-QUICK LINKS-
  QUICK GUIDE for Standard Nvidia driver installs         
DETAILED GUIDE for first time Nvidia users                                                        
 The NVIDIA CONTROL PANEL and basic settings guide                                                     

Video card MONITORING software and temperature control 
BENCHMARKING videocard performance 
GAMING the reason you bought a Nvidia graphics card  
TROUBLESHOOTING Nvidia driver and display issues 
                    
Nvidia graphics card information and resources                         
 
 Windows 8               
 
 Clean System configuration guide 
 
 Software download resources
 
 Overclocking 500 series Nvidia graphics cards
 
Overclocking 600 series Nvidia graphics cards
 
 Legal disclaimer and warnings
 
About the Author MANIAC-VVV-                                        
 
 
STATUS: Unfinished
Final Release: in progress      

  DETAILED GUIDE FOR FIRST TIME NVIDIA GRAPHICS CARD USERS
Last UPDATE: Feb. 21, 2013   

This section is for first time or novice users of Nvidia graphics cards.
Its purpose is to help such users avoid mistakes and get their Nvidia driver installed and their video card(s) setup correctly
 
 
The very first thing we want to do...
--->Is stop Windows from attempting to install a Nvidia display driver using Windows Update.
Go to "START" then "CONTROL PANEL" then to "WINDOWS UPDATE"
Choose "Change Settings" from the left hand panel.  
In the line marked "Important Updates", open the flyout and change the setting to show
"Check for updates but let me choose whether to download or install them"
and then click "OK" to save the setting(as shown below)
 
 
*This does not stop Windows from checking for Updates
It does however stop Windows Update from automatically downloading and installing them.
Instead, Windows Update will now produce a "list" of updates available -and- the "option" of not installing them. This allows the User to note any Nvidia updates and avoid a "Default" Nvidia Graphics driver install. You never want Windows Update to install your Nvidia Graphics drivers. It is always preferred to manually install your Nvidia Graphics driver in "Custom Mode" with "Perform a Clean install" checked to avoid problems.
*The problems that can occur should Windows Update attempt to install a Nvidia driver, are a install while Precision is running (causing corruption) or a broken PhysX install, among others. This is why we change the Windows Update settings.                                 
 
Now, proceed to the Nvidia driver Download section
 
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 NVidia Driver Download section

Next we need to download our Nvidia driver                    
All "official" Nvidia Graphics drivers (both WHQL certified and Beta) can be found and downloaded HERE 
 
The screenshots below cover how to navigate the GeForce.com Nvidia driver downloads site, to obtain a complete list of all recent WHQL and BETA Nvidia driver releases for your exact model of graphics card and your installed Operating System version.

 

 
 
 
In almost all cases, the preferred driver is the latest official WHQL Nvidia Driver release.
Now, download your chosen Nvidia driver
 
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Installing your Nvidia Driverset
 
*For users who are -not- experiencing any problems or issues
---->a "quick install" is suggested and is covered HERE or you can view the Video walkthru of installing below
 
Performing a CUSTOM/CLEAN default Nvidia Driver install -video guide-

Your Nvidia driver install is now complete 
 
**For users who are having problems
--->installing their drivers
--->suffering from black screens after a driver install
---->or those with serious ongoing display driver issues in their Operating System ,in Games or in Applications
please skip to the TROUBLESHOOTING section
 
**Users of Windows 8
--->should review the information posted in the Windows 8 section -before- installing
       as Windows 8 behavior cannot be taken for granted and treated the same as Windows 7 (at this time)    
 
     

VIDEOCARD MONITORING SOFTWARE and TEMPERATURE CONTROL
STATUS: Unfinished---> slightly DELAYED because of 4.0.0 release 
Last UPDATE: Feb. 21, 2013  
 

GAMING- THE REASON YOU BOUGHT A NVIDIA GRAPHICS CARD
STATUS: Unfinished
Last UPDATE:         

NVIDIA VIDEOCARD REFERENCE INFORMATION and RESOURCES
STATUS: Unfinished
Last UPDATE:  

 Clean System Configuration Guide  
 
 

RESERVED for Nvidia's -next generation- series of videocards 
 

Overclocking 500 series Nvidia graphics cards
UPDATED: March 6, 2013
COMPLETED: Last update March 12, 2013                                                                       
 
NOTICE: This section is for users who wish to explore overclocking with their 500 series videocards.
--->There is no such thing as completely "safe" overclocking.
Users should be aware that overclocking ability is never guaranteed, that running higher voltages and temperatures can and will reduce the lifespan of their videocard and is stressful to many other computer components such as the motherboard and powersupply, and can result in serious system hardware and operating system damage. 
If a user wishes to overclock they must be aware that this is -completely- their choice and do so at their own risk.
*Please read and agree to all the information contained in the LEGAL DISCLAIMER for this Guide before continuing.
 
Welcome to my 500 series overclocking Guide
*Due to videocard fan and voltage design, this section is for air-cooled desktop GTX 550 and above cards -only- and does NOT apply to lower 500 series or laptop designs.
 
The first thing we need to understand when overclocking, is that it does NOT fix any existing problems or issues. It will only make them worse...
 
So we need to begin our overclocking -only- on a system that is working 100% correctly and one that has been tested for stability, performance and temperatures.
We will need some software and some testing before we start to overclock
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Getting Started  

We will need the following programs for our basis testing and overclocking:
Testing program: Unigine Valley Benchmark  http://unigine.com/products/valley/download/
Testing Program: 3Dmark 11 http://www.3dmark.com/3dmark11/download/
Overclocking/Monitoring: MSI AFTERBURNER --use only LATEST BETA version at Guru3D http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/msi_afterburner_beta_download.html  
 
I recommend using Afterburner over Precision for 500 series cards because it is much less confusing. Precision contains many displays and features that are unavailable for 500 series cards and apply only to the 600 series and the Titan. Afterburner uses much simpler displays, is less confusing and can produce the exact same results.  
 
Please install the Unigine Valley Benchmark and 3DMark 11 programs onto your system and Update them if prompted to do so.
GPU-Z is not a installed program, but is a executed program when launched and only needs to be available to launch from the desktop.
-------------------------
Important note BEFORE installing Afterburner: 
 Before installing Afterburner, all previous versions of Precision or Afterburner must be correctly and completely uninstalled.
To do so, open the program and use the "X" in the top right hand corner to close it. Then go to START/All Programs and open either the yellow Precision or Afterburner folder and launch the "Uninstaller". When the uninstaller is launched an box will open asking if you want to save data and profile information... 
You MUST answer -NO- when you are asked to save this information.
 After the Precision or Afterburner uninstall is complete, you must reboot once back to the desktop. (do NOT skip this reboot)
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Installing Afterburner
In order to properly test and then overclock and retest, it is critical that we setup Afterburner correctly so that our testing data and temperatures are consistently and accurately reported.
Please install Afterburner (ver 2.3.1) onto your system.

The above shows the default install. Shown is your videocard model, current installed Nvidia driver version, your videocards STOCK core clock and memory clock values, your current fan speed percentage and the default "monitoring" panel on the right.
 
We need to make a few changes to the default settings before we begin testing.
First we need to tell Afterburner to "Start with Windows". This is done by hitting the "Settings" button in the bottom right hand corner of the lefthand panel. This will open the settings panel to the "General" tab (shown below)
 
Please put a checkmark (red arrow) into the "Start with Windows" box and then hit the OK button. Now Afterburner will launch with your settings when you boot into Windows.
 
Next we need to setup a "User defined Fan Profile"
Again, hit the Settings button and choose the "Fan" tab (shown below)

Place a checkbox (red arrow) in "enable user defined software automatic fan control"
and hit OK.
 
This will open the user Fan Profile box where you can adjust fan speeds to match temperature values (shown below)
 
*Dont panic if your does not look like the above screenshot. I have already adjusted my fan profile to my "suggested" settings for overclocking (50% fan speed minimum and maximum fan speed at 60c). The "dotted" lines (shown above) at 30% and 100% are my 580 videocards minimum (30%) and maximum (100%) fan speeds as set in my videocards BIOS. Your videocard may show -different- min and max fan speeds depending on YOUR model of videocard and BIOS version. Its OK if your min and max limits are different.
Whats important here is we want to overclock our videocard. To do so we need to setup a strong fan profile to protect our videocard from overheating. Since we will be testing Before -and- After overclocking, we want to use the "same" fan profile for both tests.
Please use your mouse pointer to move the small squares of your fan profile to MATCH what is shown in the screenshot above. Set your Minimum fan speed at 50% going to Maximum (whatever your dotted line shows) at 60c and hit the OK button to save the settings.
Now please -reboot- once back to the desktop, to confirm that Afterburner is starting with Windows -and- open the settings panel and confirm that the fan profile is showing correctly.
You are now ready to begin pre-overclock testing
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Pre-Overclock testing
We must now make a series of testing runs and write down or screenshot our testing results.
We will need the Temperature and Performance numbers to determine if our system is able to safely overclock (temps) and the performance (numbers) to compare with to determine what gains we achieved by overclocking. 
*IMPORTANT Note: It is vital that your SYSTEM overclocks (CPU/RAM) not change during STOCK and overclock videocard testing. If you make -any- system changes, both sets of videocard testing should be REDONE to prove out stability and temperature.
 
We are now ready to begin our STOCK testing
As always testing should only be done on a fresh reboot to the desktop with nothing running or open but Afterburner minimised in the system tray, and NVCP settings should be at DEFAULTS.
 
The first testing run should always be with the new Unigine Valley benchmark, as it has a "in-benchmark" temperature display.
--->Launch the Valley benchmark  

*It is suggested to use the "Extreme HD" preset (shown above)
 
Hit the RUN button to launch the program.
Then hit the "benchmark" button to begin the testing score run.
While the test is running, note in the upper right hand corner you are given a real-time display of your current videocard temps and clock values (shown below)
    
As shown above (for my GTX 580 SLI setup) my top card is the hottest at 72c while my bottom card is only 57c at stock clocks. These are decent temps and show that I -do- have some headroom for overclocking, as 85c is where we would begin to really be concerned with the temperature.
At the end of the benchmark testing run we are given a "score". Hit the "save" button to save the HTML file in the default location or hit F12 to save a screenshot in the Valley screenshot folder. (Score shown below)

Next we want to close the program and then open Afterburner from the system tray
(shown below)

We want to -confirm- that the temps reported in-benchmark match up with the data shown in Afterburner. We really want to take screenshots or write down what the scores were at the end of the benchmark run and what the MAX temperatures were during the test.
*This completes the Valley benchmark STOCK test.
Reboot once back to the desktop to prepare for the next testing run.
 
--->Now launch 3DMark 11

We want to run the (P)Performance benchmark
Put a checkmark in "Benchmark tests only" and "Centered" scaling mode. Then hit RUN
 
At the end of the test you are taken to the Futuremark page where your test scores are displayed under "detailed scores" (shown below) 

The above are the important scores we need to write down or screenshot
Again after completing a test, we want to open Afterburner from the system tray and review our temp data and write down or take a screenshot of the MAX temps seen during the testing
(shown below)
 
 
This completes our STOCK testing
If no problems were seen, all tests completed without error and no temperatures above 80c were seen at any time during the testing runs... we are ready to begin overclocking.
*If temperatures ABOVE 80c were seen during STOCK testing, then overclocking is NOT recommended until such time as case airflow and stock temps can be improved.
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--------
*Please read and understand all the information contained in the LEGAL DISCLAIMER for this Guide before continuing. Overclocking contains DANGERS and if you decide to proceed, you do so completely at your own risk
-You have been WARNED-
 -------------
 
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OVERCLOCKING your 500 series videocard
 
Well, it's time to get our overclock ON!
 
All 500 series cards come with different base clocks and voltages, depending on the model.
"Most" 500 series cards can easily achieve a 50 to 100mhz core overclock if given enough extra voltage. The problem is, that as you "add" voltage your temperatures grow -very- quickly...
 
There are two types of overclocks.
--->One is strictly for benchmarking scores and the other is for "daily" use.
For "benchmarking" where we will only be running the overclock for just the few minutes it takes to complete the test and get our "score" temperatures of 90c and below can be considered about as far as you should normally push it....
For "daliy" use we need to be very careful that the max temperatures remain under control at all times and should normally not exceed 80-85c
These are basic guidelines and users are free to experiment based on what they feel is "safe" and if they wouldn't have a problem replacing a expensive part should "something" go sideways.
Personally I dont run my videocards overclocked for "daliy" use as my SLI performance levels are high enough I dont need too. When I do overclock I attempt to keep my temps below 85c in the interest of prolonging the life of my cards.
 
I cannot tell you what your videocard starting voltage will be set at, what your default clocks are or how well your videocard will perform when overclocked.
 
There are a few simple rules to follow
#1  Never adjust voltage or clock sliders to the MAX settings available in Afterburner.
#2  Temperatures, WATCH THEM CLOSELY and KNOW your MAX temps under load.
#3  Dont try to match someone else's overclocks, find YOUR OWN
#4  The further you PUSH your overclocks, the more likely failure or damage.
#5  Start with SMALL changes to voltage and clocks, and WORK your way up
#6  Always START with CORE CLOCKS -first- as the most performance is gained there.
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Now would be a good time to consider if you really want to overclock
While large increases in Benchmark scores are possible, real world performance in games and applications is less so...
A good example would be BF3 on my system. At STOCK voltage and clocks my performance  levels "average" approximately 120fps. Pushing my voltage from 1.000v to 1.088v and bumping my CORE clocks from default of 772mhz to 900mhz produces -only- a modest gain of approximately 10-12fps to 130fps, at a cost of 15c HIGHER MAX temps.
For me, thats just not worth it. Nice cool MAX temps of 73c on my hottest card, less voltage stress on my videocard, motherboard and powersupply will extend the useful life of my 580's and system components and thats important to me.
After much testing 1.088v and 900core clocks is what I will run for benching scores, as that produces a MAX temp of 87c. While I have overclocked much higher, the voltages required pushed the temps into the mid 90's and completely OUT of my comfort zone. 
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Quick video guide to using Afterburner to Overclock your 500 series card      

 
When starting out, use SMALL increases to core clocks (25mhz) and small increases in voltage 0.030v and then test. Continue until TEMPERATURES become too high, or when adding voltage will NOT prevent artifacts or crashing. Work on just the CORE clocks first, then go back and attempt memory overclocks.
*Important: GTX 570 users should NOT attempt memory overclocks because of weak design on some cards. Its NOT worth it, so do NOT attempt it with a GTX 570
 
As you push overclocks and voltages higher, you WILL reach the point where visible artifacts and/or crashing will occur -or- Temps will reach unacceptable levels .
This is completely normal during testing. Normally the Nvidia driver will fail and drop you back into Windows, but sometimes a full on crash or Bluescreen will occur. Once full on crashing occurs, its time to begin to wonder if something else in your system is NOT liking your videocard overclocking and is usually the sign thats its maybe the time to STOP, back it down a bit and test for stability.
 
The process is simple.
Small increases and then runs of Valley and Mark 11, note MAX Temps/image quality/stability, then make further small increases and repeat.
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WARNING:
Once you start overclocking things can go very wrong
Your powersupply can go boom, your chipset can overheat, your videocard can start smoking and go dead, a crash can render Windows unbootable... ETC, Etc,etc...
If your not up for things possibly going horribly wrong, then overclocking is NOT FOR YOU.
 
AVOID the common mistakes!!!
Do NOT attempt overclocking with a underpowered powersupply
Do NOT make large or MAX slider adjustments in the voltage or clock panels
Do NOT attempt to punch in someone elses posted overclocks for your card
Many users post that they "feel" their videocard can clock higher than normal testing proves out, and they push ridiculous voltages/temps or run off to MOD their BIOS. These users often end up with DEAD videocards and sometimes VOID their warranty.
-->Do NOT make that mistake. Rely on good testing, not feelings 

*NOTE: During testing crashing or driver loss may occur. This can "sometimes" corrupt either Afterburner or the Nvidia driver itself. Should things not appear to be working correctly after crashing, it is recommended to UNINSTALL Afterburner (and answer NO to saving data) reboot, reinstall Afterburner and test at defaults again before picking up with where you were at. Should things -still- NOT be working correctly after uninstalling Afterburner, it is suggested to do a CUSTOM/CLEAN reinstall of the driver you were using, with "perform a Clean Install" checked.
*Emergency Recovery
 Should your system fail to boot normally into windows after crashing while attempting overclocks, do NOT panic. Boot into "Safe Mode" and uninstall Afterburner (and answer NO to saving data and profiles) and then shutdown and attempt to boot normally.
Should you still be having problems booting into Windows, boot again into "Safe Mode" and uninstall your Nvidia driver components (except PhysX) in Programs and Features with the Graphics driver last, then restart when prompted.
While it is exceedingly rare, a Windows install may become corrupted by a worst case overclocking crash. You should be prepared to wipe the system completely and reinstall Windows should it be necessary.   
* Additional Note: Just because you can pass all benchmarks and your temps are good, does NOT mean that when you go to run a Game or Application that your overclock will be 100% stable. For this, you must test your overclock with those Games and Applications that are important to you. Some games (like BF3 or Crysis3) will sometimes NOT like your benchmark tested overclock and you will have to work with that game and adjust your overclock to find stability.   

RESERVED for future updates and content 

RESERVED for future updates and content

 About the Author MANIAC-VVV- 
 
MANIAC-VVV- is 53 years old, retired and currently resides in Spokane Washington.
 
MANIAC-VVV- was born in Palo Alto California, where one day in 1966 he jumped off his stingray bicycle with a banana seat and wandered into a Stanford University artificial intelligence mainframe project in the basement of the Stanford University Hospital where his father was a pediatric medical professor and researcher. A very bright and eager young man politely invited me in and walked me into a huge glass paneled air conditioned room with a false floor and began to explain what a PDP-10 was and what they were trying to do with it.....
From that -exact- moment on I became addicted to learning everything I could about computers and how they worked.
It was a wonderful and exciting time back in those days and I remember it quite fondly. I was extremely lucky to meet very talented and outgoing people in the field and be given extraordinary access to hardware, operating systems and software... I was just a kid. I would skip school and wander the engineering floor at hewlett packard, hang out at the cafeteria at SRI looking for programming tips and hardware access, and prowl the University campus labs after hours or show off my terminal skills to the operators up at the SLAC. In fact I missed so many days at school from my explorations that I was placed into a private school to correct my behavior, it didn't work. 
I well remember the day when I was escorted into a back room at SAIL and was given a chance to play the very first true video game Space Wars. I was completely geeked before I was 10, over the next few years I focused on programming skills and later was in the mix (software) at the Byte shop in Palo Alto and even had a part time job when I was 12 at the Peoples Computer club (PCC) up in Menlo Park (got the job because I was friends with Bob Albrecht's son). The PCC was also where I was one of the first people on the planet to actually use a "personal" computer, a Altair 8800..                            
My addiction only continued later on as -finally- having my own access to personal hardware (thanks Dad) allowed me to expand my programming skills and I made my first hardware build attempt just a few years later (yes it was a disaster). Later on in high school I was accepted into the CEC in Albuquerque NM as a sophomore, and received my first CERT as a Computer Technician Aide (mainframe) at the age of 15. Sadly later on as a young adult I squandered my early college years in relationships and hedonism and while always active with computers and games, my personal life lead me down a twisting path elsewhere and I ended up being a electrician for over 25 years... 
 
I always have and always will be a gamer first. All my knowledge and experience is directed towards games and playing them. I have been privileged to experience first hand the hardware and software developments of the last 40 years or so, and every few years I look at my current hardware and software in complete amazement. Sometimes I just feel like a caveman with a light-saber..                                  
And nothing pleases me more than using computers and playing games, I live for this stuff.
 
But after suffering through 3 very serious bouts of gaming addiction over the years that were bad enough to effect my personal and professional life starting with DOOM in the early 90's, then later DeltaForce Novalogic games and finally ending with Battlefield 2...
I was convinced by my wife and family to give up compulsive game playing a few years ago when I retired...
I now play just for fun and friendships, and direct the majority of my time and energies towards helping others with the experience and knowledge I have gained over the years. For many years this was a one on one effort with other players in the games I was playing, but since I have joined the EVGA forums I have completely enjoyed the atmosphere around here and have really been encouraged (by both members and Mods) to expand my horizons. I published my very first real "guide" here at EVGA a few years ago, and the 2013 Nvidia Guide will be my 4th attempt at producing one.
I hope that I am getting better at it.... I am certainly not a writer, but I am trying my best to pretend to be one
 
I hope that users find my latest Guide is both helpful and informative               

Holy crap this is amazing!  Blue ribbon!

Thank you for all the hard work.

Thanks again Maniac for an extremely helpful and thorough guide on the new drivers/gpu series. As always you have been more then helpful with this and I greatly appreciate your posts. 

Fantastic job -needs to be stickied