Don't you mean to use dx9? Because i think dx8 is working just fine on any drivers either on ati or nvidia cards

Download and run the setup for this:
32bit: http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/win8-win7-winvista-32bit-306.97-whql-driver-uk.html
64bit:http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook-win8-win7-winvista-64bit-306.97-whql-driver.html

This is last driver that worked for dx8

Edit: I forgot to include you need to disable auto update in your nvidia control pannel, and turn off auto windows updates: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-vista/turn-automatic-updating-on-or-off

Nope. Some drivers don't support it.

And yeah, Jake^ has the right one there

Side question, is there any disadvantage to using dx9 (apart from fps obviously) like maybe higher input lag or anything like that?

Some Nvidia cards running the latest drivers cause a flickering on certain in directx8, in order to rollback your drivers go download any of the older versions on Oct 10th 2012 or earlier.

When it's finished downloading just run the setup and the drivers will rollback to the earlier version. Don't forget to disable the option to automatically update your driver in your Nvidia settings / Windows Update so you will not upgrade again.

DL LINK: http://www.geforce.com/drivers/results/49892

More of a preference thing. I prefer dx9 because for me it runs smoother and i get the same if not better fps

About dx8 not working on some drivers, that sounds weird because for me it is working just fine on gts250, using 320.18 drivers and have no problems either with dx8 or dx9.

It is somewhat of a preference thing, although it does help people get more fps. I get 10-15 better average fps with DX8 last I checked with that benchmark, around 144 fps. With DX9, it's around 130. DX8 annoys me (whole screen bleed/piss effect), so I use DX9. Also works better with streaming last I checked. Maybe DX8 is supported better by OBS now.

I prefer dx 8 because i lag insanely in pubs on dx9 where i can drop to about 30fps, and i don't enjoy the shine effect dx9 provides

The last time I tried this I had to uninstall my current driver, which prompted some issues for me, is this nessacary? The last time I uninstalled my driver the card stopped working completely

The shine effect is a completely different thing; it's controlled by the mat_specular cvar.

Just run the express set up and it should be fine

Alright thanks.

since this thread was just made, is there anybody that may know a fix for nvidia drivers auto updating even AFTER I turned the option off? I also tried setting it to update once a month yet everytime I restart my computer it seems to update itself. Very annoying.

i use dx9 now because im not going to downgrade drivers. is there a svpure friendly way to make smoke trails from rockets not annoying? :<

Turn off auto windows updates: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-vista/turn-automatic-updating-on-or-off

I just tried running -dxlevel 80 instead of -dxlevel 81 and I don't have flickering textures anymore(with the latest[afaik] nvidia drivers). Can anyone else confirm?

testing this atm, if not going to rollback drivers

update: still texture flash, rolling back atm

i fucking love you

I encourage people to submit a bug report to Nvidia with system information (anything other than 600 series) because after I did, for that series the new drivers fixed the dx8 problem.