The new NVIDIA GeForce 290.53 beta drivers are now available to download. Recommended for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim players, the 290.53 beta drivers increase performance in the game by up to 25% and also include a faster Ambient Occlusion profile that should eliminate the unsightly shimmering experienced and reported by members of Nvidia's GeForce Community.

Nvidia also updated its 3D Vision crosshair to better match the Skyrim's default 2D crosshair.

Skyrim's shadowy indoor areas benefit most from the performance improvements and optimizations. According to Nvidia's tests, GTX 560 performance increased by 19.68%, GTX 560 Ti performance increased by 19.38%, GTX 560 Ti 2-Way SLI performance increased by 19.17%, and GTX 570 performance increased by 16.70%.

Outdoor performance has improved also, though to a far lesser extent. In the scene tested, GTX 560 performance increased by 2.81%, GTX 560 Ti performance increased by 2.78%, GTX 560 Ti 2-Way SLI performance increased by 2.10%, and GTX 570 performance increased by 0.56%.

Nvidia has also released a 'Bethesda-Recommended' Skyrim tweak guide, five essential Skyrim tweaks and Skyrim Optimal Playable Settings.

Release Notes In Full

Optimizations For The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

- Increases performance by up to 25% in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim vs. 290.36 drivers (measured with GeForce GTX 560 at 19x10 Ultra ? Indoor Scene). Results will vary depending on GPU, system configuration, and in-game location.
- Updates the NVIDIA Control Panel ambient occlusion support for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to a higher performance profile.
- Added new 3D Vision laser sight /crosshair options to better match Skyrim crosshairs.

NVIDIA SLI

Adds the following SLI profiles:

- Afterfall: InSanity
- Trine 2
- WRC 2: FIA World Rally Championship 2011

3D Vision

Added or updated the following 3D Vision game profiles:

- The Adventures Of Tintin: The Game - Rated 3D Vision Ready
- Ignite - Rated Good
- Orcs Must Die! - Rated Good
- PT Boats: Knights Of The Sea - Rated Good
- PT Boats: South Gambit - Rated Good
- Stronghold 3 - Rated Good
- Trine 2 - Rated 3D Vision Ready

Key Bug Fixes

- Fixes some random instances of triangular artifacts when playing Battlefield 3 (fix is now enabled for GeForce 400 and 500 series GPUs).
- Fixes a default panel resolution-timing bug in 290.36.

Click here to download the GeForce 290.53 beta drivers.