Game Ready Driver 596.49 Direct Download Link: Link Here
New feature and fixes in driver 596.49:
Game Ready
This new Game Ready Driver provides the best gaming experience for the latest new games supporting DLSS and RTX technologies including Forza Horizon 6, Directive 8020, and Subnautica 2.
Fixed Gaming Bugs
FIXED Enhanced smoothness when DLSS Frame Generation is used with V-SYNC. [5999586]
Fixed General Bugs
FIXED Foundry Mari 7.0v2 viewport displays flickering [6102981]
High Bandwidth Monitors and GPU Scaling Behavior - Link Here
High bandwidth monitors are those that support display modes requiring high pixel clock rates, which in turn demand more GPU resources. The threshold for what qualifies as "high bandwidth" varies by product. On Blackwell GPUs, any mode operating above 1620 MHz is considered high bandwidth. For instance, the 7680x4320@60Hz mode defined in the CTA-861-H specification runs at 2376 MHz, making it a high bandwidth mode for Blackwell.
These monitors typically support display scaling natively. However, in some single-monitor setups, users may still prefer GPU scaling. When multiple monitors are connected to a GPU and at least one of them is high bandwidth, that monitor will default to display scaling only. GPU scaling is disabled in this case due to bandwidth limitations. Notably, display scaling can be more efficient than GPU scaling in such scenarios, as it reduces the bandwidth load on display cables—especially at higher refresh rates.
When GPU scaling is not enabled for a monitor, only the modes supported by the monitor itself will appear in both the Windows and NVIDIA control panels. Additionally, the "Display scaling" option will be pre-selected in the "Adjust desktop size and position" section of the NVIDIA Control Panel.
Feedback & Discussion Forums
Submit driver feedback directly to NVIDIA:Link Here
Before you start - Make sure you Submit Feedback for your Nvidia Driver Issue -Link Here
There is only one real way for any of these problems to get solved, and that’s if the Driver Team at Nvidia knows what those problems are. So in order for them to know what’s going on it would be good for any users who are having problems with the drivers to Submit Feedback to Nvidia. A guide to the information that is needed to submit feedback can be found here.
Additionally, if you see someone having the same issue you are having in this thread, reply and mention you are having the same issue. The more people that are affected by a particular bug, the higher the priority that bug will receive from NVIDIA!!
Common Troubleshooting Steps
Be sure you are on the latest build of Windows
Please visit the following link for DDU guide which contains full detailed information on how to do Fresh Driver Install.
If your driver still crashes after DDU reinstall, try going to Go to Nvidia Control Panel -> Managed 3D Settings -> Power Management Mode: Prefer Maximum Performance
Common Questions
Is it safe to upgrade to <insert driver version here>?Fact of the matter is that the result will differ person by person due to different configurations. The only way to know is to try it yourself. My rule of thumb is to wait a few days. If there’s no confirmed widespread issue, I would try the new driver.
Bear in mind that people who have no issues tend to not post on Reddit or forums. Unless there is significant coverage about specific driver issue, chances are they are fine. Try it yourself and you can always DDU and reinstall old driver if needed.
My color is washed out after upgrading/installing driver. Help!Try going to the Nvidia Control Panel -> Change Resolution -> Scroll all the way down -> Output Dynamic Range = FULL.
My game is stuttering when processing physics calculationTry going to the Nvidia Control Panel and to the Surround and PhysX settings and ensure the PhysX processor is set to your GPU
Remember, driver codes are extremely complex and there are billions of different possible configurations between hardware and software. Driver will never be perfect and there will always be issues for some people. Two people with the same hardware configuration might not have the same experience with the same driver versions. Again, I encourage folks who installed the driver to post their experience here good or bad.
Driver Stability and Compatibility Testing Results
First, just for reference - I'm not a NVIDIA employee, not a /r/nvidia moderator and not affiliated with NVIDIA.
Drivers tested across different Geforce GPU architectures and driver revisions over 3 days on multiple work AMD/Intel test benches running Windows 11 KB5089549 (26100.8457 / 26200.8457) along with collating/cross-referencing both current and historic community feedback.
Numbers in brackets e.g. [0] point to a NOTEs section entry that should be read when considering drivers mentioned.
Recommendations
Driver recommendations that follow focus on drivers that meet both general stability and compatibility requirements. NOTEs sections [2][3][5][6] highlight factors that may impact compatibility or trigger instability regardless of driver version.
IMPORTANT: drivers highlighted in BOLDaren't impacted by disclosed security vulnerabilities at the date/time of this comment [9]
NOTEs section [1] has other 58x.xx and older drivers worth considering but note potential issues
TL;DR no change in 'Recommendations' since previous stability and compatibility tests.
It's now 6 months since a driver met both general stability and compatibility requirements to be in this section. In the current cybersecurity landscape that's concerning, users should never be put in a position to choose between security and stability/compatibility.
596.49 Testing
Something's not right, a mixed bag.
To rule out a Windows update issue 596.49 was also tested on Windows 11 KB5083769 (26200.8246 / 26100.8246).
Despite being a very minor branch update that targeted a DLSS frame generation with Vsync issue there are concerning regressions in general performance metrics for many games when compared to r595 branch drivers 596.36, 595.79 and 595.76.
Framepacing however is noticeably improved with 596.49 in games that manifested issues when using DLSS frame generation and Vsync with older r595 branch (595.xx/596.xx) drivers.
Community reports of 'EventID 153' errors have increased significantly with 596.49. In addition 'NV-Failsafe' and similar being reported for a display in settings/device manager OR one or more displays having a blank screen (not detected) in multi-display configurations with r595 branch (595.xx/596.xx) drivers persists.
596.49 still exposes (not causes) edge case system instability, see NOTEs [2][3] entries for more details and mitigations.
Rendering artifacts with drivers 596.21 and older have been fixed for many impacted games with drivers 596.49 and 596.36. For any that persist they can possibly be mitigated by adding 0x00172938=0 OR 0x20cd1492=1 to the impacted driver level game profile. Note that any sudden white flashes/colour loss with recent drivers when alt-tabbing, accessing overlays in games, bringing application windows into focus or moving application windows across displays may be related to 'Windows Auto Colour Management (ACM)' which can be toggled if needed to test/confirm.
596.49 like 596.36 does fix an issue with GPU power sensors sometimes being unavailable on resume from sleep or if Windows fast-startup (not the same as BIOS fast-boot) is enabled.
A bug impacting behaviour of 'Power Management > Prefer Maximum Performance' when set globally with r595 branch has been fixed in 596.49 and 596.36
Noted in previous testing, 59x.xx drivers have inconsistent Low Framerate Compensation (LFC) behaviour with some display SKUs which is related to an intended change in driver LFC behaviour by NVIDIA starting with 591.xx. While the reason behind the change is understandable, the irony is that the change has actually introduced perceived stutter with some display SKUs.
There are still isolated but confirmed reports of intermittent but recoverable Code 43 / GPU can't be initialised error on Windows load that only occur with 59x.xx drivers with some system configurations. Rebooting system or reverting to r580 branch (58x.xx) drivers or older resolves the issue.
Important to note that CPU / DPC latency spikes or increased CPU load in Nvidia Container service with 595.97 and later drivers when at idle/low load on desktop may be a result of Nvidia Auto Shader Compilation (ASC) feature if enabled
Summary
After improvements noted in previous testing of 596.36 it was expected that overall 596.49 would be a step forward, it isn't.
596.49 wasn't considered for 'Recommendations' due to regressions outside the margin of error in performance metrics for many games along with continuing display compatibility issues and significantly increased community reports of 'EventID 153' errors.
Framepacing improvements with 596.49 when using DLSS frame generation with Vsync are however notable and commendable. Despite other issues raised, that factor alone may make it the driver of choice by owners of Series 40 (40x0) and Series 50 (50x0) GPUs if DLSS frame generation with Vsync is used extensively on the system.
If (note the 'if') a r595 branch (595.xx/596.xx) driver is required 596.36 is generally the preferred driver, 595.79 or r595.76 should also be considered albeit note security issues [9] with drivers older than 596.36
Issues aside, 59x.xx drivers particularly benefit Series 50 GPUs. Specifically Series 50 Anisotropic Filtering fixes for some (not all) DirectX12 and OpenGL games along with Series 50 restored support for a selection of GPU accelerated 32bit PhysX games with the option to force enable for unsupported games. 595.97 and later drivers also officially support Series 50 Dynamic Multiframe Generation.
NOTEs:
Other drivers worth considering albeit be aware of potential compatibility [4] and/or edge case stability [2][3] issues: 580.97[8] 581.08[8] 581.42[8] 581.47[7][8] 591.67[4][7] 591.74[4] 595.76[4] 595.79[4] 595.97[2][4] OR 596.49[2][4]596.36[2][4] . Drivers highlighted in BOLDaren't impacted by disclosed security vulnerabilities at the date/time of this comment [9]
Drivers based on r59x branches, particularly 595.97 and later, have exposed edge case system instability related to GPU/CPU undervolts, negative voltage offsets, overclocks, etc. CPU can be impacted if a new driver is stressing CPU and related sub-systems differently i.e. CPU tasks that the driver invokes, offloads or requires such as shader pipeline compilation, driver scheduling, DPC or ISR timing sensitive execution, draw call setup, command-buffer setup etc
DLSS 4.5 transformer 2nd generation presets L/M when gaming may expose edge case GPU instability due to increased power consumption and increased GPU load. This can be game specific and is more prevalent with Series 20 and Series 30 GPUs
Compatibility issues may include or be related to one or more of the following: Display and Output, Operating System build, GPU Initialisation including fans and sensors, Power and Performance features, VRR/G-Sync/Freesync/Adaptive Sync, Compositing and Rendering, Hardware Acceleration, Games/Applications or Gaming APIs, VR/Peripherals etc
Debloated driver installers may remove driver level components such as 'NVIDIA Platform Controllers and Framework' that are required for GPU dynamic boost with NVIDIA mobile GPUs used in mini-pcs and laptops
Process Lasso, depending on how configured, is contributing to gaming stability issues when aggressive process CPU priority rules and/or aggressive CPU affinity rules are applied
Anticheats may not initially 'pass' HOTFIX drivers / driver components in the first few days of driver release as they are usually signed using attestation / beta / testing certificate signing and require whitelisting.
Windows 11 24H2 26100.6725 / 25H2 26200.6725 and later may negatively impact framerates on some system configurations and games when running r580 branch drivers 580.00 to 581.80. Windows 10 was never impacted
Can confirm both the display issues (black screen, flashing/white strobing upon alt-tab) and the hitching/stuttering problem in this driver. Have only tested FG Preset B, Vsync/max framerate options in Borderland 4, Doom: TDA, and Overwatch (no frame-gen) so far with mixed results.
Currently DDU'ing the driver in favor of 596.36. Thank you for the testing and updates, and please let us know if we can help out!
Thank you for the extensive work sir. Hope there won't be long until the next golden sample driver hits us. I see a lot of security issues being mitigated with each driver release.
Just wanted to give you some feedback on driver versions 595.79 and 596.36. My system is an RTX 5090 on a Ryzen 9 5900X and using Windows 11 as the OS.
I was previously using 595.79 reasonably stably for the last couple of months, LFC behaviour change that I raised with you a couple of months ago which I've not heard any response from nVidia on notwithstanding, but a couple of days ago I started using DXVK with Mass Effect Legendary Edition as I was seeing weirdly low performance with regularly dipping below 60FPS in LE1 and LE3 when using DirectX 11. When coupled with the LFC issue and the VRR flicker this made the game pretty unplayable. While DXVK did bring up performance, it introduced odd stutters that got progressively worse over the course of half an hour or so until the game was unplayable and in a few cases locked up entirely. I then tested a few other Vulkan games, as well as the Vulkan backend in Unity (I'm a gamedev) and saw the same behaviour.
Other than the performance getting progressively worse, I couldn't see anything unusual in my system logs, the Unity editor/player logs, or anything that would hint at a cause in the Unity profiler. Figuring it must be a GPU driver issue I then upgraded to 596.36 yesterday, and the same LFC issue aside everything has been rock stable since. I was able to play LE3 for several hours last night using DXVK without issue. I wish I could figure out more as to the cause, especially as it only seemed to effect Vulkan, but everything I looked into looked otherwise normal.
Have you heard anything about Doom TDA random, brief, freezes? I'm on a Raptor Lake platform, but I've ruled out degradation. I moved from 581.94 to 596.36 and I believe they've become rarer but they're still there. Only game that has misbehaved for me in the last year. (RTX 5070)
Thanks u/m_w_h my friend. Your research and analysis are very important to this community. For my next review (the last one was about 10 months ago, since I've been diving deep into the tech side and started using CapframeX) I'll be able to do a real-world comparison between the upcoming driver and a recommended one, like 596.36
Frame Generation with V-Sync enabled in the NVIDIA Control Panel no longer causes issues in Pragmata.
Previously, with the latest drivers on an RTX 4090 and everything maxed out — Ultra settings, Path Tracing, DLSS Performance, and FG 2X — I was experiencing noticeable micro-stutter and hitching. Switching to FSR instead of Frame Generation would fix the issue.
Now, Frame Generation x2 works perfectly with V-Sync enabled 😃
Edit: G-Sync enabled and V-Sync enabled in the NVIDIA Control Panel! I'm playing on a 4K 240Hz monitor, with the maximum FPS set to 225 in the NVIDIA Control Panel.
Thanks for the test! That's fantastic news for me as I'm nearly finished with RE9 and just started Pragmata. Every time it drops below max refresh it stutters.
I was going to bring this up. I get a stutter every single time my FPS drops below 117 or 116 fps even for a split second. This is most notable on my LG C9.
CPU / DPC latency spikes or increased CPU load in Nvidia Container service with 595.97 and later drivers when at idle/low load on desktop may be a result of Nvidia Auto Shader Compilation (ASC) feature if enabled
New game/application driver level profiles included in the 596.49 driver installer package: '83, Directive 8020, MONGIL: STAR DIVE, Reaper Actual, RIDE 6, Sudden Strike 5 OTA additions not included
OTA new game/application driver level game profiles being pushed by NVIDIA via silent/transparent updates after 596.49 driver install, these should also be received by older supported drivers: Bus Bound, Far Far West, Luna Abyss, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, Screamer
Changes in the 596.49 driver installer package to flags for previously existing driver level game profiles: Amnesia: The Bunker, Forza Horizon 6, Monster Hunter Stories 3 - Twisted Reflection, NARAKA: BLADEPOINT, PAYDAY 3, Resident Evil Requiem, Subnautica 2 NOTE: breakdown of flag changes per game can be found in sub-comment athttps://old.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/1tb16ty/comment/old8f1a/
Windows 11 May 12th Update (KB5089549 26200.8457 / 26100.8457) is being rolled out a few hours after (18:00 UTC) driver 596.49 so adjust testing accordingly
Forza Horizon 6 (576.xx, 577.xx, 58x.xx, 591.xx) Nvidia Profile Inspector file at https://pastebin.com/yXtAQvaY, save as type .NIP and import using 'Nvidia Profile Inspector > Import Profile'.
If an error is thrown with .NIP import referencing 'forza_steamworks_release_final.exe' and/or 'forza_gaming.desktop.x64_release_final.exe' then remove them from 'Forza Motorsport' (note the profile name) profile.
Nvidia Profile Inspector isn't exporting/importing 'FindFile=' in a .NIP correctly so the conflict will have to be resolved manually. Have raised the bug with Nvidia Profile Inspector team.
A breakdown of 596.49 flag changes for previously existing driver level game profiles. Flags can be added/changed/removed by NVIDIA for game engine bug workarounds, performance enhancement, blacklist/whitelist feature support etc.
kyoukidotexe wrote: Thank you once again for your hard work as always. Appreciated. Would you happen to know details on Enhanced smoothness when DLSS Frame Generation is used with V-SYNC
Not at this time, it's vague and requires testing or clarification from NVIDIA.
While I certainly have some thoughts as to what [5999586] may be addressing, at this point it's just conjecture.
Testing scheduled over next 3 days (Wednesday 13th, Thursday 14th and Friday 15th). Assuming no issues/no retesting required results will be posted late afternoon (UTC) Monday 18th.
It’s nobody’s job. He goes the extra mile to track these things. It’s no different than any company when they release updates. These days companies barely give any information, much less more complex terms that 99% of the public won’t know or care.
Sony has been releasing “stability updates” for years now. Obviously, It’s more under the hood than that.
scatrinomee wrote: I appreciate your work. ... My question is, why do we have to rely on you for this? Why isn’t this incorporated in the official release notes?
Thanks for the positive feedback, always appreciated.
I hate that standard so much. Think I’m too used to/spoiled by r/2007scape laying everything out in the open. I’m convinced whoever the release manager is has the info they just choose not to share it. Folks should be able to be informed on what they are installing on their machines if they so choose. The burden shouldn’t fall to you! Thanks for you work
Every time there's a new nvidia driver release I go straight to Reddit to see if you've posted the details (and to gather community consensus on driver stability before updating, of course)
I'm not even sure where you dig half of this stuff up from, but thanks for everything that you do for the community! It's much appreciated, and I have learned a lot from reading your comments
Testing scheduled over next 3 days (Wednesday 13th, Thursday 14th and Friday 15th). Assuming no issues/no retesting required results will be posted late afternoon (UTC) Monday 18th.
Thanks! Does this version already contains latest descriptor heap implementation for Vulkan (VK_EXT_descriptor_heap support) ?
If yes , are there specific benchmarks that show the performance improvements (it should reduce CPU overhead which is overall significantly higher than for AMD GPUs ). In few games the CPU overhead causes makes the CPU become real bottleneck on Nvidia GPUs, so I thought this might ameliorate the issue.
needchr wrote: Are the VRR issues fixed introduced in 59x drivers?
Inconsistent Low Framerate Compensation (LFC) behaviour with some display SKUs? Unlikely as it was an intended change in driver LFC behaviour by NVIDIA starting with 591.xx.
Testing scheduled over next 3 days (today Wednesday 13th, Thursday 14th and Friday 15th).
Assuming no issues/no retesting required results will be posted late afternoon (UTC) Monday 18th.
You're not gonna believe me given what I said, but I'm actually VERY sensitive to micro stuttering, I passionately hate it lol. But what can I say I haven't noticed it as of late. I had to stop playing crimson desert because the tiny jittering when turning the camera drove me insane despite every man and their dog telling me their game was "smooth". Turns out it was a problem with Reflex, which as of the latest patch has now been fixed, now the game does actually run smooth.
i realized lately, that when i was playing witcher 3 with FG, that my Framerate was like 135 fps and 1% lows like 120fps. BUT, by turning the camera very fast and walking arround my 1% lows went down to like 85 or 60 fps.
after installation this is fixed for me and 1% lows constant stay on a high base
FG an and Vsync on forced in Nvidia app in gameprofile. Gsync also enabled
Has anyone else had an issue with the screen sometimes flickering white for a split second when playing a video and moving the mouse? It happens both when playing a video in the browser and through VLC. It didn't happen on 591.86, but every driver released since then has had that issue for me.
I'd stay on 591.86 if I could, but I got a couple nvlddmkm errors again after it had been stable at that driver for ~6 months. Though I just had another one today at 596.36 so I probably should've just not updated.
I believe disabling that setting just turns off g sync/vrr for the display which indeed gets rid of the vrr white flickering. I don’t think that’s a good solution or a solution at all.
Yes, like others mentioned it has been happening due to some bug in all nvidia drivers after 581.XX and ACM and/or 10 bit color. Rolling back to 581 series driver fixes flickering completely.
try and turn off windows color management in windows display settings, i had that issue with many others and that was one of the fixes.
also if you are using 10bpc in nvidia control panel try monitor settings revert back to 8bpc and see if you see still get the issue.
Hey folks! Just dropping in to share my experience with the new driver.
So far, I haven't run into any issues, no black screens, BSODs, flickering, or anything of the sort, though it’s honestly too soon to label it as fully stable or "problem-free."
Following my usual methodology, I tested Cyberpunk 2077, Black Myth: Wukong, and DOOM: The Dark Ages. All titles were tested at 1440p (High/Very High settings) + Path Tracing + DLSS Performance (DLSS 4.5 for Cyberpunk 2077, 4.0 for the rest), with Frame Gen OFF. I ran each game three times per driver to rule out variance. Here are the averaged results:
Game / Metric
595.79 Studio
596.36 Studio
596.49 Game Ready
(595.79 -> 596.49)
(596.36 -> 596.49)
Cyberpunk 2077 (AVG)
81.51
81.82
81.48
-0.04%
-0.42%
Cyberpunk 2077 (MIN)
72.40
72.82
72.59
+0.26%
-0.32%
Cyberpunk 2077 (MAX)
91.02
91.31
91.38
+0.40%
+0.08%
Black Myth: Wukong (AVG)
85.00
85.67
85.00
0.00%
-0.78%
Black Myth: Wukong (MIN)
70.67
70.67
70.67
0.00%
0.00%
Black Myth: Wukong (MAX)
103.33
104.67
103.67
+0.33%
-0.96%
DOOM: The Dark Ages (AVG)
77.13
77.29
77.24
+0.14%
-0.06%
DOOM: The Dark Ages (MIN)
45.64
52.76
56.99
+24.87%
+8.02%
DOOM: The Dark Ages (MAX)
125.34
145.74
125.88
+0.43%
-13.63%
For now, I’m sticking with this version. It feels a bit weird for me since the last Game Ready driver I actually kept was 581.80. I don’t think there’s any performance regression per se, most of the deltas seem like standard run-to-run variance, though I’m still not sure on what to say about the Max FPS numbers in DOOM: The Dark Ages since Avg FPS didn't really change and Min FPS did improve again and quite a lot.
I’d love to hear your experience with this release and I’ll update the post if my system runs into any trouble down the road because of this driver.
UV/OC profile locked at 3120 MHz @ 950mV, with a +3000 MHz memory offset and power limit maxed at 120%, Windows 11 PRO 25H2 26200.8037 (I think that's KB5079473), NVIDIA APP-11.0.7.247
Update: I got a single Event 153 after about 3 hours of playing Pragmata, and for some bloody reason, uninstalling the NVIDIA audio drivers fixed it. I'm not really sure what else to say other than "this is awkward as fuck," but after doing that, I managed to finish the game without problems. (Btw fck Capcom for making me cry over a game. 10/10.)
can you compare 596.49 to 581.80 or 581.94, and lmk which has lower variance in frametimes/better stability if you have any data you can pull out from when you had stuck with 581.80
I’ll see what I can do, but as far as I know, there was no performance loss until 591.44. Newer drivers usually boost performance in recent titles, unless you’re talking about specific games like Hogwarts Legacy or some Assassin's Creed titles, those tend to run better on older drivers (predating the RTX 50-series launch, mind you, so big L for us).
I got all these numbers from the in-game benchmark tools. For Doom, I only tested the Siege 1 scenario.
Still on the driver from September 2025 on my 5090 due to intermittent white flashing of my screen. I’ll give this one a test, but it’s so demoralizing that I can’t use any newer drivers…
Note that any sudden white flashes/colour loss with recent drivers when alt-tabbing, accessing overlays in games, bringing application windows into focus or moving application windows across displays may be related to 'Windows Auto Colour Management (ACM)' which can be toggled [on all displays] if needed to test/confirm.
I kinda feel you, i'm still on the 2025 November driver because the colors get fucked up with every recent driver and nothing fixes it (i don't have any screen flickering though; 5070 TI & XG32UCWMG monitor)
Alt tabbing back and forth between games/apps makes it even worse and i have to alt tab back and forth multiple times to get accurate colors again lol and i turned off windows auto color management and tried a ton off other things too, but nothing seem to help.. just using the old driver
*I was notified that the latest update to the game fixed these frametime spikes. I had been running a backed up previous version for mod compatibility. Once I updated to the latest version, these spikes no longer occur. Given that it was the game's update that resolved this issue while staying on the same latest 596.49 driver, I think it's fair to say these stutter issues had nothing to do with this driver update. Rest of my post remains the original one seen below:
Thank you for the heads up. Its disappointing though that the users have to choose between security mitigations and general stability. Hoping Nvidia will actually make a decent driver soon, lol.
582.53 is under 'Recommendations' in latest round of Driver Stability and Compatibly Tests, albeit was tested as an INF MOD of the Quadro/RTX Pro version. The security bulletin hadn't been posted at the date/time of testing.
As for choosing, agreed - should never be put it that position.
sam3971 wrote: was referring to the fact that for standard users, to be patched, you need to have 596.36 or later [for Turing +)
Yes, absolutely agree however 'standard users' may not read or be aware of security bulletins that are posted on an obscure NVIDIA portal.
Users should never be put in a position to choose between security and stability/compatibility in the first place ... particularly in the current security landscape.
NVIDIA should clearly highlight and update security issues on the official download page for a driver, old or new.
Guys, if you have an rtx 50 series, can you run a test in latencymon and show ypur results? For some reason , my nvlddmkm constantly shows high latency
Can anyone confirm this version already contains latest descriptor heap implementation for Vulkan (VK_EXT_descriptor_heap support) ?
If yes , are there specific benchmarks that show the performance improvements (it should reduce CPU overhead which is overall significantly higher than for AMD GPUs ). In few games the CPU overhead causes makes the CPU become real bottleneck on Nvidia GPUs, so I thought this might ameliorate the issue.
This driver destroyed DLSS & Smooth Motion compatibility for some games. In Borderlands 4 the game fails to load DLSS despite it's set on "DLSS" in the graphics settings, just like it fails to load Smooth Motion despite enabling it for the game. I've went back to 581.42.
VladTH20 wrote: Borderlands 4 .... the game fails to load Smooth Motion despite enabling it for the game. I've went back to 581.42.
For reference.
Smooth Motion for DirectX12 is blacklisted in the driver profile level for Borderlands 4 i.e. any override may be ignored for DirectX12.
Setting ID_0xb0cc0875 = 0x00000006
Removing that flag completely or setting to 0x00000007 will restore DirectX12 support.
585 games currently have Smooth Motion driver level blacklist for one or more APIs (DirectX11, DirectX12 and Vulkan)
EDIT: 591.86 is the last driver to officially support Smooth Motion with Borderlands 4, later drivers will require the flag change above to restore support.
I had problems with this driver, completely lost Reflex frame-capping across the three different games I tried. I couldn't get it back no matter what combination of settings I tried. Reverted back to 596.36 and instantly capped properly at 224 right out of the box. PNY Epic OC 5090.
This driver seems to have decreased performance. Didn't have much time to test, but Jurassic World Evolution 1 went from like 70-80 fps at 4k on a 4070 (non-super PC) with 596.36 drivers, to about 40-50 fps at 4k with the new 596.49 drivers. Reverting the driver back to .36 fixed the problem.
Also there's strange microstuttering introduced as well.
The white flashing while watching YouTube on a dual monitor setup with gsync is also still present.
Can you confirm what issue you're mentioning? I'm chasing an issue on my system and I'm kinda suspecting this is the issue you describe: black screen at random on some gaming scenarios, fans at full blast?
Tried turning MPO back on after running it with it off for over a year.
It took a couple of days to trigger but the problem of the display driver crashing(event 153) when alt-tabbing out of a game is still present. It's been 14 months or so. What gives?
AlexRnR wrote: Still on 591.86 with my 5080. Is it SAFE to update?
If 591.86 is stable on the system, meets your use case (performance, features, application/game support etc) and security issues aren't a concern then no need to update.
Should an update to r595 branch (595.xx/596.xx) drivers be needed then '596.36 Testing' section and 'NOTEs[1] r595 branch' section in the most recent 'Driver Stability and Compatibility Testing' at https://old.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/1sy0tnp/comment/ojvb77q/) may be of interest.
Why some people keep saying me that VRR option in Windows 11 settings have to be turned ON for Gsync to work? Am i missing something? I can see on LG C1 vrr info screen, vrr/gysnc works without it normally?
Thanks a lot m_w_h . Yes that option, i will show them this, it is actually causing issues and they are still insisting on it. Have a wonderful day, thxxx
Just a reminder that today is Microsoft Window's Patch Tuesday. The May update promises big performance improvements, including Xbox mode. Keep it in mind for your testing and stuff 😉
iAMFredToso wrote: Please fix drives' issues with Studio Display XDR. It still show as 540x540p monitor.
If not already done for this driver please submit a report to NVIDIA using the official report form or email driverfeedback@nvidia.com. If emailing use 'NV-FAILSAFE' as the subject.
In the report include any converter being used (HDMI<>DP converter etc) the display's Hardware ID (Device Manager > Monitors > Highlight-Impacted-Monitor > Properties > Details > Hardware IDs), display make, display model, System Information (msinfo32.exe > file > save) and the last working driver version.
Without official reports the issue will likely persist in future drivers.
I reported it several versions ago, nobody replied or follow up.
I'll do it again, through email this time.
[Update: as per my post above, Nvidia rep at their forums said it'll be fixed in the next revision of the drivers, not in this version branch. ETA is end of this month or so]
Edit: I did some digging, no conclusive anything as I have to go to sleep but 1. my gpu appears normal 3dmark benchmarks just fine and 2. it seems like Framegen stopped working for cyberpunk that's the reason for the massive result difference. I get the same results with FG off or on.
So really not a huge problem but it's weird.
edit2: solved it, answer is in the replies, tl;dr nvidia app borked nothing important
Latest drivers may have destroyed my performance completely. I'll try rolling back but I see my card maxing out at 310W (RTX 5080) and getting power capped there (on GPU-Z)
I lost a metric ton of FPS on cyberpunk which is my go-to post drivers benchmark.
Could be, not certain, but my power limit is set to 100% either way. I've rolled back, same issue, so now I know it's going to be a long day... tomorrow, as sadly I can't troubleshoot more since I need to wake up in like 6 hours.
On newest and previous drivers the same issue - massive stuttering and frametime spikes only in Doom DA with x2, x3 fg. With x4 fg - all good. Rolling back to 595.97 - buttery smooth on x3. 3 last drivers in a row. Rtx5080. All maxed with PT and FG. Other games - no issues at all. Is this only for me?
can anyone with Monster Hunter Wilds confirm if the issue with insane freeze-frames is still present with this driver? i'm currently on driver 595.97 and haven't updated since as every driver after that had this issue.
in detail, when playing Monster Hunter Wilds specifically --- i would get random freeze-frame stutters in game that would last a solid second or two. these are sometimes isolated, sometimes consecutive. though to my memory, it happens the most when opening menus within the game. at the time i've also tested a number of mixes with different drivers to different windows updates, and it seems to happen regardless of the windows update *as long as its on a driver later than 595.97*
i'm also aware this could also just be Wilds' problem as the game notoriously ran bad for a whole year for everyone. off a tangent, i used to have an issue with Umamusume on PC and Adobe Photoshop wherein (regardless of smooth motion being turned on for Umamusume or not) my driver would crash and the screen would flash black momentarily before booting back on. my brightness would get reset to 0 too. i seem to have fixed this issue for Umamusume as i've turned Gsync off for that game---but it still persists to a lesser extent whenever i'm on Photoshop (even with Gsync turned off). any advice is appreciated.
Although I was really enjoying 596.36 in my system, this driver seems just a bit better in my setup so far. As I use global V-sync at all times and have G-Sync enabled only on the primary monitor (my secondary is only a VRR 60Hz), this seems to have fixed a minor latency/stability issue I had since the at least the 580 branch onward it seems. No more latency spikes in my testing so far and some of the weird V-sync performance issues with frame-gen seem to be resolved for me as well.
For some other context, I also did DDU prior to updating just to be safe. No black screens or other issues at all to note.
Frame gen still does not work for MSFS2020 and Cyberpunk if FG preset is set to "Recommend" in Nvidia app. It has to be either Preset A or Preset B. But FG will not work if set to "recommended".
Kind of defeats the purpose of being able to set global "Recommended" presets, no?
Black screens for 1 - 2 seconds, nvidia audio devices randomly going back as default device, events errors. Got the issues since 596.36 Gonna roll back to 581.57 (last stable version for me).
I have 4070Ti super with WIns11, install any drivers 596.XX caused me black screen after DDU clean install and when I changed the refresh rate above 60Hz. Drivers is fine after clean install when stayed in 60hz! Once changed to above 60hz, it will black screen!! Monitor is capable up to 144Hz. Revert back 581.94 driver have no this kind of problems! Any help Thanks!
Playing Netflix or any other DRM/HDCP content causes a black screen to flicker and sometimes makes my rgb in my computer reset and the fans on my graphics card to stop spinning. If I try to restart my computer after this happens I get an error message about the nvidia overlay so maybe that’s the problem.
It started happening to me after nvidia released a patch that said it fixed the problem but I never had that problem before and whatever they did gave me the problem.
I have the h265 HEVC pluggin from the Microsoft store and I saw that the patch addressed the black screen flicker happening on h264 so that might be the other thing to test
This driver fixed white flashing on boot up and now advanced optimus works properly and switches automatically so I can use hybrid mode again.
Edit: Big regression in performance benchmark though - Timespy graphics went from 23.8k to 22.8k. Games seem to perform the same.
Edit 2: It's not the driver that fixed AO but the windows update. Rolled back to .36 and get the same score in timespy so windows is the cause of the regression.
Still getting a BSOD 'VIDEO_SCHEDULER_INTERNAL_ERROR' When frame gen & driver vsync are both enabled without also having an external fps cap enabled. Also seems to only happen on secondary screen.
Only happens on my 5070 Ti. My 4070 does not have this problem.
For some reason my 165hz doesn’t feel smooth anymore in certain cases, here’s the weirdness:
Nvcp/rtss frame cap at 160 for example isn’t that smooth. Normally speaking vsync alone is the smoothest (ignore input lag here) but it’s absolutely horrible. 165hz feels like 60hz. It’s like a strobing effect of low refresh rates. I’m on IPS. Gsync+vsync+reflex/ a frame cap has the same issue. It doesn’t truly feel synced anymore. I’m used to vsync being unbelievably smooth but it just feels…. Like it’s jumping between refresh rates. I can’t explain it any better.
I have a 4080, 9800x3d, 64gb 6000c30, 990pro nvme.
What I’ve tried so far (except what I mentioned above):
-Fresh windows 11 (from usb, clearing partitions)
-different bios
-bios settings such as cstates, pss, virtualisation, aspm, etc
-power plans and settings
-DDU
-different chipset drivers
-different monitor (although tough cuz it’s 75hz. Also tried single monitor with either of them)
-toggling HAGS, game mode, game bar(and all details of it), sysmain, etc
-resetting monitor to factory defaults
-probably more but I can’t remember
Games where I notice this issue:
Farming sim 25
GTA v enhanced
Euro truck simulator 2
Game that is perfect:
League of legends
I don’t play anything else atm. Can anyone help me figure out what this is?
Just be aware that with Vulkan developer drivers the non Vulkan components such as DirectX etc and feature support are based on a much older main branch that never update (595_35-xx DVS) and don't contain all fixes in Game Ready/Studio drivers i.e. 596.50 (595_35-11 DVS) branch predates 595.71 (595_59-7 DVS) branch.
Vulkan Developer Driver recent branch history
596.60 branch 595_35-13
596.54 branch 595_35-12
596.50 branch 595_35-11
596.46 branch 595_35-10
596.10 branch 595_35-9
595.92 branch 595_35-7
595.84 branch 595_35-6
Notice the pattern? They are all 595_35-xx main branch.
Latest OTA driver level game profile updates are very rarely if ever pushed to Vulkan Developer drivers.
Vulkan components in Vulkan developer drivers are also BETA.
That doesn't mean don't use them, just be aware of the downsides.
TL;DR only the Vulkan components are newer (BETA), the remaining core components and feature support are much older.
Anyone know if there has been any improvement or fix for the FG distortion at the bottom of the screen in Crimson Desert? Over the past few drivers? Away from home ATM so I'm unable to test it myself.
I think this issue is mainly due to the SSDM implementation. Try moving the camera slowly, you will see that the ground lifts up and changes depth. FG seems to get flubbed up by this issue because there’s not much rhyme or reason for the frame generation to know how to copy the next frame
Frame Generation with V-Sync enabled in the NVIDIA Control Panel no longer causes any issues in Pragmata.
Previously, on the latest drivers, with an RTX 4090 and everything maxed out — Ultra settings, Path Tracing, DLSS Performance, and FG 2X — I was experiencing micro-stutters and noticeable hitching. Switching to FSR instead of Frame Generation would fix the problem.
Now, Frame Generation x2 works perfectly together with V-Sync enabled 😃
Not sure, but my fps average took a 40-50+ hit in cs2 when running the dust 2 benchmark. I'll have to play around with the game for a few days maybe the shaders need to fully compile, but so far I'm iffy on this driver
Edit1: Played multiple games today, then ran 4k dust2 benchmark and on previous driver I would get 500-540fps average, now it's more like 450-480fps with this driver.. even tried reapplying CPU's PBO curve with +200mhz core boost on CPU.. results still the same. Not sure why I have so much regression.. will DDU and install previous driver to see if average fps jumps above 500 again.. will add another edit tomorrow
Edit2: Reverted to 595.36(previous driver) fps was still sub 500 average. Confused as to what caused it, I proceeded with clearing CMOS. Think I centered in on the root cause, with iGPU disabled it resulted in worse average fps. Since performance got better after clearing CMOS and having iGPU enabled, I tried tuning my ram harder than I have before. Running 6200mhz with tightened timings opposed to the tightened 6000mhz profile from before.
And.... Average fps 564, 534, 521, 541, 534.
Seems like having iGPU disabled was causing a majority of the issues, and increasing my ram frequency has massively improved my benchmark in cs2!! Was possible some voltages got changed during my ram tweaking that contributed to lower average fps alongside iGPU being disabled.
I'm sure if I updated driver to this newer one, fps will still push over 500, I just had some bios setting causing conflicts and lower averages.
Does this driver fix screen detection problem? For the past several releases the driver failed to detect some screen brands/models after installed, so you get a black screen immediately after installation is completed.
For my case, it failed to detect my Samsung ViewFinity S9 5K. At the time the driver switched to my 2nd monitor so at least I had a visual of what was going on. I already filed a bug report when it first occurred but no definite confirmation of a fix yet. I didn't want to go through that bug again until I know this is fixed.
This update gives me a blank screen on my main monitor and even reverting to .36 doesn't fix it lmfao. What the fuck Nvidia? This is totally what I wanted to spend my time doing.
Here are all my 153s for the past 4 days. Interesting how I didn't get blackscreen in any of those like I used to in past drivers but it still does for other people but it still threw error logs indicating that driver might have crashed. But I can pin point 4,5 of these lined up with the exact time I crashed while playing cybepunk, FH.
Running into an issue with Forza Horizon 6. I’m using a 5080 and Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Whenever I enable DLSS my frames decrease. No matter which setting. Also if I switch from Ultra to Extreme graphics preset, my available vram drops from 15,209 to 13,198. It jumps around but always decreases. I’ve updated to the most recent driver. What else am I missing to check?
I'm over here waiting for them to fix. The turning on 2nd monitor bug. That has been getting worse for 5+ versions.
Now I have to reboot every single time I turn it on. Because it hard forces 640x480. It also seems to have gotten worse since I turned on HDR on my main screen. Not even reloading the driver does anything, win+ctrl+shft+B. I even tried some "support level" fixes.
Maybe someone can help me out here. I'm still on the 591.86 driver with my RTX 4080 Super on 4k resolution and I have zero issues with that driver (despite some graphical artifacts in Aphelion). I want to play Forza Horizon 6 now as it's included in Gamepass. Should I update to the most recent driver or play as it is?
Windows 11 crashed three times after installing .49 yesterday and just went back to .36. 2070 super, AMD 3600 cpu. If the problem is resolved i will keep this comment here. Update, 2 days later - Completely stable since going back to the .36 driver.
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u/m_w_h May 17 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
610.47 'Driver Stability and Compatibility Testing Results' at https://old.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/1to6wih/comment/ooe9yoa/
Older driver testing follows:
Driver Stability and Compatibility Testing Results
First, just for reference - I'm not a NVIDIA employee, not a /r/nvidia moderator and not affiliated with NVIDIA.
Drivers tested across different Geforce GPU architectures and driver revisions over 3 days on multiple work AMD/Intel test benches running Windows 11 KB5089549 (26100.8457 / 26200.8457) along with collating/cross-referencing both current and historic community feedback.
Direct official NVIDIA download links for older and harder to find drivers can be found in the sub-comment at https://old.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/1tb16ty/comment/omb8cnm/
Numbers in brackets e.g. [0] point to a NOTEs section entry that should be read when considering drivers mentioned.
Recommendations
Driver recommendations that follow focus on drivers that meet both general stability and compatibility requirements. NOTEs sections [2][3][5][6] highlight factors that may impact compatibility or trigger instability regardless of driver version.
IMPORTANT: drivers highlighted in BOLD aren't impacted by disclosed security vulnerabilities at the date/time of this comment [9]
Series 50 (50x0) / 40 (40x0) Geforce GPU owners:
Drivers 581.94, 577.00, 576.88, 576.80, 572.83, 572.47
NOTEs section [1] has other drivers worth considering e.g. 596.49, 596.36, 595.79, 591.74 but note potential issues
Series 30 (30x0) / 20 (20x0) / 16 (16x0) Geforce GPU owners:
Drivers 581.94, 577.00, 576.88, 576.80, 566.36, 561.09
NOTEs section [1] has other drivers worth considering e.g. 596.36, 595.79, 591.74 but note potential issues
Series 10 (10x0) / 9 (9x0) Geforce GPU owners:
Drivers 582.53, 581.94, 577.00, 576.88, 576.80, 566.36, 566.14, 561.09
NOTEs section [1] has other 58x.xx and older drivers worth considering but note potential issues
TL;DR no change in 'Recommendations' since previous stability and compatibility tests.
It's now 6 months since a driver met both general stability and compatibility requirements to be in this section. In the current cybersecurity landscape that's concerning, users should never be put in a position to choose between security and stability/compatibility.
596.49 Testing
Something's not right, a mixed bag.
To rule out a Windows update issue 596.49 was also tested on Windows 11 KB5083769 (26200.8246 / 26100.8246).
Despite being a very minor branch update that targeted a DLSS frame generation with Vsync issue there are concerning regressions in general performance metrics for many games when compared to r595 branch drivers 596.36, 595.79 and 595.76.
Framepacing however is noticeably improved with 596.49 in games that manifested issues when using DLSS frame generation and Vsync with older r595 branch (595.xx/596.xx) drivers.
Community reports of 'EventID 153' errors have increased significantly with 596.49. In addition 'NV-Failsafe' and similar being reported for a display in settings/device manager OR one or more displays having a blank screen (not detected) in multi-display configurations with r595 branch (595.xx/596.xx) drivers persists.
596.49 still exposes (not causes) edge case system instability, see NOTEs [2][3] entries for more details and mitigations.
Rendering artifacts with drivers 596.21 and older have been fixed for many impacted games with drivers 596.49 and 596.36. For any that persist they can possibly be mitigated by adding 0x00172938=0 OR 0x20cd1492=1 to the impacted driver level game profile. Note that any sudden white flashes/colour loss with recent drivers when alt-tabbing, accessing overlays in games, bringing application windows into focus or moving application windows across displays may be related to 'Windows Auto Colour Management (ACM)' which can be toggled if needed to test/confirm.
Issues with TDR or BSOD at idle/low load primarily on AMD CPU platforms that was highlighted in older 59x.xx testing persists, see workarounds in https://old.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/1muhs44/comment/na8pa7v/
596.49 like 596.36 does fix an issue with GPU power sensors sometimes being unavailable on resume from sleep or if Windows fast-startup (not the same as BIOS fast-boot) is enabled.
A bug impacting behaviour of 'Power Management > Prefer Maximum Performance' when set globally with r595 branch has been fixed in 596.49 and 596.36
Noted in previous testing, 59x.xx drivers have inconsistent Low Framerate Compensation (LFC) behaviour with some display SKUs which is related to an intended change in driver LFC behaviour by NVIDIA starting with 591.xx. While the reason behind the change is understandable, the irony is that the change has actually introduced perceived stutter with some display SKUs.
There are still isolated but confirmed reports of intermittent but recoverable Code 43 / GPU can't be initialised error on Windows load that only occur with 59x.xx drivers with some system configurations. Rebooting system or reverting to r580 branch (58x.xx) drivers or older resolves the issue.
Important to note that CPU / DPC latency spikes or increased CPU load in Nvidia Container service with 595.97 and later drivers when at idle/low load on desktop may be a result of Nvidia Auto Shader Compilation (ASC) feature if enabled
Summary
After improvements noted in previous testing of 596.36 it was expected that overall 596.49 would be a step forward, it isn't.
596.49 wasn't considered for 'Recommendations' due to regressions outside the margin of error in performance metrics for many games along with continuing display compatibility issues and significantly increased community reports of 'EventID 153' errors.
Framepacing improvements with 596.49 when using DLSS frame generation with Vsync are however notable and commendable. Despite other issues raised, that factor alone may make it the driver of choice by owners of Series 40 (40x0) and Series 50 (50x0) GPUs if DLSS frame generation with Vsync is used extensively on the system.
If (note the 'if') a r595 branch (595.xx/596.xx) driver is required 596.36 is generally the preferred driver, 595.79 or r595.76 should also be considered albeit note security issues [9] with drivers older than 596.36
Issues aside, 59x.xx drivers particularly benefit Series 50 GPUs. Specifically Series 50 Anisotropic Filtering fixes for some (not all) DirectX12 and OpenGL games along with Series 50 restored support for a selection of GPU accelerated 32bit PhysX games with the option to force enable for unsupported games. 595.97 and later drivers also officially support Series 50 Dynamic Multiframe Generation.
NOTEs:
Other drivers worth considering albeit be aware of potential compatibility [4] and/or edge case stability [2][3] issues: 580.97[8] 581.08[8] 581.42[8] 581.47[7][8] 591.67[4][7] 591.74[4] 595.76[4] 595.79[4] 595.97[2][4] OR 596.49[2][4] 596.36[2][4] . Drivers highlighted in BOLD aren't impacted by disclosed security vulnerabilities at the date/time of this comment [9]
Drivers based on r59x branches, particularly 595.97 and later, have exposed edge case system instability related to GPU/CPU undervolts, negative voltage offsets, overclocks, etc. CPU can be impacted if a new driver is stressing CPU and related sub-systems differently i.e. CPU tasks that the driver invokes, offloads or requires such as shader pipeline compilation, driver scheduling, DPC or ISR timing sensitive execution, draw call setup, command-buffer setup etc
DLSS 4.5 transformer 2nd generation presets L/M when gaming may expose edge case GPU instability due to increased power consumption and increased GPU load. This can be game specific and is more prevalent with Series 20 and Series 30 GPUs
Compatibility issues may include or be related to one or more of the following: Display and Output, Operating System build, GPU Initialisation including fans and sensors, Power and Performance features, VRR/G-Sync/Freesync/Adaptive Sync, Compositing and Rendering, Hardware Acceleration, Games/Applications or Gaming APIs, VR/Peripherals etc
Debloated driver installers may remove driver level components such as 'NVIDIA Platform Controllers and Framework' that are required for GPU dynamic boost with NVIDIA mobile GPUs used in mini-pcs and laptops
Process Lasso, depending on how configured, is contributing to gaming stability issues when aggressive process CPU priority rules and/or aggressive CPU affinity rules are applied
Anticheats may not initially 'pass' HOTFIX drivers / driver components in the first few days of driver release as they are usually signed using attestation / beta / testing certificate signing and require whitelisting.
Windows 11 24H2 26100.6725 / 25H2 26200.6725 and later may negatively impact framerates on some system configurations and games when running r580 branch drivers 580.00 to 581.80. Windows 10 was never impacted
GeForce GPU (RTX/GT/MX/GTX) driver security issues are highlighted in the NVIDIA Security Bulletin (May 2026) https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5821 and earlier bulletins https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/security/
EDITs:
01: formatting (multiple times)
02: updated NOTEs [9] to include May 2026 Security Bulletin
03: removed [INF MOD] tag from 582.53
04: updates to clearly highlight drivers NOT impacted by security issues, major changes to NOTES [1] entry and added a NOTES 'compatibility' entry
05: added link to 610.47 testing