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NVIDIA GeForce 397.31 WHQL driver is available, adds support for RTX ray tracing tech and Vulkan 1.1


NVIDIA has released a brand new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the NVIDIA GeForce 397.31 WHQL driver is the first driver offering a developer preview for NVIDIA RTX ray tracing technology for DirectX 12. And as we’ve already stated, the NVIDIA RTX supports the Microsoft DirectX Raytracing (DXR) API on NVIDIA Volta GPUs.

In order to get started with developing DirectX Raytracing applications, developers will need an NVIDIA Volta GPU, this driver (or future drivers), Windows 10 RS4 and Microsoft’s DXR developer package, consisting of DXR-enabled D3D runtimes, HLSL compiler, and headers.

Moreover, this new driver adds full support for the Vulkan 1.1 API and passes the Vulkan Conformance Test Suite (CTS) version 1.1.0.3, and offers the best gaming experience for Battletech and Frostpunk.

Those interested can download the NVIDIA GeForce 397.31 WHQL driver from here, and below you can find its complete changelog.

NVIDIA GeForce 397.31 WHQL Driver Release Notes

New Features

  • NVIDIA RTXTM Technology
    Developer preview for NVIDIA RTX ray tracing technology for DirectX 12. NVIDIA RTX supports the Microsoft DirectX Raytracing (DXR) API on NVIDIA Volta GPUs.
    In order to get started with developing DirectX Raytracing applications accelerated by RTX, you’ll need the following:
    • NVIDIA Volta GPU
    • NVIDIA driver version 396 or higher
    • Windows 10 RS4
    • Microsoft’s DXR developer package, consisting of DXR-enabled D3D runtimes, HLSL compiler, and headers
  • Vulkan 1.1
    This driver release provides full support for the new Vulkan 1.1 API and passes the Vulkan Conformance Test Suite (CTS) version 1.1.0.3.
  • HD Audio
    This driver adds new sample rates 32 kHz, 88.2 kHz, and 176.4 kHz to the HDMI device for all GPUs
  • Display Driver Standalone Installer
    The standalone display driver installer now removes extracted files after installing the driver, leaving a smaller footprint on the hard drive.
  • Display Driver Libraries
    Added new libraries (nvdlist.dll and nvdlistx.dll) to support Optimus and MSHybrid notebooks.
  • NVDECODE API
    Added a new API that lets the client reconfigure the decoder resolution and other post processing parameters (such as the display resolution, cropping rectangle, and aspect ratio of the decoded frame) without having to destroy and recreate the decoder instance. This API is useful in scenarios where the decoder instance initialization time takes up a significant portion of the overall decode execution time; for example, in back-to-back decoding of multiple short clips of different resolutions. The new API will be included in Video Codec SDK 8.2, which is expected to release in late Q2 2018.

Application SLI Profiles
Added or updated the following SLI profiles:

  • Descenders
  • Frostpunk
  • Warhammer: Vermintide 2
  • Far Cry 5

3D Vision Profiles
Added or updated the following 3D Vision profiles:

  • Descenders – Good
  • EVE Valkyrie – Warzone – Good