NVIDIA’s cutting-edge GPU drivers are creating some significant headaches for users of the GeForce RTX 40 series, along with older versions, and the company has yet to offer a solution.
### Reports Highlight Issues with GPU Driver 572.XX on RTX 40 Systems
Since January, when NVIDIA rolled out the RTX 50 series, the RTX 40 series GPUs have largely been left without critical updates. This shift in focus to the latest series is not uncommon in the tech industry, but while NVIDIA’s newer RTX 50 series faced its own set of problems, the RTX 40 series GPUs were performing smoothly under previous drivers—until now. The latest RTX 50-compatible drivers seem to have introduced a host of complicated issues for RTX 40 users.
Redditor u/Soctty1992 shared his own struggles with the new 572.XX driver, echoing a wave of similar reports from other users. Many are experiencing significant problems such as hard crashes, black screens, and various display glitches—issues that were infrequent before this latest driver update.
As noted in a popular Reddit post, there’s a need for wider awareness and action regarding the persistent black screen or system crash problems plaguing the RTX 40 series and older cards.
Interestingly, numerous users have found relief by reverting to the 566.XX drivers, which were issued prior to NVIDIA’s January 30th release of the 572.16 driver, designed to enhance compatibility with the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080. The addition of cutting-edge features like DLSS 4, Multi-Frame Generation, and DLSS Override with the RTX 50 launch, although exciting, seems to have created a complex mix of factors leading to these issues.
For instance, one gamer noted that Cyberpunk 2077 would crash almost instantly on his RTX 4080 until he reverted to the older drivers. Another user, wielding an RTX 4090, reported persistent black screens and system freezes, which were only resolved by switching back to the pre-572.XX drivers.
Despite users’ repeated requests for bug fixes since late January, NVIDIA has primarily focused on resolving the BSOD problems seen with the RTX 50 series, and even those fixes arrived only after a frustrating wait. RTX 40 owners find themselves in a bind: by reverting to previous drivers, they are missing out on the latest enhancements such as the Transformer Model DLSS 4, updates to Ray Reconstruction, and the expanded list of DLSS-supported games. This situation leaves many enthusiasts wondering when NVIDIA will turn its attention back to resolving these issues for their loyal RTX 40 base.
