Nvidia has released WHQL-certified ForceWare driver version 186.18 for GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100 and 200-series GPUs. In the usual fashion, this update brings a bug fix and performance enhancements. The fix resolves an issue with 32-bit XP SLI setups having the PhysX option disabled by default after the driver installation. Verson 186.18 also installs the new PhysX System version 9.09.0428 which adds support for GeForce 8, 9 and 200-series cards with at least 256MB of VRAM.

If it’s been a while since you’ve updated your drivers, you’re missing out on some worthwhile gaming performance optimizations. The 185 and 186 versions deliver up to a 45% performance boost in Mirror’s Edge, 30% in the Half-Life 2 engine, 25% The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, 22% in Crysis: Warhead, 14% in Far Cry 2 and 11% in Fallout 3.

Download: Windows XP 32 / 64-bit | Windows Vista 32 / 64-bit | Windows 7 32 / 64-bit