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First post, by akula65

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End of NVIDIA Driver Support for 32-bit Operating Systems Answer ID 4604 Updated 12/21/2017 04:23 PM When is the NVIDIA driver e […]
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End of NVIDIA Driver Support for 32-bit Operating Systems
Answer ID 4604
Updated 12/21/2017 04:23 PM
When is the NVIDIA driver ending support for 32-bit operating systems?

After Release 390, NVIDIA will no longer release drivers for 32-bit operating systems(1) for any GPU architecture. Later driver release versions will not operate, nor install, on 32-bit operating systems. Driver enhancements, driver optimizations, and operating system features in driver versions after Release 390 will not be incorporated back into Release 390 or earlier versions. This impacts the following operating systems:

Microsoft Windows 7
Microsoft Windows 8/8.1
Microsoft Windows 10
Linux
FreeBSD

NVIDIA intends to support critical driver security fixes until January 2019. For more details on product security, see http://www.nvidia.com/security.

(1). Applicable to operating systems running on x64 and x32 CPU architectures.

Source: http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4604/

Reply 1 of 29, by DracoNihil

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This is really stupid.

Doesn't this mean 32-bit programs will nolonger beable to properly use OpenGL anymore?

“I am the dragon without a name…”
― Κυνικός Δράκων

Reply 2 of 29, by Ozzuneoj

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akula65 wrote:
End of NVIDIA Driver Support for 32-bit Operating Systems Answer ID 4604 Updated 12/21/2017 04:23 PM When is the NVIDIA driver e […]
Show full quote

End of NVIDIA Driver Support for 32-bit Operating Systems
Answer ID 4604
Updated 12/21/2017 04:23 PM
When is the NVIDIA driver ending support for 32-bit operating systems?

After Release 390, NVIDIA will no longer release drivers for 32-bit operating systems(1) for any GPU architecture. Later driver release versions will not operate, nor install, on 32-bit operating systems. Driver enhancements, driver optimizations, and operating system features in driver versions after Release 390 will not be incorporated back into Release 390 or earlier versions. This impacts the following operating systems:

Microsoft Windows 7
Microsoft Windows 8/8.1
Microsoft Windows 10
Linux
FreeBSD

NVIDIA intends to support critical driver security fixes until January 2019. For more details on product security, see http://www.nvidia.com/security.

(1). Applicable to operating systems running on x64 and x32 CPU architectures.

Source: http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4604/

I must say, its probably pretty rare to have a currently supported Nvidia GPU on a currently supported (not XP) 32bit OS these days. Intel\Nvidia ION setups are probably one of the last 32bit only configurations with nvidia hardware, and those are quite rare (not to mention, the driver was last updated a year ago). For compatibility with older applications that require a 32bit OS on more modern hardware I would think that newer drivers wouldn't make any difference. Anyone here actually running a modern 32bit OS with the latest drivers to ensure stability with new software? How many new games are okay with having a 32bit OS and 3GB of RAM? 😮

Last edited by Ozzuneoj on 2017-12-25, 16:36. Edited 1 time in total.

Now for some blitting from the back buffer.

Reply 3 of 29, by konc

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This just means that 390 will be the last version to install on a 32 bit OS. I believe it won't cause any trouble to most users though. It's not probable that someone who buys a brand new gtx2000 in the future will want to install it on a PC with <4gb ram and a 32bit OS anf the other way around, there is really no need to constantly upgrade your drivers if you're stuck with an older card/PC/OS as future games won't run on it anyway.

Reply 4 of 29, by Ozzuneoj

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Frankly, I'm always amazed at how long nvidia provides driver support for their hardware and for older operating systems. The 8800GTX was officially supported and received updates until December of last year. That's 10 years of driver support!

Its also amazing that they still provide the downloads on their site. Most manufacturers seem to have this problem where they have to totally wipe out their website and start fresh every other year which leads to tons of broken download links or page redirects that go nowhere. I can download Riva 128ZX drivers for Windows 95 without having to go to third party sites. They even have a driver for Windows 3.11 listed on an older page if you look for the 95 driver. Basically, the only thing you can't find on nvidia's website would be NV1 drivers (or custom drivers for mobile parts, but you can get modified drivers from other sites easily).

Now for some blitting from the back buffer.

Reply 6 of 29, by Dominus

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DracoNihil wrote:

This is really stupid.

Doesn't this mean 32-bit programs will nolonger beable to properly use OpenGL anymore?

No, that’s not what this means. You can still use the 390 version, it’s not getting uninstalled...

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Reply 7 of 29, by agent_x007

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No Volta/Ampere for all those PGA478/LGA775 users with PCI-e slot and Northwood/Prescott based CPU without 64-bit support (or chipset with no 64-bit support) ?
Should have bought Athlon64s 😜

157143230295.png

Reply 8 of 29, by Matth79

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We're not likely to see 390 before 2018 now - and taking a look at Steam's survey...
Win7 X64 is the most popular at 69.89% ... followed by
Win10 X64 at 23.65%
Win8.1 X64 at 2.47%

Refocusing on just Windows, the total showing of 32 bit is just 2.02%, while the total showing of 3GB or less RAM is 4.81% ... the 3GB figure of 3.04% would suggest a good many 3GB systems are running 64 bit - logical as that may include 4GB systems being capped to 3 and a bit

Reply 9 of 29, by DracoNihil

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Dominus wrote:

No, that’s not what this means. You can still use the 390 version, it’s not getting uninstalled...

That doesn't really answer my question at all, but okay.

“I am the dragon without a name…”
― Κυνικός Δράκων

Reply 10 of 29, by Zup

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How does 64 bit systems manage 32 bits apps? Does DirectX get 32 bit calls and get wraps them into 64 bit drivers or does it need some kind of 32 bit pseudo-driver? What about OpenGL?

In Linux, you need some 32 bit shared libraries to execute 32 bit apps on Wine. Will Nvidia kill any 32 bit gaming in Linux?

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Sometimes going all the way is just a start...

I'm selling some stuff!

Reply 11 of 29, by BeginnerGuy

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DracoNihil wrote:

This is really stupid.

Doesn't this mean 32-bit programs will nolonger beable to properly use OpenGL

No this is the driver itself dropping 32 bit support. You'll still be able to run 32 bit binaries. Nvidia wouldn't dare break skyrim and by my guess over 95% of all games on steam/gog.

Sup. I like computers. Are you a computer?

Reply 12 of 29, by spiroyster

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DracoNihil wrote:
Dominus wrote:

No, that’s not what this means. You can still use the 390 version, it’s not getting uninstalled...

That doesn't really answer my question at all, but okay.

As in, 390 supports up to OpenGL 4.6 (the latest), so unless you uninstall it (or earlier driver), openGL will continue to work fine. In terms of OpenGL, this announcement only affects applications running on 32-bit OS that require extensions from 4.6 or later. In those scenarios, those applications will no doubt have alternate paths anyhow... or use Vulkan. 4.6 doesn't introduce anything that can't be done already in 4.5, however it does now support SPIR-V (Vulkan shaders), which could be kinda good as one can use Vulkan shaders without going through the ball-ache of maintaining Vulkan contexts (which are A LOT heavier to develop for than OpenGL contexts).

[EDIT:] Although, having said that... if you already have SPIR-V shaders, you probably are already utilising Vulkan, which means you probably already have a GL driver (with GLSL shaders) or have skipped GL altogether, so it's a bit ... meh. New applications can use the sames compiled shaders, and fall back on a GL context now if desired... this is a very small use case though since vulkan is supported on most 4.X hardware anyhow (since ~2012 ish?)....

Zup wrote:

How does 64 bit systems manage 32 bits apps? Does DirectX get 32 bit calls and get wraps them into 64 bit drivers or does it need some kind of 32 bit pseudo-driver? What about OpenGL?

In Linux, you need some 32 bit shared libraries to execute 32 bit apps on Wine. Will Nvidia kill any 32 bit gaming in Linux?

32-bit and 64-bit applications require 32-bit and 64-bit libs respectively.
more info: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1236670/h … 64-bits-windows

OpenGL isn't going anywhere soon, however its usage in games has been surpassed by Vulkan, so its future is purely for perhaps legacy applications, or other applications which favour a higher level API (CAD). The advantages you get from Vulkan come at a maintenance and development cost, which in some cases, just isn't worth it when GL will give you enough performance with a fraction of the code.

Reply 13 of 29, by Asaki

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This impacts the following operating systems: […]
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This impacts the following operating systems:

Microsoft Windows 7
Microsoft Windows 8/8.1
Microsoft Windows 10
Linux
FreeBSD

Oh good, XP is safe =)

Reply 15 of 29, by Unknown_K

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16 bit support in Windows lasted a LONG time, so 32 bit will also. How much RAM do you have on a Win 7 32 bit system when you Install a 4GB video card?

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Reply 16 of 29, by Scali

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Zup wrote:

How does 64 bit systems manage 32 bits apps? Does DirectX get 32 bit calls and get wraps them into 64 bit drivers or does it need some kind of 32 bit pseudo-driver? What about OpenGL?

Yes, there's a sort of 32-bit pseudo-driver, which interfaces with the 64-bit low-level driver.
So, NV is not killing off 32-bit support altogether. They just stop building the driver package for 32-bit OSes. So from now on, you need a 64-bit OS to get the latest support for 32-bit and 64-bit applications.

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Reply 17 of 29, by agent_x007

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Unknown_K wrote:

16 bit support in Windows lasted a LONG time, so 32 bit will also. How much RAM do you have on a Win 7 32 bit system when you Install a 4GB video card?

The same ammount if you install a 3GB VRAM one : LINK
Actual ammount depends on hardware and driver/BIOS settings.
Normally it should be between 3GB-3,45GB (with one PCIe card).

Because PCI-e video cards always take 256MB* of RAM per card (no more/no less).
*I checked on 32-bit OS with 4GB of RAM installed.

When this VRAM + RAM = Total 32-bit adress ammount myth will die...

157143230295.png

Reply 18 of 29, by DosDaddy

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200sg7t.jpg
I quit updating Forceware back when they began trying to replace the old menu with that vile, stiff, bloated piece of garbage that came afterwards, and the only real drawback so far has been the lack of support for certain shader functionality which's very poor on these old cards anyways.

Two Forceware 94.24 distributions exist. This is the earlier, less common one which didn't contain a trace of the new menu and unlike the later version, is actually properly signed.

End of support my arse.

Reply 19 of 29, by Iris030380

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Ozzuneoj wrote:

Frankly, I'm always amazed at how long nvidia provides driver support for their hardware and for older operating systems. The 8800GTX was officially supported and received updates until December of last year. That's 10 years of driver support!

Its also amazing that they still provide the downloads on their site. Most manufacturers seem to have this problem where they have to totally wipe out their website and start fresh every other year which leads to tons of broken download links or page redirects that go nowhere. I can download Riva 128ZX drivers for Windows 95 without having to go to third party sites. They even have a driver for Windows 3.11 listed on an older page if you look for the 95 driver. Basically, the only thing you can't find on nvidia's website would be NV1 drivers (or custom drivers for mobile parts, but you can get modified drivers from other sites easily).

Really? Just months after the release of Pascal Nvidia announced "Critical updates and support only" going forward for Maxwell, their previous cards! No more optimizations. My friend had just put £600 into a brand new TOP END Gtx980Ti only 6 months before Nvidia dropped support for his card!

Nvidia are the worst! AMD / ATI continue to support their cards from a decade ago, with performance of the 7870 eventually passing the GTX960, the R9 290 beating the 970 outright and catching the 980, and the 390X dominating the 980 and snapping at the heels of the 980Ti / 1070 in Vulkan!

Nvidia do not support their customers, or have drive to support their old hardware. They want you to constantly buy their new product, even if you bought £600 top end gear less than a year ago.

I5-2500K @ 4.0Ghz + R9 290 + 8GB DDR3 1333 :: I3-540 @ 4.2 GHZ + 6870 4GB DDR3 2000 :: E6300 @ 2.7 GHZ + 1950XTX 2GB DDR2 800 :: A64 3700 + 1950PRO AGP 2GB DDR400 :: K63+ @ 550MHZ + V2 SLI 256 PC133:: P200 + MYSTIQUE / 3Dfx 128 PC66