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Nvidia GPU software

Dagon

Dagon

Dagon

Associate
Joined
2 Jan 2007
Posts
78
I've just built a pc with my first ever Nvidia GPU and I'm in a quandary as to what software to install. In the past I've just used AMD Radeon Adrenaline, but there seems to be loads of stuff for an Nvidia GPU. I don't really want to install everything so was after some advice really. Ideally I'd just install one or two things, here's what I've found:

Windows installed automatically
Nvidia Control Panel - seems a bit bare-bones

On the Asus website
Armoury Crate
Asus GPU Tweak III
NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready Drivers v552.22

On the Nvidia website
GeForce Experience
GeForce Game Ready Driver v555.99 - looks to be newer than the one from the Asus website

Other
MSI Afterburner - looks interesting but my card is Asus not MSI
 
Nvidia CP and MSI Afterburner for things like monitoring, undervolting, custom fan curves, oc'ing etc.

Afterburner will work with anything, the manufacturer software for most brands is garbage by comparison.

Get your drivers directly from the Nvidia website.
 
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Dagon said:
I've just built a pc with my first ever Nvidia GPU and I'm in a quandary as to what software to install. In the past I've just used AMD Radeon Adrenaline, but there seems to be loads of stuff for an Nvidia GPU. I don't really want to install everything so was after some advice really. Ideally I'd just install one or two things, here's what I've found:

Windows installed automatically
Nvidia Control Panel - seems a bit bare-bones

On the Asus website
Armoury Crate
Asus GPU Tweak III
NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready Drivers v552.22

On the Nvidia website
GeForce Experience
GeForce Game Ready Driver v555.99 - looks to be newer than the one from the Asus website

Other
MSI Afterburner - looks interesting but my card is Asus not MSI
Click to expand...
On the Nvidia website, you will find they have a beta program called Nvidia App. It replaces GeForce Experience and many people like it for features.

As a bonus, the Nvidia App does not require registration from memory. GeForce Experience is always asking you to register.
 
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nvidia control panel has more granular parameters/settings available than adrenalin, dont know if you could call that bare bones
you could also download the bloatware called nvidia app (also serves ads like adrenalin), though it doesnt add anything new thats not already available in windows or nvidia control panel

edit: for OC theres msi afterburner, available on guru3d, lets you set a detailed voltage curve and limit or exceed official power limits
 
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pete910 said:
For instance ?

Genuinely curious as don't use either .
Click to expand...

for instance the 3d settings alone has around 30 different settings, with granular controls around texture filtering/antialiasing performance
other than that the control panel exposes many more display controls than adrenalin with the ability to set/change resolution, scaling methods etc. down to the minutiae

nvidia doesnt have an equivalent for afmf, its more of a strategic thing where nvidia wants this implemented through devs rather than through drivers, "upgrading" to the shiny new nvidia app will not fix this
on the other hand, nvidia has very nicely implemented vsync setting with the ability to lock fps to half refresh rates, works with all games.. also, comes in handy for games that dont have a vsync setting, as its forced through drivers and overrides the game settings
amd too has a vanilla vsync setting but it only works on opengl games, if a non-opengl game does not have a vsync setting then it will just not work

for OC nvidia users typically use afterburner, its a lightweight app that can apply settings at startup without the need to load the app and provides a very good framework for OC through the use of a detailed voltage curve
 
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brostradamus said:
for instance the 3d settings alone has around 30 different settings, with granular controls around texture filtering/antialiasing performance
other than that the control panel exposes many more display controls than adrenalin with the ability to set/change resolution, scaling methods etc. down to the minutiae

nvidia doesnt have an equivalent for afmf, its more of a strategic thing where nvidia wants this implemented through devs rather than through drivers, "upgrading" to the shiny new nvidia app will not fix this
on the other hand, nvidia has very nicely implemented vsync setting with the ability to lock fps to half refresh rates, works with all games.. also, comes in handy for games that dont have a vsync setting, as its forced through drivers and overrides the game settings
amd too has a vanilla vsync setting but it only works on opengl games, if a non-opengl game does not have a vsync setting then it will just not work

for OC nvidia users typically use afterburner, its a lightweight app that can apply settings at startup without the need to load the app and provides a very good framework for OC through the use of a detailed voltage curve
Click to expand...

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brostradamus said:
for instance the 3d settings alone has around 30 different settings, with granular controls around texture filtering/antialiasing performance
other than that the control panel exposes many more display controls than adrenalin with the ability to set/change resolution, scaling methods etc. down to the minutiae

nvidia doesnt have an equivalent for afmf, its more of a strategic thing where nvidia wants this implemented through devs rather than through drivers, "upgrading" to the shiny new nvidia app will not fix this
on the other hand, nvidia has very nicely implemented vsync setting with the ability to lock fps to half refresh rates, works with all games.. also, comes in handy for games that dont have a vsync setting, as its forced through drivers and overrides the game settings
amd too has a vanilla vsync setting but it only works on opengl games, if a non-opengl game does not have a vsync setting then it will just not work

for OC nvidia users typically use afterburner, its a lightweight app that can apply settings at startup without the need to load the app and provides a very good framework for OC through the use of a detailed voltage curve
Click to expand...
Got a pic of the equivalent of NV's panel ?

To be honest there are more options in AMD's than I thought. Though I had noticed none are being used :cry:
 
pete910 said:
Got a pic of the equivalent of NV's panel ?

To be honest there are more options in AMD's than I thought. Though I had noticed none are being used :cry:
Click to expand...
in that case nvidia's control panel is going to blow your mind..

Manage 3D Settings (reference)

www.nvidia.com
and the vsync setting is fully functional, meanwhile amd here:
Code: 
Note! Wait for Vertical Refresh only works OpenGL 3D applications. When using other APIs such as DirectX® or Vulkan®, VSync is controlled via the 3D application graphics settings

and 3d settings is just a sub-section, heres a full tour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PNgfVVifTw

the point i wish to make is that nvidia's control panel is not bare bones, and you dont really need that bloatware called nvidia app (other than to serve ads). nvidia doesnt need to emulate amd in the software department, and i hope the nvidia app doesnt become mandatory ever
 
brostradamus said:
in that case nvidia's control panel is going to blow your mind..

Manage 3D Settings (reference)

www.nvidia.com
and the vsync setting is fully functional, meanwhile amd here:
Code: 
Note! Wait for Vertical Refresh only works OpenGL 3D applications. When using other APIs such as DirectX® or Vulkan®, VSync is controlled via the 3D application graphics settings

and 3d settings is just a sub-section, heres a full tour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PNgfVVifTw

the point i wish to make is that nvidia's control panel is not bare bones, and you dont really need that bloatware called nvidia app (other than to serve ads). nvidia doesnt need to emulate amd in the software department, and i hope the nvidia app doesnt become mandatory ever
Click to expand...
So what you are saying is you still want to run windows 98 as that's what the NV control panel is. A proper dinosaur.
 
i havent used windows 98, but i dont like redundant stuff lying on my computer. for example i keep my gaming and other activities separate on different devices
also the control panel has been perfected over so many years, the transition might not be as seamless as people expect
and i dont even need the control panel, editing a text file for the settings to stick would be a perfect implementation
 
brostradamus said:
i havent used windows 98, but i dont like redundant stuff lying on my computer. for example i keep my gaming and other activities separate on different devices
also the control panel has been perfected over so many years, the transition might not be as seamless as people expect
and i dont even need the control panel, editing a text file for the settings to stick would be a perfect implementation
Click to expand...
AMD's software works really fast and is up to date with all you need. If i want to do anything with my gpu it's all in there. For me it's a great tool and have never needed afterburner or any other software. Like you say though once everything is in place i don't need it but it's nice to have if i want to tinker. With Nvidia you need other apps to have full control. They seem to be rectifying this though but for the market leader they should do.
 
i am fine as long as it is optional, nothing to prevent other sheeps for picking up suboptimal application rather than the ability to pck and choose the best in class for a particular use case. for the OP here i would still recommend the combo of control panel + afterburner as is my personal preference.. the control panel is not bare bones, more like substance over style
 
brostradamus said:
i am fine as long as it is optional, nothing to prevent other sheeps for picking up suboptimal application rather than the ability to pck and choose the best in class for a particular use case. for the OP here i would still recommend the combo of control panel + afterburner as is my personal preference.. the control panel is not bare bones, more like substance over style
Click to expand...
You wouldn't need afterburner so AMD has more substance with the style. Everything is in there and you wouldn't know it was there unless you wanted to use it. It's not bloatware in the slightest it does everything and there is no draw back from what i have experienced.
 
TheRealDeal said:
You wouldn't need afterburner so AMD has more substance with the style. Everything is in there and you wouldn't know it was there unless you wanted to use it. It's not bloatware in the slightest it does everything and there is no draw back from what i have experienced.
Click to expand...

this is not about amd, amd's the best as always (which is common knowledge)
this was more about the best solution to OPs problem concerning a nvidia card.. and that the OP's perception about nvidia control panel being bare bones is misplaced
 
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brostradamus said:
this is not about amd, amd's the best as always (which is common knowledge)
this was more about the best solution to OPs problem concerning a nvidia card.. and that the OP's perception about nvidia control panel being bare bones is misplaced
Click to expand...
I would say the control panel is not bare bones as it can do the majority but it's not close to AMD's which is virtually fully featured. In this day and age he should not have to worry about installing other apps. It's been a while since i have read about it but don't Nvidia have the Geforce experience app that you have to sign up for. From what i remember it has plenty more features but you still use control panel along with it. Just depends if you want to give them your details.
 
brostradamus said:
in that case nvidia's control panel is going to blow your mind..

Manage 3D Settings (reference)

www.nvidia.com
and the vsync setting is fully functional, meanwhile amd here:
Code: 
Note! Wait for Vertical Refresh only works OpenGL 3D applications. When using other APIs such as DirectX® or Vulkan®, VSync is controlled via the 3D application graphics settings

and 3d settings is just a sub-section, heres a full tour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PNgfVVifTw

the point i wish to make is that nvidia's control panel is not bare bones, and you dont really need that bloatware called nvidia app (other than to serve ads). nvidia doesnt need to emulate amd in the software department, and i hope the nvidia app doesnt become mandatory ever
Click to expand...

I don't see anything in there that i don't have.

Can you set GPU and CPU overclocks and custom screen setting by customisable on launch game profiles?
 
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