NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX/GTS' Killer Bug @ TechARP

Iria · Mar 31, 2007, 03:57 PM

Source: TechARP
_________
Ever since NVIDIA released their revolutionary GeForce 8800 GTX and GeForce 8800 GTS graphics cards, users have been complaining about the poor Vista driver support and how these expensive cards have failed to improve their performance in games. That may now come to pass, in a manner of speaking.

An NVIDIA engineer, who wishes to remain anonymous, has just clued us in on the whole deal. This engineer claims that while allegations of poor gaming performance are correct, the reason is not really poor drivers. Brace yourselves for the truth.

Right after the G80 was taped out, NVIDIA discovered a bug in the vertex shader that causes the GPU to generate slightly incorrect geometry transformation data. The difference was minimal enough to escape attention but it was significant enough to render a scene incorrectly.

Now, what's the big deal about a slightly incorrect scene? After all, you can't even tell the difference between 2xAA and 4xAA. What would a slightly different scene matter when you are zipping along at 60+ fps? Well, that's what YOU think.

Here's the bummer. What it really means is that objects can be rendered off to one side. For FPS gamers, this can cause shots aimed at those objects (like your opponents) to miss when they should really hit.

Vikingod · Mar 31, 2007, 04:07 PM

dipstick · Mar 31, 2007, 04:09 PM

Nice date on that article

Erroneus · Mar 31, 2007, 04:10 PM

OH MY GOD, NVIDIA IS RUUUIINED!

Stupid timezones!

Zardon · Mar 31, 2007, 04:24 PM

http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.a...tno=391&pgno=1 (and for those who cant be bothered working out the code its here http://www.techarp.com/0104.htm )

These guys seriously need to get out more........ or release it when all the time zones work right on 1st april

4pm on a Saturday UK time 31st March just doesn't seem right

mike2h · Mar 31, 2007, 04:49 PM

try mar31 8am here in sunny cali
think it is just 'we r fools' not 'april fools'

CDsDontBurn · Mar 31, 2007, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike2h

try mar31 8am here in sunny cali
think it is just 'we r fools' not 'april fools'

it's 9am now

.

GutterPunk · Mar 31, 2007, 09:39 PM

d'oh im dumb

Mar 31, 2007, 03:57 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX/GTS' Killer Bug @ TechARP Source: TechARP _________ Ever since NVIDIA released their revolutionary GeForce 8800 GTX and GeForce 8800 GTS graphics cards, users have been complaining about the poor Vista driver support and how these expensive cards have failed to improve their performance in games. That may now come to pass, in a manner of speaking. An NVIDIA engineer, who wishes to remain anonymous, has just clued us in on the whole deal. This engineer claims that while allegations of poor gaming performance are correct, the reason is not really poor drivers. Brace yourselves for the truth. Right after the G80 was taped out, NVIDIA discovered a bug in the vertex shader that causes the GPU to generate slightly incorrect geometry transformation data. The difference was minimal enough to escape attention but it was significant enough to render a scene incorrectly. Now, what's the big deal about a slightly incorrect scene? After all, you can't even tell the difference between 2xAA and 4xAA. What would a slightly different scene matter when you are zipping along at 60+ fps? Well, that's what YOU think. Here's the bummer. What it really means is that objects can be rendered off to one side. For FPS gamers, this can cause shots aimed at those objects (like your opponents) to miss when they should really hit.

Mar 31, 2007, 04:10 PM	#4
Erroneus Get off my lawn! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Denmark Posts: 13,417 Rep Power: 119 System Specs	OH MY GOD, NVIDIA IS RUUUIINED! Stupid timezones! __________________

Mar 31, 2007, 04:49 PM	#6
mike2h DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: norcal Posts: 6,483 Rep Power: 91 System Specs	try mar31 8am here in sunny cali think it is just 'we r fools' not 'april fools' __________________

Mar 31, 2007, 09:39 PM	#8
GutterPunk I = Greatest Dood Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nebraska Posts: 5,949 Rep Power: 71	d'oh im dumb __________________ Rock On \m/ Thank you Mousey for the Sig! --------------- Intel Core2Duo E6660 (3.4GHZ) ~ Tuniq Tower 120 ~ Enermax Galaxy 1000W ~ Corsair Dominator @ 1090MHZ 5-5-5-15 (OCZ XTC Modded Cooler)~ EVGA 8800GTX W/ HR-03 Plus 120MM ~ Asus DVD-RW LiteScribe ~ LG DVD-RW ~ Corsair Voyager 2GB ReadyBoost Drive ~ Vantec Nexus Fan Controller ~ ThermalTake Armor 25CM fan ~ Personal Finance Blog: Dent Your Debt

Mar 31, 2007, 04:07 PM	#2
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,197 Rep Power: 112 System Specs

Mar 31, 2007, 04:09 PM	#3
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	Nice date on that article

Mar 31, 2007, 04:24 PM	#5
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.a...tno=391&pgno=1 (and for those who cant be bothered working out the code its here http://www.techarp.com/0104.htm ) These guys seriously need to get out more........ or release it when all the time zones work right on 1st april 4pm on a Saturday UK time 31st March just doesn't seem right