When I first install Vista, I get a 4.6; this is constrained by "Gaming Graphics" (a 7600GS at 450/800).

If I install the 162 series driver, it comes in at 4.3 or 4.4.

So today, I tried the 163 series, hoping they'd fixed it-- instead it came back as 4.2!

Is anyone else having similar grief? If this is nVidia's way to subtly hint I should get an 8600-series card, I'll choose to interpret it as "Oh, you wanted me to buy a Radeon?"

I also love how it displays "Hardware changed, please recalculate", when I've just updated the drivers (and some parts unrelated to the scores). I hope this doesn't give me a mess when I try to fresh-install and activate (I've ran 3 different TV cards this week, and there's probably leftover crud I'd like to be free of)

Detailed config:
X2 4600+ (4.9 CPU)
2Gb DDR400 (4.9 memory)
ASRock 939SLI32-eSATA2
Gigabyte passively-cooled 7600GS (4.6 for desktop, 4.6/4.4/4.2 for graphics)
1x 160Gb DMA/100 Seagate 7200.7 (which amuses me greatly that it scores 5.1 or 5.2 for hard-disc performance)

Aside components:
Encore 802.11g MIMO card (Ralink chipset)
Leadtek HDTV Cinema (formerly DVICo FusionHDTV 5 RT Lite)

Is the experience-index score compensated for "parasite load"-- sidebar gadgets, IM clients, etc, on when you run the score?

I think M$ really needs to update their standards... more often at least.

Almost every time I re-evaluate my system, my Hard Drives fluxuate from the 4.6 to 5.2 area. Makes no sense, since my drives are always defragged and all.

According to Microsoft your score will never lower, only the highest achievable rating score will raise as new hardware is released.

Try changing to the original drivers and see if it goes up again, then you'll know for sure it's the drivers.

Also try clocking your card back to stock and then going through the drivers. Your OC could somehow be messing with your score, for example: When I OC my 8800 too far, my scores lower, but if I clock it back by like 5mhz back to the sweet spot, it's fine.

I wouldn't really pay much attention to WIE; like all benchmarks, it's hardly a very realistic representation of your PC's performance.

It's factory-clocked still... it was just clocked higher than a 'plain' 7600.

I'm not sure I can revert to the original drivers; they may lack certain features and doo-jobs because they were the "packed-on-the-Vista-disc" drivers.

I could see this as an obnoxious advertising trick-- gradually weaken the EI score of older cards to encourage upgrading.

The nVidia site has a page about MS hotfixes for issues with Vista/ForceWare drivers/etc.

It sounds to me that you may have installed the FW163 drivers without the hotfix file(?)

All the details that I found are at:

HERE (nVidia Hotfix Page)

Hope that helps your score. Peronally, I don't put much faith in MS benchmark programs.

3dMark, PCMark, Sandra, those I think give you a better idea of what your machine can do...

Ok, some things you might want to check. I had the same problem with my new PC. When I got my PC, it had a driver installed. When I updated windows, that too had a driver update. I am taking a guess that these two do not play well with each other. If you just have an Nvidia Graphics card then you shouldn't have a problem getting into the registry after uninstalling your current driver and delete ALL the registry keys that have Nvidia included in the name. This will give you a clean platform to install the new 163.69 driver off the web. If you have a Nvidia Chipset, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU DELETE.

After I did this, the new 163.69 driver cranked my ranking back up to where 5.0 like it was when I first purchased the computer. It was at a 4.7 with a 8500GT.

Also, I am sure you know this already, but Vista comes default with a balanced power option. This will screw with your graphics big time. You will need to crank the power to the High Performance setting located @ Control Panel>>>Power Options.