The most recent Nvidia 595.71 driver update is said to have brought about fresh issues absent from the previous week's very troublesome 595.59 driver—a version so flawed that Nvidia was forced to withdraw it a few days ago. Several user reports, and at least one YouTuber, have discovered that release 595.71 is limiting GPU overclocking on many RTX 40- and 50-series graphics cards. The units most significantly affected are reportedly sacrificing roughly 200MHz in overclocking capacity when contrasted with earlier versions.
User reports with similar issues have also been shared on the Nvidia forums. One user with an RTX 5080 reported that their GPU used to hit 3,100 to 3,200MHz with previous drivers and now can only achieve 2,955MHz with 595.71. Another RTX 5080 owner published their own 3DMark scores with the previous 591.86 driver compared to 595.71, with a hefty 450MHz GPU overclock, and found the newer driver was running the GPU 300MHz lower and pulling 43 Reduced wattage, falling from 403W to 360W.
However, not all RTX 50 series GPUs appear to be affected. Curiously, three commenters on Bang4BuckPC Gamer's aforementioned YouTube video with Gigabyte Aorus Master RTX 5090 graphics cards report having no restrictions whatsoever. A different RTX 5090 user possessing a PNY Epic OC model also experienced no problems, noting a peak overclocking speed of 3,157MHz using the most recent driver. Two RTX 5070 users, one possessing an Asus model and the other an MSI Gaming Trio OC, also confirmed no problems.
It remains plausible, though, that those proprietors enjoyed superior results in the silicon lottery, meaning their cards' dynamic voltage and frequency scaling curves aren't influenced by this visible glitch. In any case, the new problem has generated a lot of angry comments from gaming enthusiasts, with several blaming AI code for ruining Nvidia's drivers.
Nvidia hasn't formally recognized the problem (so far), though the synthetic voltage restrictions seem to be a glitch instead of a deliberate modification. Nvidia's update documentation doesn't cite any added voltage thresholds, and specific GeForce RTX GPU versions seemingly aren't bound by restrictions when utilizing 595.71. We'll need to wait and see if the firm provides a subsequent patch or hotfix driver soon, along with additional details regarding the problem.
Follow 3DTested on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to obtain our newest reports, breakdowns, & appraisals via your feeds.
