NVIDIA’s GeForce Game Ready Driver 545.84, released on October 17, 2023, introduced several enhancements aimed at optimizing gaming experiences and GPU performance. These included support for DLSS 3 technology in titles like NARAKA: BLADEPOINT and Warhammer: Vermintide 2, TensorRT acceleration for Stable Diffusion, and RTX Video Super Resolution v1.5.
Performance Improvements
Many users reported positive outcomes after installing the 545.84 driver. For instance, a user with an RTX 4070 Ti and an i9 13900K processor noted a smoother experience in various games, stating, “So far so good – stutter free.”
Another user with an RTX 4090 observed performance gains, mentioning that they were able to achieve higher clock speeds at the same voltage compared to previous drivers. They reported, “I was able to make it work 30MHz higher at the same voltage, vs the previous one.”
Users playing titles like Lords of the Fallen also shared positive feedback. One such user, playing with an RTX 4070, i7 8770k, and ultra settings at 1080p, reported only occasional frame rate drops during specific in-game actions, stating, “it only drops when I warp, after that it’s fine.”
Performance Issues
However, not all feedback was positive. Some users experienced performance degradation after updating to the 545.84 driver. A user with an RTX 3060 GPU playing Lords of the Fallen reported, “I tried installing 545.84 twice with RTX 3060 GPU playing LoTF and it degrades the game play so badly I had to roll back to 537.58 which functions fine.”
Another user with a similar setup experienced crashes after installing the new driver, stating, “Installed the new driver and the game crashes within a few minutes of game play. Rolled back and good to go.”
Issues were also reported with HDR content. Users observed that SDR videos appeared much brighter than usual, indicating potential problems with HDR handling in this driver version.
Bug Fixes and Known Issues
The 545.84 driver addressed certain display issues, such as random black screen flickers on monitors using Display Stream Compression (DSC) and incorrect monitor colors after returning from display sleep.
However, some known issues persisted, including significant performance drops in Maxwell-based GPUs when playing games like Halo Infinite. Additionally, a new NVIDIA icon appeared in the system tray each time a user switch occurred in Windows. nvidia.com
User Recommendations
Given the mixed feedback, users considering the 545.84 driver update are advised to:
- Backup Current Drivers: Before updating, create a restore point or back up existing drivers to facilitate easy reversion if needed.
- Monitor Performance: After installation, test performance across various applications and games to identify any potential issues.
- Stay Informed: Regularly check NVIDIA’s official forums and support channels for updates on driver fixes and patches addressing known issues.
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Conclusion
The NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready Driver 545.84 introduced several enhancements aimed at improving gaming performance and GPU capabilities. While many users experienced positive outcomes, others faced performance issues and bugs. It’s essential for users to assess the impact of this driver on their specific hardware and software configurations, keeping abreast of updates and community feedback to ensure optimal system performance.
