Mmmehh

VulkanBrosMmmehh

Even here:

I'm getting tired of these frequent updates. The previous release is just 8 days old.

MikeSnowI'm getting tired of these frequent updates. The previous release is just 8 days old.

What an odd thing to have a negative reaction to.

Do you remember queuing for a patch download slot on FilePlanet? Or reinstalling Company of Heroes 1 from scratch and having to apply all the patches in serial to be multiplayer qualified?
I hope this perspective shift makes you feel better. :toast:

Not sure why you think it's odd. That's why there is a patch Tuesday for Windows, instead of random updates coming out of the blue. Our time and attention are not free.

Of course, I could just skip it. But the taskbar icon indicating an available download is a bit annoying. And yes, I also remember having to queue for meat at -10 degrees Celsius for hours, and that also doesn't make me feel better about this.

MikeSnowNot sure why you think it's odd. That's why there is a patch Tuesday for Windows, instead of random updates coming out of the blue. Our time and attention are not free.

Of course, I could just skip it.

GeForce and Radeon software releases are not "random updates" [sic].

They are usually (like 90% of the time) tied to a major game release. The updated drivers are optimized for the new title(s). The release notes for both companies spell this out in very clear language. Elden Ring? New graphics card driver. Hogwart's Legacy? New graphics card driver. Baldur's Gate III? New graphics card driver. Get it?

Occasionally there's a new GeForce/Radeon driver that supports new hardware. 3070 Ti graphics card launch? New graphics card driver.

If you didn't acquire any of those new games and your current driver works fine with your existing hardware, you can probably skip the new update until you feel like upgrading at your leisure. Still you really need to read the release notes because both companies provide fixes for other issues, some of them game related, others could be security related or general graphics fixes.

Windows can have a regular monthly release in the form of Patch Tuesday because it's not directly tied to a specific software title release nor is it tied to specific hardware. It's worth pointing out that Microsoft could release their Windows updates without a regular fixed schedule, much like Apple does with macOS/iOS updates. But even Apple releases major upgrades to coincide with new hardware (iPhone, Mac, etc.).

Patch Tuesday is done to make IT staffers' lives easier. There is nothing new about this.

In fact, for major consumer software, I'm pretty sure that Windows is the only one with the fixed schedule. Everything else is as needed.

cvaldesGeForce and Radeon software releases are not "random updates" [sic].

They are usually (like 90% of the time) tied to a major game release. The updated drivers are optimized for the new title(s). The release notes for both companies spell this out in very clear language. Elden Ring? New graphics card driver. Hogwart's Legacy? New graphics card driver. Baldur's Gate III? New graphics card driver. Get it?

Occasionally there's a new GeForce/Radeon driver that supports new hardware. 3070 Ti graphics card launch? New graphics card driver.

If you didn't acquire any of those new games and your current driver works fine with your existing hardware, you can probably skip the new update until you feel like upgrading at your leisure. Still you really need to read the release notes because both companies provide fixes for other issues, some of them game related, others could be security related or general graphics fixes.

Windows can have a regular monthly release in the form of Patch Tuesday because it's not directly tied to a specific software title release nor is it tied to specific hardware. There is nothing new about this.

It is a tiny thing that I dont think I have ever seen anyone think about. When I release updates to tools or scripts I make idgaf if you download it or not. I am not in front of VS doing a build and then being like "ehhh I better wait, my users dont like updating on wednesdays" lolol

Solaris17It is a tiny thing that I dont think I have ever seen anyone think about. When I release updates to tools or scripts I make idgaf if you download it or not. I am not in front of VS doing a build and then being like "ehhh I better wait, my users dont like updating on wednesdays" lolol

There's nothing about Patch Tuesday that forces anyone to do an update immediately. At my last corporate job, the IT staff would install the new Patch Tuesday software on test systems then push out the update to user systems (typically after hours) after the patched systems were verified to run all of the major tools that employees used.

That's really what Patch Tuesday is about. To give IT staffers a clue as to when the new software would arrive. It's up to the IT staff to decide when to deploy. And it might not be everyone at once. It might be certain divisions before others (e.g., engineering before marketing before finance).

Game Ready GeForce drivers are consumer software. Buy a brand new AAA game title? Go check to see if there's an updated driver for it. New graphics card? Best to check for new software. Otherwise, just carry on.

cvaldesGeForce and Radeon software releases are not "random updates" [sic].

They are usually (like 90% of the time) tied to a major game release. The updated drivers are optimized for the new title(s). The release notes for both companies spell this out in very clear language. Elden Ring? New graphics card driver. Hogwart's Legacy? New graphics card driver. Baldur's Gate III? New graphics card driver. Get it?

Occasionally there's a new GeForce/Radeon driver that supports new hardware. 3070 Ti graphics card launch? New graphics card driver.

If you didn't acquire any of those new games and your current driver works fine with your existing hardware, you can probably skip the new update until you feel like upgrading at your leisure. Still you really need to read the release notes because both companies provide fixes for other issues, some of them game related, others could be security related or general graphics fixes.

Windows can have a regular monthly release in the form of Patch Tuesday because it's not directly tied to a specific software title release nor is it tied to specific hardware. It's worth pointing out that Microsoft could release their Windows updates without a regular fixed schedule, much like Apple does with macOS/iOS updates. But even Apple releases major upgrades to coincide with new hardware (iPhone, Mac, etc.).

Patch Tuesday is done to make IT staffers' lives easier. There is nothing new about this.

In fact, for major consumer software, I'm pretty sure that Windows is the only one with the fixed schedule. Everything else is as needed.

Yes, I get it, but I don't like it. And they are random from my point of view, since they don't follow a schedule. And a driver that needs to be optimized for each major title is a problem in itself, wouldn't you say? Those games take years to develop, so planning a driver release to support them shouldn't be a last minute thing, it could be released 2, 3 or 4 weeks in advance, before the game is released, to align the driver release with a monthly driver update schedule.

About "you really need to read the release notes" to see if it's just a game specific update or a bug fix. Yes, this is a problem. Why should I have to do that? In case it's a game specific update this should be automatically solved by the game developer and NVIDIA. Game starts, checks for the required driver, notifies me that I need to update my driver. Simple.

For the rest of the people that don't have that game, don't notify them to update. Only provide emergency out of schedule updates when there is some security bug or other serious bug, not whenever they feel like it. And it doesn't even needs to be a fixed schedule, but there should at least be a minimum reasonable time between non-urgent releases. If they do have such a thing, it is too short.

And, unless those optimizations are actually affecting the driver code itself, in which case I would be inclined to call them bug fixes, not optimizations, there is no reason to package them as part of the driver and force people to update the full driver just for one or two games that they may not even own. If there is a configuration/profile specific to that game that could be provided separately with a less intrusive update mechanism, or it could be even included with the game itself. Same if it's some kind of binary file that is only needed by that game.

And yes, Microsoft also releases some updates as needed, for example the Windows Defender malware signature updates. Sometimes multiple times a day. But they do that in the background unobtrusively, without asking me each to read some release notes to see that if they apply to me and wasting my time.

At the moment I'm training an AI model, which will take about a week, and during that week I will be stuck with that notification that I "need" to update my driver, since there is no way to dismiss it after reading the release notes and seeing that it does not apply to me. Of course, I can close the NVIDIA taskbar icon, but that doesn't really solve anything. In fact it makes things worse, because now I won't be notified about the next updates that could be relevant to my system.

Getting it and not liking it are two separate things. Based on your initial reply, it didn't seem like you got it because you clearly stated that these releases were random. They aren't.

There are options for you: you could install the Studio driver instead of the Game Ready driver. The former are updated less frequently since they aren't tied to new game debuts.

Also, you have the option of removing GeForce Experience. I don't get any Nvidia notifications at all because I don't install GFE on any of my GeForce systems (there is more than one in the house).

And if you read TPU, Guru3D, or some other sites on a regular basis, you will know if there's a major GeForce driver release. Hell, there might even be an e-mail newsletter. I still receive the periodic AMD e-mail about new Radeon software. So yeah, you're not in a total information vacuum.

I'm getting the feeling that you just like griping about this.

Nothing that Nvidia did today really hindered your tasks. You can stick your head in the sand, continue training your AI model just like it is still December 11th. And you spent enough time penning two posts to TPU's discussion forum about something that doesn't affect you. Good use of your time? Entertaining?

Windows Defender signatures don't need release notes because they're just doing the same thing.

For something like GeForce or Radeon software, the changes are more visible to the user. If you don't want to read the release notes every time the drivers are updated, then don't. Just wait until the stars align perfectly and you are ready to upgrade. No one is pointing a gun at your head telling you to upgrade Windows, GeForce drivers, your sports score app on your phone, etc.

Another option for you. Apply for a position as senior release engineering manager at Nvidia. Point out this TPU thread to the hiring manager during your interview. Then change the process in how they roll out software updates once you're in your new position at Nvidia. Don't forget to periodically visit TPU's discussion forum as other community members might have good ideas on how Nvidia can improve their software release process.

Remember that overwhelmingly your primary target audience for Game Ready GeForce drivers is Joe Gamer though.

And also that breaking up a large software release like the current Game Ready driver into smaller chunks might actually increase your workload for the release engineering team by a magnitude of order. It will probably make WHQL testing trickier.

Whining is a popular Internet activity. There's nothing barring you from doing so. However, this begs the question: is this the first time you have whined about this particular issue here at TPU? And do you think whining about it on the TPU bboard will change how Nvidia does things going forward? Any more effectively than pouring yourself a hot chocolate and watching cat videos on YouTube?

I love update. I get excited when there's an update. Reading the notes and seeing new features and fix filled me with joy. It's also great knowing that your device and software are still being supported.

*uses NVInstaller just to spite in NoVideo's face*