If you haven’t updated your Nvidia GPU in a while, now is a good time. The company’s latest driver update has addressed several long-standing bugs while also bringing a significant performance boost.
Update Now and Run Your Games Faster
Most Nvidia GPU driver updates either bring bug fixes or feature additions like support for DLSS4 in new and existing games. However, update version 576.02 reportedly brings a 5-10% performance improvement, shown by an FPS boost across games.
A thread on theNvidia subreddithas screenshots showing a 7% improvement in Cyberpunk 2077 with the game’s RT Overdrive preset, enabling both ray and path tracing compared to the previous driver version. The 5070 Ti being used in this case managed to get 80 FPS without frame generation and DLSS set to balanced.
Benchmarking tools are also reporting significant performance gains on the 50-series cards. Another 5070 Ti user,CurryGorYT, found their GPU improved by 7% in 3DMark Steel Nomad, with a final score of 6,467 and average framerate of 64.68 FPS.Tech619reported their score in 3DMark Steel Nomad, jumping from 8,832 to 9,215 with an average of 92.16 FPS after the update on an MSI RTX 5080 Vanguard.
The biggest performance jump came onCellTastic’sRTX 5070 Ti—8% with the latest driver, with the score jumping from 6504 to 7006 on Steel Nomad. Interestingly, an RTX 5090 user reported no difference in performance on the same thread.
The improvements aren’t just for RTX 50-series cards either. There are claims of a 3-5% performance boost on 40-series GPUs as well. Reddit userAerithGainsborough7shared a thread showing improvements of 3, 4.1, and 3.6% in Steel Nomad, Blackmyth Wukong, and Cyberpunk 2077, respectively, on an RTX 4070 Ti.
How to Cleanly Install and Reinstall GPU Drivers on Windows
Use this step-by-step guide to perform a clean installation of your graphics driver in Windows.
Keep in mind that the performance gains mentioned above were recorded on desktop versions of the GPUs. I use an RTX 4060 laptop, and am yet to see any significant improvements in either in-game FPS or benchmarking tools since the update.
While these numbers might not seem too high, drivers as mature as Nvidia’s often bring much smaller performance improvements—if any. Considering the razor-thin performance margins among Nvidia’s recently released GPUs, these numbers are pretty solid.
Dozens of Stability Issues Addressed
As mentioned before, driver updates mostly focus on bug fixes and feature additions, and Nvidia has done plenty of bug-quashing in this update. There are also stability improvements for various games.
Nvidia has fixed dithering or banding in some games on 50-series GPUs. Game stability issues when playing with DLSS frame generation and G-Sync enabled together have also been addressed. Those annoying micro-stutters when forcing VSync through the Nvidia Control Panel? Gone.
Game Ready or Studio: Which Nvidia Driver Is Right for You?
Not sure whether to choose the Nvidia Game Ready Driver or the Studio Driver for your card? The good news is the decision isn’t permanent.
Games like inZOI, Fortnite, Monster Hunter Wilds, Overwatch 2, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, The First Berserker: Khazan, The Last of Us Part I, and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves, among others, have also received fixes for numerous problems.
There are far too many fixes in this update to list them all, but if you were facing problems with your GPU, chances are thatapplying this graphics driver updatewill fix them.
