NVIDIA ships out beta OpenGL 3.0 drivers in record speed

While boasting a fraction of DirectX usage in the gaming market, OpenGL hasn't been sitting around while Microsoft eats its lunch. Long favored as a foundation for cross platform games like World of Warcraft, and historically used by id Software to famous effect, the API just hit the 3.0 in a major reworking of the library. NVIDIA has had a hand in the API, and has wasted no time in releasing graphics drivers for the newly minted standard. The beta code supports GeForce 8000 series cards or higher on the desktop and laptop sides, and implements all of OpenGL 3.0 and the GLSL 1.30 shading language with just a few exceptions. Naturally, users won't be getting much out of this right off the bat, the beta drivers are mainly meant for developers looking to build software that takes advantage of 3.0, but it's nice to see a GPU builder hand-in-hand with a next gen graphics API and supporting it out of the gate on existing cards. And would you look at those screenshots!

[Joe_Templeman @ Aug 14th 2008 5:59PM]

Oooooo, new comment system.


Bet its as dodgy as the last though....

[TomTom2007 @ Aug 14th 2008 6:21PM]

Yeah, new comment system is nice.
But can you guys make it so that "Returning" appears first, rather than "New Readers".... save me the click. (ya.. I'm that lazy)

[Lucretius @ Aug 14th 2008 6:46PM]

Why? There are likely more new readers than returning. Don't be selfish, now...

[Kris @ Aug 14th 2008 7:50PM]

Why not have Returning set by default via a cookie. Seems to make the most sense to me.

[Podaman @ Aug 14th 2008 8:25PM]

Engadget made you a cookie. But they eated it. :(

[iofthestorm @ Aug 14th 2008 10:24PM]

I was going to ask what returning, but then I clicked reply and saw this. What the hell? Also, allowing AOL users to comment without registering? Crap. (I guess technically using this blog makes us AOL users anyway, but meh.)

[AlphaTeam @ Aug 14th 2008 10:53PM]

Like I mentioned before, maybe they should have the "Remember me" actually remember people so we don't have log in every time!

[Jeremy K. @ Aug 14th 2008 6:00PM]

What screenshots?

[Mike10010100 @ Aug 14th 2008 6:12PM]

Lol. They're talking about the screenshot of doom above.

They were making a joke on how many things are available with this new update.

[Charles @ Aug 14th 2008 6:23PM]

Doom? That's Quake E1M2

[Mike10010100 @ Aug 14th 2008 6:45PM]

I'm sorry. I apologize. I've never played either.

[Dan Halen @ Aug 14th 2008 7:10PM]

@Mike10010100

...what...? WHAT?

Now you know how to spend the rest of your summer.

[Mike10010100 @ Aug 14th 2008 8:07PM]

You mean all of.....3 days? I'll be spending it reading Democracy In America, thanks.

[joe blow @ Aug 14th 2008 8:56PM]

Turn in your BFG.

[iofthestorm @ Aug 14th 2008 10:25PM]

Woo, de Tocqueville!

[Dan Halen @ Aug 14th 2008 10:42PM]

@Mike10010100

Oh! My bad, man. I didn't realize you were that fuckin' cool.

[Mike10010100 @ Aug 15th 2008 12:44AM]

WTF? Just because i haven't played some decrepit old game, i instantly lose all credibility with you people?

You rank me low and yet not the person who couldn't even FIGURE OUT THE JOKE WITH THE SCREENSHOT.

Sheesh.

[neofolklore @ Aug 15th 2008 7:47AM]

wow a low rank tangent.....coolness denied.

[Zeus.:God @ Aug 15th 2008 10:32AM]

Mike, you know what can solve this... Just shut up and play the damned game, already. As a matter of fact, I'll tell you how to get it... Just Google "Quake Darkplaces". There is a retooled version of Quake for XP- that's it, and it's free. Unless you're a tool and don't enjoy video games, you will love Quake.

[creepinshadow @ Aug 14th 2008 6:08PM]

What screenshots?

[Flashpoint @ Aug 14th 2008 6:12PM]

Quake?

I'm sorry, ID software, its all about CRYTEK now.

[auguman @ Aug 14th 2008 7:07PM]

whhhhoooossssshhhhh!

[f14tomdog2 @ Aug 14th 2008 7:56PM]

id take quake 3 over crysis any day

[ethana2 @ Aug 14th 2008 8:28PM]

The latest Quake and Doom are cross platform, and Crysis is Vista only.

I won't touch Vista with a twenty foot pole, so Crysis is completely and totally irrelevant to me.

I just hope nVidia is that snappy with DRI2, kernel mode setting, GEM, and gallium support.

[Decoy @ Aug 14th 2008 8:41PM]

Um, Crysis is fine on XP.You must be thinking of the DirectX 10 very high settings, which is CERN is working on making a reality.

[Thi mam(kris120890) @ Aug 14th 2008 6:13PM]

I'd rather them take their time and make sure they work than go for who can get them out as fast as a slapper.

[Phoenix @ Aug 14th 2008 6:21PM]

It IS nice of them, but I agree that working > fast

Anyone else finding this new system isn't remembering them?

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Aug 15th 2008 5:29AM]

"""It IS nice of them, but I agree that working > fast"""

That is targeted at (game) developers. It's not that you as gamer would be able to use the new api right away.

In the time games (or other OGL apps) would be developed, the implementation of the api would be also stabilized. So by the time you would have something requiring OGL3.0 to buy, it would be OK already.

P.S. remembered me (in "Returning" tab) OK. Though now you have always click on "Returning". Before - it just worked.

[fersantos20 @ Aug 14th 2008 6:22PM]

You can comment with AIM now?

[porath @ Aug 14th 2008 6:56PM]

no, it just lets you log in using your AOL screen name instead of an engadget login/password

[Zinger314 @ Aug 14th 2008 6:31PM]

I can't wait for Daikatana!

[Zinger314 @ Aug 14th 2008 6:32PM]

I can't wait for Daikatana!

[Matthewmongan @ Aug 14th 2008 7:53PM]

john romero's about to make you his bitch... suck it down!

[broli @ Aug 14th 2008 6:35PM]

I remember the T-Rex in Jurassic Park used AOl...seriously who does still use AOL. Other than that it's ABOUT TIME you guys moved one finger to enhance the comment system.

[Will H. @ Aug 14th 2008 6:36PM]

Only reason it dropped so quick was that they didn't actually update anything in 3.0. Lots of people are unhappy about the "major reworking" which isn't major at all.

[ethana2 @ Aug 14th 2008 8:29PM]

Yeah, 2.1 is good enough for everything I do except the computing stuff, and that's not graphics anymore, that's OCL/CUDA/Brook/Gallium/etc.

[Ryback @ Aug 15th 2008 3:33AM]

Will they resurrect Glide?

[chris @ Aug 14th 2008 6:39PM]

This is the engine that'll run RAGE and Quake 4 right,

[broli @ Aug 14th 2008 6:52PM]

Yes cletis....

[JO MAMmmmmmmmmmma @ Aug 16th 2008 2:14PM]

its not a game engine...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenGL

[rlynd3 @ Aug 14th 2008 6:59PM]

neat

[rlynd3 @ Aug 14th 2008 7:01PM]

Ok WTF, Why is this not posting?

[ethana2 @ Aug 14th 2008 8:31PM]

The engadget comment system usually displays a post about two other posts later.

It is conspiring against you to make you make a fool out of yourself.

[ssje00 @ Aug 14th 2008 7:18PM]

interesting

[deyanimay @ Aug 14th 2008 7:21PM]

Is a 8500 a decent card for light gaming, not crysis?

[ddaw735 @ Aug 15th 2008 7:31PM]

No.

[Decoy @ Aug 14th 2008 8:41PM]

Yep.

[iofthestorm @ Aug 14th 2008 10:28PM]

I don't think so, the 8600 is pretty bad so the 8500 must be worse. Get an 8600 if you're really that cheap, but I think you might be able to get a Radeon 3850 for around that much and it's miles better than an 8600.

[deyanimay @ Aug 15th 2008 6:22PM]

Its not that i'm cheap but i wanna buy a desktop and it has a geforce 8500. I can't add another for sli because there is only that one pcie slot and i know for a fact i can't put a 8800 in without upgrading the power supply.

[jo mamMMMMMMMMMMA @ Aug 16th 2008 2:14PM]

Do yourself a favor, and do not get yourself a 8500. They are complete rubbish, it gets 43 fps average ( although paired with a dated cpu ) playing hl2, a game most modern cards should easily get 100 fps. IMHO if you are looking for something cheap but still pretty good for gaming go 9600 or the 8800 gt.