NVIDIA’s latest series of GPU drivers have stirred up quite a storm, particularly among users of the GeForce RTX 40 series—though older models haven’t been spared either. Strangely, NVIDIA has remained silent on the matter, leaving many users frustrated and searching for solutions.
Since the debut of the RTX 50 series earlier this year, NVIDIA’s attention seems to have shifted away from the RTX 40 series GPUs, focusing instead on ironing out the wrinkles in their latest offering. The RTX 50 series itself encountered issues like the notorious blue screens of death, but what has particularly irked RTX 40 users is the unexpected instability introduced by the 572.XX drivers, which were intended to support the new RTX 50 series.
On platforms like Reddit, users like Soctty1992 have shared their unsettling experiences with these newer drivers. The issues range from hard crashes and black screens to bizarre display glitches—problems that were rarely seen with the smoother running pre-572.XX drivers.
Consider this: It’s interesting to note that reverting to the older 566.XX drivers has resolved most of these issues for many users. These drivers, available before January 30th, when the 572.16 driver rolled out to support the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, seem to breathe new life back into the RTX 40 series setups. Exciting features introduced with the RTX 50 series—like DLSS 4, Multi-Frame Generation, and DLSS Override—are tantalizing but appear to be entangled in a mix of factors causing these disruptions.
One user recounted an experience with their RTX 4080 encountering crashes while running Cyberpunk 2077, only to find relief by going back to the older drivers. Similarly, another RTX 4090 user faced black screens and system freezes, issues that disappeared with the justice of driver version 566.XX.
NVIDIA’s delayed response to the growing wave of complaints has been less than encouraging. The focus has been on resolving the BSODs for the RTX 50-series, leaving RTX 40 users feeling sidelined. Unfortunately, those who’ve reverted to older drivers now miss out on some of the latest updates and features, like DLSS 4’s Transformer Model, enhanced Ray Reconstruction, and the expanded list of DLSS-supported games—a trade-off that shouldn’t be a necessity for enthusiasts seeking the best from their gear.
