NVIDIA: New graphics drivers brings Optimus improvements

The new Verde 258.96 driver for laptops finally offers a tool for end users to check the Optimus status of their system.

Optimus Status in the task bar

All programs are shown that use the dedicated GPU.

Manual Optimus profile updates should be possible.

The user can activate the new taskbar icon in the Nvidia Control Panel. A click on this icon reveals the current Optimus status and the programs that use the dedicated Nvidia GPU. In our tests with the Asus UL50Vf (Optimus with GeForce G210M), the new icon worked as it should and was a welcomed improvement.

A further improvement is the possibility to manually trigger an update of the Optimus profiles. Sadly this did not work with out Asus pre-sample, and the version still remained from 7-9-2010.

Other changes in Version 258.96

• Adds support for GeForce GTX 480M notebook GPUs.
• Upgrades PhysX System Software to version 9.10.0224.
• Upgrades HD Audio driver version 1.0.15.0 (for supported GPUs).
• Includes numerous bug fixes. Refer to the release notes on the documentation tab for information about the key bug fixes in this release.