VIDEO Did Nvidia Just Upgrade your GPU?

Did Nvidia Just Upgrade your GPU? In a recent YouTube video titled "Did Nvidia Just Upgrade your GPU?", a deep dive into Nvidia's latest drivers reveals potential performance enhancements for older graphics cards. The presenter explains how Nvidia’s 522.25 WHQL Game Ready driver offers significant boosts specifically for DirectX 12 games and extends ResizeBAR support to more titles. This is particularly notable for owners of the RTX 30 series graphics cards, as these updates may enhance gaming experiences without requiring a new GPU purchase.

Key Highlights from the Video:​

  1. Performance Claims:
    • Nvidia claims performance improvements in several games, noting up to 24% gains in certain titles.
    • Games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Horizon Zero Dawn are highlighted, with specific performance metrics showing varying results based on the GPU models tested.
  2. Resizable BAR Support:
    • ResizeBAR allows for better data transfer between the GPU and CPU, akin to AMD's Smart Access Memory but previously limited to a whitelist of supported titles.
    • With this update, more games such as Forza Horizon 5 are expected to benefit from this technology, which could result in notable frame rate improvements.
  3. Testing Methodology:
    • The presenter uses an RTX 3080 12GB GPU, comparing results from the old and new drivers under various resolutions (1080p, 1440p, and 4K) and graphics settings.
    • While some tests reflected negligible differences (often within margin of error), others noted improvements, especially in CPU-bound scenarios.
  4. Real-World Performance:
    • The benchmarks of Shadow of the Tomb Raider indicate similar performance between the two drivers, suggesting that actual improvements might vary based on specific scenes or conditions.
    • In Horizon Zero Dawn at 1440p, a clearer performance uptick was observed, reinforcing the potential benefits of the new driver updates.
  5. Conclusion:
    • Overall, despite mixed results across different tests and titles, the enhancements with the new drivers appear promising.
    • Users are encouraged to download the latest drivers to potentially gain free performance boosts in compatible games, emphasizing that while results may not always meet Nvidia's claims, the improvements could still be significant for many users.

      Community Discussion:​

      Are any of you considering updating your drivers based on these findings? Have you already experienced a noticeable change in performance? Share your thoughts and any benchmarks you’ve conducted since the update! For more insights on GPU performance or specific game benchmarks, feel free to check out our related threads or ask questions!