2010, 07:43 AM	#21
LesserHellspawn HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 68 Rep Power: 0	AW: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards Could it be that NV have a bigger problem there ? Those drivers took very long themselves after the previous beta, and still there's no hotfix in sight. Edit: Wow, triple strike now. 197 betas, new nforce WHQLs new PhysX. Last edited by LesserHellspawn; Mar 17, 2010 at 08:17 PM.

Mar 18, 2010, 12:34 PM	#22
nicnik In the Land of Snow Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 569 Rep Power: 46 System Specs	Re: NVIDIA 196.75 kills video cards yup, seems to be fixed now. took them time though __________________ Follow Me on Twitter Battlefield 3 \| youtube \| TwitchTV