NVIDIA’s latest GPU drivers have been stirring up some serious trouble for both the GeForce RTX 40 series and even older models, yet NVIDIA has remained silent on these issues.
Widespread Issues Reported with Driver 572.XX on RTX 40-Based Systems
Ever since the RTX 50 series hit the market in January, NVIDIA seems to have left the RTX 40 series in the shadows when it comes to fixing bugs. It’s natural for companies to shift their focus toward the newest products, but while the RTX 40 series was generally stable with earlier drivers, the introduction of RTX 50-ready drivers brought along a host of problems.
Reddit user u/Soctty1992 shared his personal woes with the problematic 572.XX driver, noting common themes in various reports. Users are grappling with system crashes, black screens, and display issues, problems that were scarce before the era of 572.XX drivers.
“PSA: Nvidia Widespread Black Screen or Hard OS Crash Issues on 4xxx (or older) Series Cards Need To Be Widely Known & Fixed,” warned Reddit user Scotty1992 on the hardware subreddit.
Interestingly, many users have found refuge in the older 566.XX drivers, which were made available prior to the release of the 572.16 driver on January 30th, intended to support the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080. Although the RTX 50 series brought features like DLSS 4, Multi-Frame Generation, and DLSS Override, activating these doesn’t always directly lead to issues. It’s a complex interplay of multiple factors requiring rigorous investigation.
One user recounted how playing Cyberpunk 2077 on his RTX 4080 resulted in immediate crashes, a problem resolved only by reverting to drivers predating 572.XX. Another RTX 4090 owner faced black screens, system freezes, and non-responsive monitors, all of which were alleviated with the 566.XX drivers.
Despite users actively reporting these bugs since late January, NVIDIA seemingly turned a deaf ear, focusing instead on resolving BSOD issues for the RTX 50 series—a fix that came weeks later. Many RTX 40 users have had no choice but to revert to older drivers, sacrificing the benefits of the latest updates like the Transformer Model DLSS 4, enhanced Ray Reconstruction, and new games added to the DLSS-supported lineup.
