Nvidia's New GeForce Experience 3.0 Requires Mandatory Registration (pcworld.com) 129
An anonymous reader writes: With the newly released GeForce Experience 3.0 software, Nvidia might irk some users. While you will still be able to download the drivers from their web site sans registration, You will now be required to register in order to use the GeForce Experience software While the Experience software does add some powerful streaming features for games and is "three times faster and consumes 50 percent less memory than the old GeForce Experience," it might seem like a bit of overkill for those users that only used the software to keep their drivers up to date.
Get used to it (Score:3, Insightful)
Information technology is good at eroding your consumer surplus. This is only the beginning.
Re: Get used to it (Score:3)
I don't have to get used to it. I have a perfectly good updater on Ubuntu and it doesn't require registration. I'm using the proprietary driver. My updater also updates everything so I don't have to have a million little icons in my lower right corner bugging me to upgrade, each with there own annoying dialogs and adware
Re:Get used to it (Score:4, Funny)
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I knew coming down from the trees was a bad idea.
Never should have crawled out of the ocean!
Bundled crapware can't install (Score:1)
Bundled crapware in the drivers can't install through deceptive practices if I don't feed it a throwaway email address?
Cool!
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Awesome, if I'd had this option earlier, I could've avoided installing this piece of shit that scans every single file on your computer at startup!
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Yes, it's crapware. ATI has the same thing. You think you're just getting an updated driver but you're getting a large chunk of software that wants to be your entire gaming front end, including social media and advertising. How's it know which games you own? It scans your drive... So now, if you don't want an online account so you can be tracked, then tough luck, be like one of those luddites who games without Nvidia looking over your shoulder.
Not useful (Score:2)
Considering that Nvidia released broken drivers that borked my computer *twice* this year, it's not even useful for that.
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Interesting. Are you running Beta drivers?
I always keep updated with their latest "release" drivers, so perhaps you could explain why I haven't ever had a single problem?
Re: Not useful (Score:1)
A while back one of their updates borked DisplayPort output on my 780 Ti. Reverting to a previous version wouldn't work and Nvidia said something about broken firmware update. No idea, I just know it took about 5 months to fix.
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Feels the same. A new driver introduced periodic stuttering in games and somehow destabilized the installer environment enough to make uninstalling the driver impossible. Had to reinstall Windows and have decided to just leave the original driver that works in place.
Re:Not useful (Score:5, Informative)
Just because you haven't had an issue, doesn't mean others have had the same experience.
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Of course, but I build my own PCs and over time have gone through maybe 10 different generations/models of nVidia GPUs on about 8 generations/versions of motherboard/CPUs. I game often and try many differnet things, and can tell you I've NEVER had a problem with nVidia drivers.
The alternative is AMD/ATI which without exception I've always found both their drivers and hardware blows chunks, especially under Linux.
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Of course, but I build my own PCs and over time have gone through maybe 10 different generations/models of nVidia GPUs on about 8 generations/versions of motherboard/CPUs. I game often and try many differnet things, and can tell you I've NEVER had a problem with nVidia drivers.
So you are like 99.999999 percent of users, and every Granma out there
You are just like the tool that brags about how Windows ten has never been a problem always updates perfectly, and is compelled for some reason to come in and brag about it whenever the hundreds of people who had a computer that worked one day, got a backup, and it broke on them. Thanks for being a boor, and completely unhelpful tool.
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> Thanks for being a boor, and completely unhelpful tool.
At least I'm not a fucking rude arrogant little dick like you.
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> Thanks for being a boor, and completely unhelpful tool.
At least I'm not a fucking rude arrogant little dick like you.
Says the guy who wrote to someone who has had problems:
I always keep updated with their latest "release" drivers, so perhaps you could explain why I haven't ever had a single problem?
Forgive my pointing it out to you, but you are doing a couple things there. You're asking a person to explain your personal experience, and it follows that you are calling him either lying or incompetent. Your answer is of zero help, and only feeds your ego.
It's called projection, my sweet tater, and I'm always happy to call out tools who do that.
Because in the end, your foolishly calling a person out that is merely pointing out that you are being
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And the contrary applies as well.
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Nvidia has been releasing shit drivers for a few years. They're still having TDR problems after the huge problem back in the early 600/late 500 series days. And went as far as to pay to have people's rigs shipped to California for testing. For the better part of a year they claimed it was "all the users problem" until they discovered that they were causing it by forcing the video card via drivers to drop the core voltage so low that it caused the TDR's. Now if you ask, you'll likely not get a clear answ
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5 years? It was 12 years ago when I dropped them. I couldn't stand their DirectX 8 regressions on Geforce2-4's (and not the crappy FX lineup suspiciously). And they NEVER fixed their palette slow bug or the text mode BSOD.
Can't really blame you on that, I've still got a Geforce 3 around here somewhere and really ATI could have had something against them for that period if they'd simply gotten their shit together with their drivers.
Funny though how all the negative nvidia comments are voted down though, almost like someone is really butthurt. Oh here's the thread on them wanting to have rigs and videocards shipped to them as well. [geforce.com] Including the whining from the fanboys that it's all the customers fault. Including a snippet [bluesnews.com]
AMD for the win! (Score:2)
AMD for the win!
Re:AMD for the win! (Score:4, Funny)
*ducks*
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...unless you wanna actually do anything stably, especially under Linux.
AMDGPU (Score:2)
Maybe you should upgrade your drivers:
AMD is pouring resources (documentation, and salary - i.e.: some developers are on AMD's own payroll) on the opensource driver stack.
Nowadays you have 2 solutions:
- the opensource driver which is fully functioning and not so bad on later hardware iteration. For the latest (Polaris) AMD actually managed to pull a fully functioning opensource driver within reasonable time - it was available on launch day! (even not necessarily in most disto - one might need to upgrade to
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Nah you're good, I'm done with fucking about trying AMD stuff to work and waiting on *soon* promises. I'll just stay with what always just works for me under Linux: Nvidia.
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I forgot which distri it was, Ubuntu or Mint, that refused to install properly with an nVidia card (had to resort to plugging the monitor into the CPU-provided VGA output to install it). So ... enjoy it if it works for you, some might have different experiences.
Don't get me wrong, nVidia's drivers are good, as soon as you get them to work, the problem is not with nVidia, it's with Distribution makers hell bent on disallowing third party closed source drivers.
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Yeah thats becuase most of the distros have switched to novueau instead of the nVidia binary blob just because its opensource. The fact that it doesn't actually work for shit and even crashes the display on X11 startup before you can even uninstall it seems to not even be a consideration with those morons.
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And that's the thing I don't get. Yes, I am very much in favor of OSS and yes, I am very willing to up up with certain shortcomings when it means that I get open and free software, so yes, ALSA and PulseAudio are ... ok, I can't say it, they're both shit, but I am willing to put up with it, ok? There, I said it.
But there is a point where we have to accept that 99% of the userbase out there does not give even a quarter of a shit about this all. They want "just works". Look at what walled-off, closed atrocity
Linux kernel (Score:2)
Look at what walled-off, closed atrocity Apple has made out of Unix, and the people buy it. Why? 'cause it works.
Fixed that for you.
Apple also runs an Unix, but it is based on BSD kernel (running atop of a Mach micro-kernel) instead of Linux. Very probably for licensing reasons (BSD vs, GPL).
Using CSS drivers on an equally proprietary piece of hardware is a VERY small price to pay to get more people to join the ranks of Linux users.
The problem is that you need *to be able* to run said CSS drivers. And that's where things get problematic.
You see, Linux is a different beast than Windows where people still run the same Windows XP 15 years later.
Linux kernel get improved/fixed/modified/modernized. Some API/ABI change.
For opensource drivers, that are part of the
Linux kernel ... (Score:2)
(continuing split)
support for 3D audio is barely there
The only manufacturer still making hardware with 3D Audio is Creative and they do put some half baked broken OpenAL drivers that might work when it doesn't crash everything (thanks for the effort, Creative... next time just release the docs to dev and throw some salary)
Nearly everything else is actually plain simple DAC hardware that is 100% handled by Asla and pulse (because there's no actual 3D hardware or anything. it just converts a 44100 or 48000 bitstream into analog signal).
All the
last filter split (Score:2)
I got 2 people in my group of friends (which isn't that big, those 2 are pretty much my closer circle of friends) who are anything but geeks (one a mechanic, one an artist) who BEG me to show them how to get away from Windows 'cause they don't want to deal with Win10 and all they do with their computers is pretty much playing games (and watching porn, of course). Now, doing the latter isn't the problem, but I can NOT at the current moment recommend to a non-technical person playing his games in Linux.
Current best bet are:
- follow closely what Valve is doing (both in term of software: Steam, and SteamOS - and in term of hardware: Steam controller)
- stick for now to a distro that is immensely popular: Ubuntu would be a somewhat good bet for now.
- stick to hardware that is immensly popular, and check online forums, etc.
- AMD since the Polaris generation is safe for out-of-box.
- check games that use an engine that is well ported on Linux (something popular like Unity / Unreal / Cryengine / older idTech / et
Kernel (Score:2)
The problem is that the kernel is always progressing.
So for the GeForce binary blob to work, you need to have an upgrade that works with the kernel version provided to you by your distro, which very often IS NOT available at the time of release.
Since Nvidia have discontinued their own 2D only "nv" driver, "nouveau" is the next best thing that is available in a modern kernel out-of-the box.
But that thing is developed by volunteers only, with nearly no help from Nvidia themselves.
So you're basically stuck to
Nvidia vs AMD (Score:2)
waiting on *soon* promises
Polaris is out there now.
Mesa 12.1 works with it right out of the box at OpenGL 4.3 level.
So unless you're on some ancient distro (e.g.: you're locked on some LTS cycle for version-stability reasons) you can have it right now.
(otherways you wait until *your distro upgrade*)
I'll just stay with what always just works for me under Linux: Nvidia.
You mean this piece of shit in my laptop which was a nightmare to upgrade with the official drivers (always needing to wait until Nvidia finally release an upgrade to the kernel driver to follow evolution of the upstream kernel) with very
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Yeah, 'cause Catalyst doesn't require you to sign up, subscribe or register for anything to make your system crap out.
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What the bleepin' fuck are you talking about?
I'd recommend that next time you don't simply go for the cheapest card that has "1080" in the name but actually try to get one that really integrates the GPU sensibly. There are vast quality differences between the various integrators and it's about time people finally accept that. Time and again I get to hear stories like yours from people who bought the cheapest, crappiest graphics card they could possibly find, from an integrator nobody has ever heard of (beca
YouTube (Score:2)
As an AMD user I can't confirm, but I've also heard that they force your shit to go to YouTube now. Fuck that.
Can we knock-off the data mining now? (Score:5, Interesting)
Hey Marketing and Execs,
You're not going to get any useful data out of things like this. Those people you've decided to ignore? The ones who brought up the statistics which made your eyes glaze over and your money-boner wilt? Well, they're correct. There's nothing new to be discovered in terms of trends or about the people purchasing your products. All the data you need about those people has already been captured at the point of sale. In fact, all you really need to know is the fact that you sold another one of your products. Forcing them to register a piece of spyware, and we really need to be honest that is what this is, isn't going to do anything but hurt you in the long term.
Now, you may be of the mindset that you're going to be out in another job in the next business cycle. That's fine, but just know that future employers are going to looking closer and closer at your results. If all you can show them is a net loss of Good Will (I'm talking about the accounting term here, not the general sentiment the purchasing public has towards your products, although that does play a factor in determining the value of said term) they're going to be much less inclined to hire you. So it's really in your own best interests if you take that step back, look at the larger picture of what's going on, and ask yourself if this is wisest decision you could be making on behalf of the brand and company that you're working for.
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most consumers will not notice, more data will be grabbed, valid or invalid projections will be made.
if your marketing research isn't as good as your competitors, that will be the blame because it couldn't be that the product is inferior its all about how you sell it.
not enough bodies care to speak with their wallets and heck look at win10 if you have that why even worry about any other spyware.
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To be clear, I hate spyware and forced registrations as much as anybody else. However, the things you've said are blatantly false.
You're not going to get any useful data out of things like this. Those people you've decided to ignore? The ones who brought up the statistics which made your eyes glaze over and your money-boner wilt? Well, they're correct. There's nothing new to be discovered in terms of trends or about the people purchasing your products. All the data you need about those people has already been captured at the point of sale. In fact, all you really need to know is the fact that you sold another one of your products. Forcing them to register a piece of spyware, and we really need to be honest that is what this is, isn't going to do anything but hurt you in the long term.
How many people are using DirectX 9 vs 10 vs 11. Which rendering functions are used most often, and thus should be optimized. Are they running in an environment where power usage should be conserved or where there is effectively limitless power?
I can think of dozens of questions with legitimate engineering purpose which are not clear at the point of sale. Don't pretend there is n
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Pure sophistry. NVIDIA already has this information, either directly via relationships w
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This is the same way where I see competing stores are now cooperating and linked with each other to sell you goods that one store doesn't have. Why else would this be? Seems datamini
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I used to feed fish@stream.net when I don't care about the email which I provide. Sadly, I can't confirm that email if that's required in the process..
Hey Nvidia... (Score:1)
Fuck you.
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And unlock virtualization limits in your drivers while you give yourself the post-coital reach-around
I've unchecked it during NVidia driver installatio (Score:4, Insightful)
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When it first came out I tried it and after discovering it's a complete waste of resources, I uninstalled it. For years now I have deliberately unchecked it during installation of NVidia drivers. I also turn off the system tray icon. I feel that drivers must just do their job quietly in the background without ever bothering me. For those twice a year occasions when I need to tweak something, it's a 1.5 seconds away in a start menu search.
This.
I install the driver and nothing else. I don't need nor want extra crap on my machine. Mandatory registration is just going to see more people figure out how to de-select it during install.
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I definitely prefer NVidia's low key control panel on my home machine over the flashy horrific mess that AMD puts on my work laptop.
I have a Radeon chip and somehow I managed to install the drivers with no control centre or anything. There's no indication of ATI stuff in the control panel, nothing in the systray, nothing in Display Properties -> Settings -> Advanced either.
All I can find is some .exes in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32
Used 13-1-legacy_xp32_dd_ccc_whql.exe (106 MB) to install it back when I did.
Just saying that a bare-driver installation is possible.
Bad Manners (Score:5, Interesting)
The only vaguely useful feature GeForce Experience provided was ShadowPlay, NVIIDA's own screen capture video recorder. However, there are plenty of third-party offerings that accomplish the same thing. I could create a fake ephemeral email address or hack the registry to make it work, but frankly the features it provides do not merit the effort. I have since uninstalled GeForce Experience 3.0, leaving just the drivers.
Now that they've (unnecessarily and gratuitously) made the cloud login mandatory, I would also be interested to see some security researchers dig in to GFE3 to see how well NVIDIA is protecting people's login credentials...
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Yep I had the same thing. Just delete GeForce Experience and install only the drivers. Problem fixed. Nothing of value is lost. If you want to stream or record your screen just download OBS.
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There is one thing GeForce Experience does that's useful, and it's the reason I have an nVidia card and use it.
Game streaming to nVidia Shield handheld devices. I can tether my Shield Portable to my phone's hotspot and play my PC games wherever I've got a good LTE signal.
I don't use it to raid in MMOs - not that it wouldn't work, it's just a bit too finicky for me to trust. I don't want the raid to wipe because I got a phone call and my hotspot dropped.
But I play all sorts of single player games with it, an
One less app to install (Score:1)
The GeForce experience software is a joke anyway. Oh, it can scan my disk and locate games and set the settings for me. What? It didn't detect that game, or that one, or that one, or that one...plus it's historically unstable, and offers NOTHING of value. I'll just not install that from now on. KThxBye
The previous version blows (Score:4, Informative)
I use 'the geforce experience', and my experience is crap.
Hit the upgrade button and the app appears to hang. No progress, no nothing. But it does seem to be downloading - I guess - since it snaps out of it sometime later.
All in all, I would absolutely not recommend it.
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Drivers can still be installed without Geforce Experience or registration.
Well.. Except for things like the Shield controller. Which also need the whole thing which also needs an Nvidia graphics card because.. Well.. Uhm.. Your USB game controller says Nvidia on it now doesn't it? Go be a good buy and buy an Nvidia video card.
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Perhaps on expereince 3.1 they could will offer higher screen resolutions at pay-per use basis? Or more than 256 colors with monthly subscription fee? The games could also have onscreen ad banners and videos, with sound of course.
No more GeForce experience. (Score:2)
From now on I'll just install the drivers. No more GeForce experience.
To be honest I've always found that its prtty much just bloatware anyway.
You know what's even faster and uses less memory? (Score:2)
Not installing the Geforce Experience in the first place.
I've been doing without it for years. Nothing seems to have broken as a result, and I suspect I saved myself a lot of nagging popups.
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Use an address @ aaathats3as.com .
Faster and less memory... (Score:1)
You know what is infinitely faster, and uses 100% less memory? Not installing the "GeForce Experience" at all. And, there's no registration required!
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Well, if you have to remember to uncheck it when you install the drivers, it's still using some memory.
Really? (Score:2)
Windows users should be used to this by now. Proprietary software users gave up their right to privacy long ago.
Why doesn't Windows Update do driver updates? (Score:2)
"it might seem like a bit of overkill for those users that only used the software to keep their drivers up to date."
You're seriously expected to have multiple update services running on your PC for each different piece of hardware? That doesn't sound too effective, convenient, or secure, and a nightmare to schedule (if the given tool even supports that functionality).
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Thanks for the info. That's a shame for the end user, it is a lot of hassle for the average person.
That's another thing that's odd about the Windows world to me, tweaking of the GPU pipeline for a specific game, these optimizations can't be in the game itself? A driver is supposed to open an interface to the hardware, not change instructions on the fly.
If there are all these fringe cases that need to be taken care of it seems unproductive to deal with them in an individual sense instead of creating a single
Tempest in a Teacup (Score:3)
It's optional software. Dont installed it if you dont want it.
That's one compelling feature (Score:2)
So it will only take an hour to start now? GeForce experience was the worst way to keep your drivers up to date. It was so horribly slow and bloated that by the time it took it to start you could have downloaded the new driver and installed it. Plus it had that weird incompatibility with Steam that would make it lock up until you shut down Steam.
Throwaway email account, fake name (Score:2)
On an tangentially associated subject, anyone know who owns 'somewhere.org' or 'nowhere.org'? I've always wanted email accounts for real at either of those domains.
Don't care (Score:2)
After having a rough time with a legacy Nvidia Drriver and Linux 4.4, I will never buy any system that has Nvidia until they supply a 100% GPL Open Source Driver. And this puts the last nail in the coffin.
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I love this new feature it has (Score:2)
Update = Uninstalled (Score:1)
After it updated itself and wanted me to login I just uninstalled.
I did use it a few times to update my drivers but a Chrome Bookmark could do the same job.
Uninstalling also removed another exclamation mark from my task tray
.
i installed it and it crashed (Score:1)
no joke.
it said i needed to upgrade my drivers.
i told it to go ahead and i got a the application has stopped working crash.
uninstalled it, been installing the drivers by hand whenever i feel like it.
weird.