NVIDIA's GeForce 7950 GX2 & Forceware Rel. 90

Name: NVIDIA's GeForce 7950 GX2 & Forceware Rel. 90 - Page 4
Brand: NVIDIA's

by Marco Chiappetta — Monday, June 05, 2006, 08:00 AM EDT

A couple of weeks ago, NVIDIA quietly released a new set of Forceware drivers on nZone.com that feature a brand new control panel interface. Obviously, The new Forceware Rel. 90 drivers also support the GeForce 7950 GX2, but Rel. 90 is more than just a simple driver update. NVIDIA has done a lot of things with Forceware Rel. 90 that are noteworthy.

Forceware Release 90

A totally new look

The Main Interface

NVIDIA's new control panel is a complete departure from their older design. Forceware Rel. 90 was designed with Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista in mind, and as such it features a new look that blends well with Vista. But the new interface is right at home with Windows XP too. NVIDIA also wanted to tie in the look of the Forceware control panel with their nForce drivers and nTune system tweaking utility as well.

As you can see, each main section of the drivers has its own clearly labeled icon in the main interface. NVIDIA's goal was to make navigating the control panel more user friendly, and to have more room to incorporate new features into the drivers. When user's click on any of the main icons, they are presented with a list of options to adjust various settings.

3D Settings

In the 3D Settings category, all of the options that used to previously reside on one overcrowded screen are now broken out into their own sections. Image quality options now feature a real-time preview that shows how a particular setting will affect image quality, and all 3D settings are clearly listed.

We should also note that virtually every option has a description and a typical usage scenario listed at the bottom of the main window. And in the left column, recent and related tasks are listed along with a complete help section. These changes and additions make navigating the control panel significantly easier.

Tags: Nvidia, GeForce, X2, Forceware, force, 7950, id, AR

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com