Best driver version for Nvidia 8600?

[timg11]

I have an NVidia 8600 video card (GIGABYTE GV-NX86T256H) in my HTPC system running XP.

I have learned the hard way that with NVidia drivers, newer is not better. Essential capabilities for HTPC use are either removed or broken in newer versions. (eg overscan compensation and S-Video output capability)

I'm having difficulty getting SageTV to work properly. It has been suggested to upgrade the drivers. I'm using 158.27, which came with the card from Gigabyte.

What NVidia version are people on the forum using successfully with 8600-based Nvidia cards?

[Polypro]

I just upgraded a bunch of stuff yesterday (Java, Xonar, and NVIDIA) and went with the latest 178.24 off the site. I removed the driver, ran Driver Sweeper, re-booted. No problems. Everything worked fine. I switched to the NVIDIA controls for video appearance, set it to "Full" (0-255) and ArcSoft & Sage levels are the same (16-235). 8600GT with Vista32.

P

[timg11]

Do you use the S-video output on your card? I sometimes want to generate NTSC compatible standard definition video using the S-Video output. When I tried recent drivers, the S-video output did not work. Had to go back to an older version.

[Polypro]

No, DVI>HDMI (Sharp 52") only.

P

[timg11]

I tried 178.24, and it helps with MPEG2 video playback, but the overscan compensation is broken. It has a "Resize Desktop" function for the HDTV, which displays an adjustment screen. But when clicking OK or Apply, nothing happens. The overscan remains the same.

I can compensate in the SageTV UI, but for any other windows program, the title bar, scroll bars, and task bar are off-screen.

The process of uninstalling Nvidia drivers, booting to safe mode, running driver sweeper, rebooting to normal mode, installing the next Nvidia driver and then rebooting again is is rather time consuming. I would hate to have to try every version of NVidia driver one by one to see if any work with SageTV and support overscan compensation as well as a functional S-Video output.

[jerryt]

171.20 works great for me with a 8600 gts

[timg11]

So you have used the "Resize Desktop" function on your HDTV screen and caused the Windows Desktop to become fully visible despite the HDTV's overscan? When you click OK, you see the desktop change size? I hope so!

[timg11]

Originally Posted by jerryt

171.20 works great for me with a 8600 gts

Can you point me to where I can find 171.20 for XP 32 bit? I can only find this release in a Vista version.

[jerryt]

Originally Posted by timg11

Can you point me to where I can find 171.20 for XP 32 bit? I can only find this release in a Vista version.

I am running Vista.

[Polypro]

I just installed 178.24 on a friends HTPC that is connected to a Mitz DLP display. I had to use Re-size my desktop and it worked. I do remember having to guess at the sliders as the slider screen and desktop weren't in perfect sync, but it did work. Guess you can't swap for an LCD, huh?

P