TNT2 Drivers: Benefits for TNT Users

The OpenGL performance of the TNT actually dropped using the TNT2 drivers, a situation similar to that which happened with the initial release of the Detonator drivers for the TNT which, by the way, work on the TNT2 as well, although yield a much lower performance score.

Here's where you see the greatest improvement in performance, the performance of the TNT with the updated drivers is considerably higher than with the older Detonator drivers. It looks like a little more than TNT2 support went into the latest 0172 drivers from NVIDIA. Unfortunately these drivers won't see the light of day until at least a little while longer, the drivers that shipped with AnandTech's Leadtek board did not perform as well as the 0172 revision from NVIDIA.

The TNT2 drivers show a performance increase here, even in the CPU intensive Descent3 Demo, the TNT using the TNT2 drivers provides a healthy 13% improvement in performance. Not bad for something that will eventually be released free of charge.

There you have it TNT owners, the TNT2 drivers, once they hit the web, will be a must have for all of you, especially if you want to tide yourself over until your next graphics card upgrade. Does this exposure of the driver enhancements change the view of the TNT2? Not really, since the TNT2 is still a fast performer, however in comparison to the original TNT, there are some gaps that have been somewhat shortened by the use of the TNT2 0172 drivers.

Just something to look forward to for all of you TNT owners out there, it's not something to discourage you from buying a TNT2 though, considering the performance improvement is not incredible to the point that it makes gameplay at higher resolutions any more playable.

It looks like the release of the TNT2 will have its benefits even for those not considering a purchase right away, thanks NVIDIA.