(guru3d) Want new drivers? Must use Geforce Experience to get them

[Phynaz]

Next step - pay a subscription fee for driver updates.

 

[Golgatha]

I have 4 desktops and 2 laptops that all have nVidia hardware in them. I like to download the notebook and desktop versions of each driver once, throw them on a shared network drive, and update each computer. This is going to be really, really annoying for me.

 

[KentState]

Didn't realize there was such a hatred for GFE. I know I had problems with it crashing, but has been stable for the last 8 months at least on my desktop and laptop. The notification tray icon changes when a new driver is available. From there I can manually trigger an update which allows for a clean install option. Must be lucky that it works smoothly for me.

 

[n0x1ous]

Didn't realize there was such a hatred for GFE. I know I had problems with it crashing, but has been stable for the last 8 months at least on my desktop and laptop. The notification tray icon changes when a new driver is available. From there I can manually trigger an update which allows for a clean install option. Must be lucky that it works smoothly for me.

Really annoying for those that have multiple machines to update. Will have to download the driver multiple times for no good reason.

Keys - make sure you tell your contacts how asinine we all think this is.

 

[DarkKnightDude]

GFE has a tendency to be annoyingly unstable for me. It keeps crashing or freezing. Which is a shame because I like using Shadowplay.

 

[KentState]

Really annoying for those that have multiple machines to update. Will have to download the driver multiple times for no good reason.

Keys - make sure you tell your contacts how asinine we all think this is.

I have multiple machines and doesn't really bother me. Not like a driver is released weekly. Takes maybe 30 seconds to download it on each machine. I'm sure you can still grab it from C:\NVIDIA\DisplayDriver if you need to redistribute it locally. To me, the biggest issue is having to register with Nvidia to get a driver.

 

[LTC8K6]

Now that I think about it, the constant driver updates do irritate me since they mostly don't apply to me at all.

A quarterly update for non-gamers sounds about right.

But forcing GFE on the gamers is just wrong.

 

[master_shake_]

The drivers gfe downloads go in to a folder in its directory why not just post them on the internet to download?

 

[VirtualLarry]

The drivers gfe downloads go in to a folder in its directory why not just post them on the internet to download?

I imagine Nvidia would issue DMCA takedown notices to anyone hosting them.

Sad, though. This will just push privacy-conscious users to download drivers from shady sites all over the internet, since NVidia won't let you download them directly from them anymore.

I really don't see any good coming from this idea.

Edit: Does this mean that NVidia will go after Guru3D.com for hosting NV drivers? Will the previous driver archive be forced to be taken down?

 

[mikeymikec]

GeForce Experience will be the preferred “first access” distribution mechanism for NVIDIA’s frequent driver updates.

IMO this means that when nvidia releases a new driver, it will be released on GFE before the website.

While I agree that it's petty and stupid to do something like this and that they're hoping (like MS with its Store) to create footfall through its app, does it matter greatly? Unless they make website users wait something absurd like 3-6 months before updating the site.

I don't know about you all but once I've got a working driver I tend to stick with it.

I wonder whether this is part of a move that most tech companies seemingly want - "welcome to the Internet, not available via http and a browser but proprietary gateway systems".

 

[Sabrewings]

Meh, doesn't bother me. I don't usually need the latest game ready drivers, and I already have GFE for shadowplay. Moving on...

 

[tidy]

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[Elixer]

You know, unless nvidia is even more shady than I thought after all their shenanigans, do they plan on freezing the drivers that MS pushes via windows update?

I would think that MS would have a thing or two to say about be locked out of the ability to push WHQL drivers.

I am thinking people will have to wait for windows update, or use the GFE crap to get new drivers.

 

[Teizo]

There is really no way to spin it to make it sound good. Removing choice is not good.

You can't be the gaming enthusiast choice and not allow people to have the ability to chose what they want to install. GFE may be good software, but it should be good enough that people WANT to install it vs having to install it. Plus, several of the background processes interfere with MSI Afterburner.

 

[tidy]

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[BFG10K]

nVidia’s move is unacceptable. They’re essentially DRM’ing graphics drivers, the equivalent of what Razer does with their peripherals, except Razer doesn’t have $1000 parts.

So we pay $1000 for the privilege of being data-mined and having to "authenticate" bloated garbage. At least Windows 10 is free when it tries to data-mine you. And the NSA doesn't require the GE trojan to be installed, they just mine you from the outside.

There needs to be backlash against this in the form of a complete boycott of GE, and posting detailed threads when users run into problems with new games. Add 1-star reviews to the likes of Amazon and Newegg, and reviewers should only use website drivers when reviewing nVidia products.

These actions would quickly make nVidia put their tail between their legs.

Keysplayer, here's your opportunity to put your Nvidia affiliation to good use.

Comedy gold, thanks for the laughs! :awe:

 

[VirtualLarry]

nVidia’s move is unacceptable.

There needs to be backlash against this in the form of a complete boycott of GE, and posting detailed threads when users run into problems with new games. Add 1-star reviews to the likes of Amazon and Newegg, and reviewers should only use website drivers when reviewing nVidia products.

Agreed!

 

[Ranulf]

Utterly insane move by nvidia.

 

[tential]

Didn't realize there was such a hatred for GFE. I know I had problems with it crashing, but has been stable for the last 8 months at least on my desktop and laptop. The notification tray icon changes when a new driver is available. From there I can manually trigger an update which allows for a clean install option. Must be lucky that it works smoothly for me.

The vast majority of people love it. It's part of the reason Nvidia keeps people upgrading and people dislike AMD. AMD works fine for an enthusiast willing to put the time in. For a casual user, AMD vs Nvidia? Nvidia wins. The Nvidia Ecosystem works better, and Nvidia is CONTINUING to invest in it.
When I bought my R9 290, the seller was stuck on an old driver firmware from before 14.12, but Ratpr told him it was the latest. He said "I can't upgrade, Raptr says it's the latest." So people rely on these things. We don't, but many consumers do.
He sold his R9 290, and bought a GTX 970.


Honestly, I won't be surprised if we see a huge difference in how Nvidia does business compared to AMD. I think Nvidia is going to really double down on their ecosystem (Gsync, Shadowplay, GFE, Shield, etc. etc. etc.), while AMD will be a more "Open" experience. And I don't mean "Open" to mean better, but I mean that it will require you to download additional programs, tinker more, etc. to make it work, but may offer more flexibility because of that, but also more points of failure compared to a polished Nvidia ecosystem.

At the end of the day, I think everyone will suck it up and just go with it. Because honestly, you don't have a choice. People aren't switching to AMD just because game ready drivers are behind a GFE account. You'll whine and complain sure, but there is no alternative you can really do.

 

[Shmee]

Hmm, seems like a pretty shady move. Now, I have no problem using GFE, I use it on my laptop to update the drivers, but this is just a single laptop, not my main rig. I would not want to have to DL the same driver several times if I had several nvidia rigs.

Also, the email address thing I can see could definitely be a problem.

Before this, I have been pretty open minded towards nvidia or AMD, and would go with the best option based on what I needed in performance, features, and price, and the last few gens I have used AMD Radeon cards. I was even considering going back to Nvidia with Pascal, depending on features and SLI performance and the AMD competition.

I can honestly say now, I cannot recommend nvidia anymore to anyone. Not after this, and this is far from the first shady move. Its just the last straw for me.

Going forward, I will always caution away from nvidia, not just for this reason, or for the sake of the buyer, but for the sake of the entire enthusiast ecosystem. We should vote with our wallets, and not allow this to happen, if at all possible.

Also, I would encourage you all to mail/email your local and congressional officials, so that maybe we could pressure our government to encourage more competition and fairness in the industry, and promote a better selection in the market for consumers.

I understand not everyone will agree on the role of government here; I hate big government as much as the next guy. But sometimes when something this ridiculous happens, and we care about it, it is time for us, the people, who our government is for, to make ourselves heard. Sometimes we need a bit of government to keep big business in line. Please support AMD and competition in the tech industry.

 

[Arachnotronic]

This doesn't seem like a good idea.

 

[tential]

Hmm, seems like a pretty shady move. Now, I have no problem using GFE, I use it on my laptop to update the drivers, but this is just a single laptop, not my main rig. I would not want to have to DL the same driver several times if I had several nvidia rigs.

Also, the email address thing I can see could definitely be a problem.

Before this, I have been pretty open minded towards nvidia or AMD, and would go with the best option based on what I needed in performance, features, and price, and the last few gens I have used AMD Radeon cards. I was even considering going back to Nvidia with Pascal, depending on features and SLI performance and the AMD competition.

I can honestly say now, I cannot recommend nvidia anymore to anyone. Not after this, and this is far from the first shady move. Its just the last straw for me.

Going forward, I will always caution away from nvidia, not just for this reason, or for the sake of the buyer, but for the sake of the entire enthusiast ecosystem. We should vote with our wallets, and not allow this to happen, if at all possible.

Also, I would encourage you all to mail/email your local and congressional officials, so that maybe we could pressure our government to encourage more competition and fairness in the industry, and promote a better selection in the market for consumers.

I understand not everyone will agree on the role of government here; I hate big government as much as the next guy. But sometimes when something this ridiculous happens, and we care about it, it is time for us, the people, who our government is for, to make ourselves heard. Sometimes we need a bit of government to keep big business in line. Please support AMD and competition in the tech industry.

Why caution EVERY person to stay away from Nvidia?
I think this is GREAT for casual users. Why should some casual user have to worry about driver installs?

This is simply another difference between how AMD and Nvidia do business.

But this was never a move to get you as a consumer to buy. You weren't the intended target. The targets are t he casual users who are having issues with AMD drivers like the person I encountered. With that user, GFE is an easy sell. Actually, GFE is something I ALWAYS hear about from casual Nvidia users.

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Personally, I don't care as if I did use an Nvidia card, I'd just use the ecosystem. And if I have an AMD card, I just won't update until I feel like I need to.
I'd still buy the best card possible.
However, because Freesync is on 50 inch + monitors, I'm only buying AMD. So I'll just deal with the driver situation I'm in really. I'm not a huge driver control freak, and I think Nvidia is banking on the fact that 95% of their user base is probably like that as well and they can probably grab a good chunk of AMD's userbase that are fedup with AMD's drivers.

 

[LTC8K6]

Casual users are the ones who don't need the frequent hot fixes and game ready updates, though...

Casual users only need the quarterlies, so they don't need GFE.

 

[tential]

Casual users are the ones who don't need the frequent hot fixes and game ready updates, though...

Casual users only need the quarterlies, so they don't need GFE.

GFE does a lot more than just update drivers. The whole reason of GFE is so that they don't have to do things like download a quarterly driver update, or know what settings to pick for a game, etc.

 

[tidy]

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