We have a discussion thread open on these drivers right here.
In October's GeForce 310.33 beta driver we improved performance by up to 15% in nine games, and this time we’re improving performance by up to 37% in twenty-one games. Leading the charge in 310.70 is a 37% boost for Far Cry 3, followed by a 26% boost for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, an 18% boost for The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, a 17% boost for Assassin’s Creed III, and a 12% boost for Battlefield 3.
Please note that performance improvements benefit all GeForce GTX graphics cards, though obviously to varying degrees. We would of course love to show how our optimizations benefit the entire range of GeForce GTX GPUs, but sadly this is unfeasible given the number of benchmarks required. For example, for each GPU and game you test include a before and after benchmark to show the level of improvement, then multiply the number of tests by the number of resolutions, three, and then again by the number of different detail levels and anti-aliasing modes tested. Then, finally, to verify the results, run everything again to ensure there were no anomalies. With so many GPUs in our lineup, even focusing exclusively on the most popular models would prove impossible in the time between a driver being finalized, and released.
Performance Improvement Benchmarks
In Far Cry 3, we maxed out the game's many graphics options, selected SSAO Ambient Occlusion (an excellent balance between performance and fidelity), set the game's version of Transparency Supersampling to "Standard", and enabled 8xMSAA to eliminate aliased edges.
With 310.70 installed, performance improved by up to 37.8%, helping the GTX 670 and GTX 680 achieve playable frame rates at this highly demanding detail level.
Below, we detail the two-dozen other optimizations packed into the 310.70 drivers, using the GeForce GTX 680 and GeForce GTX 660.
GeForce R310 Drivers:
GeForce GTX 680:
GeForce GTX 660: