NVIDIA BIOS Release Numbers
Current BIOS release numbers contain five version numbers
grouped in the following format:
C.cc.mm.ee.oo
where C. Major Core Version
The major core version indicates the core version from which the
BIOS is generated. A change in this number indicates a major architectural
change
to the BIOS. NVIDIA has three major core versions:
. 1 (NV03, NV3T)
. 2 (NV04, NV05, NV10, NV15)
. 3 (NV05, NV10, NV11, NV15, NV20)
cc.Chip Version
The chip version indicates the chipset family and has one of
five values:
. 04 (RIVA TNT.)
. 05 (TNT2.
and Vanta. families)
. 10 (GeForce 256.,
Quadro.)
. 11 (GeForce2 MX.,
GeForce2 Go., Quadro2 MXR.)
. 15 (GeForce2 GTS.,
GeForce2 Ultra., GeForce2 Pro.,
Quadro2 Pro.)
. 20 (GeForce3.)
mm.Minor Version
The minor version indicates changes that do not affect the core,
such as additional support being added, significant bugs being fixed, or the
restructuring of certain operational aspects of the BIOS.
ee.Engineering Version
The engineering version indicates minor changes to the BIOS,
such as register tweaks and minor bug fixes.
oo.OEM Version
OEM version numbers have been assigned to BIOS releases since
TNT2 to track customizations for OEMs and to provide unique numbers for NVIDIA
generic reference BIOSs, which are the bases for all OEM versions, have OEM
versions of 00.Thus, a GeForce2 MX BIOS numbered 3.11.00.02.00 has the same
significant bug fixes and features as a Quadro2 MXR BIOS numbered 3.11.00.01.00.
However, that same GeForce2 MX BIOS has register tweaks and/or minor bug fixes
that differ from the Quadro2 MXR BIOS. Note that a 3.11.xx.yy.zz BIOS probably
does not correspond to a 3.15.xx.yy.zz BIOS. Changes made to the common source
tree usually create different minor version numbers for each BIOS. For example,
the same change might be represented by BIOS 3.11.04.00.00 for a GeForce2 MX and
BIOS 3.15.01.00.00 for a GeForce2 GTS.
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