Nvidia has released the GeForce Game Ready 546.17 WHQL-certified driver, a significant update for Nvidia graphics card owners. This driver focuses on delivering DLSS 3 support for two major titles, Starfield and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, along with various bug fixes and performance improvements.
DLSS 3 Support for Starfield and Modern Warfare III
Starfield's integration of DLSS 3, which is still in beta, is currently available to Steam users. Bethesda's recent update to the beta branch enhances Nvidia's frame generation technology, likely to synergize well with the new driver. Meanwhile, Modern Warfare III, which had its launch last week, had received a Game Ready update from Nvidia in October. With the new driver, RTX 40 Series owners can expect notable improvements in frame generation.
Gaming and General Bug Fixes
The 546.17 driver addresses several issues, improving gaming and general performance:
- Fixed Gaming Bugs:
- Alan Wake 2: Resolves gradual stability and performance degradation over extended gameplay [4334633].
- Counter Strike 2: Enhances NVIDIA Reflex functionality and performance [4361128].
- Starfield/Cyberpunk 2077: Fixes stutter observed on some Advanced Optimus notebooks [4341762].
- Control: Addresses game stability issues over extended gameplay [4313811].
- Fixed General Bugs:
- OBS: Rectifies a tearing issue when recording high-resolution video [4359771].
- Notebook: Resolves a GPU issue where it becomes frozen in maximum performance state [4364631].
- Windows 10: Fixes transparency effects not displaying correctly after driver update [4335862].
- Miscellaneous: Addresses random Bugcheck observed on certain systems [4343844], tearing in Wallpaper Engine [4364562], increased page file memory use in Firefox Beta [4359080], and more.
Known Issues and Limitations
The driver update does come with some known issues that users should be aware of, including:
- Discord: Muted colors may appear when streaming gameplay [4349586].
- System Tray: A new NVIDIA icon is created each time a user switch takes place in Windows [4251314].
- Chromium-based Applications: Small checkerboard patterns may randomly appear [3992875].
- GeForce GTX 10/RTX 20 series: PC may randomly freeze/bugcheck with Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling and NVIDIA SLI enabled [4009884], among other specific issues for different models.
Final Thoughts
Nvidia's 546.17 driver update brings significant enhancements to the gaming experience for Modern Warfare III and Starfield players, particularly those with RTX 40 Series cards. The bug fixes across various games and systems further stabilize performance, making this an important update for Nvidia graphics card users. However, the known issues listed serve as a reminder to stay informed about potential limitations while enjoying the improved gaming experience.