NVIDIA's New GPU Driver Is Tuned For Battlefield 6, Plus A Hotfix For Game Crashes
NVIDIA has rapid-fire released a pair of GeForce GPU drivers in quick succession, including a regularly scheduled 'Game Ready' driver (version 581.42) that is optimized for Battlefield 6, and an out-of-band hotfix driver (version 581.47) to stomp out an odd bug that is crashing games in some specific instances. Which one should install? Let's dig in.
Starting with the Game Ready 581.42 driver release, the main benefit is to get your PC ready for Battlefield 6, which releases broadly on October 10. The next installment in the popular first-person shooter franchise will feature several NVIDIA RTX technologies out of the gate, including DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation, DLSS Frame Generation, DLSS Super Resolution, DLAA, and NVIDIA Reflex.
It arrives on the heels of EA firing a hilarious shot at Battlefield's rival Call of Duty franchise. Check it out...
"Using these technologies, all GeForce RTX gamers can accelerate and enhance their experience, making gameplay smoother and more responsive," NVIDIA says.
In addition to being tuned for Battlefield 6, the 581.42 driver package is also a Game Ready release for FBC: Firebreak, a three-player cooperative first-person shooter that came out in June. While a little late to the party for an optimized driver, the timing coincides with Remedy's massive (and free) Breakpoint update.
The game also features path-traced visuals, along with a host of NVIDIA technologies including
DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation, DLSS Frame Generation, DLSS Ray Reconstruction, DLSS Super Resolution, and NVIDIA Reflex.
You can download the 581.42 driver release through the NVIDIA App or fetch it manually from NVIDIA's driver download page.
What about that hotfix, though? Shortly after releasing the 581.42 driver package, NVIDIA made available a 581.47 hotfix that addresses a game crashing issue. According to the release notes, this happens "if the game directory contains Chinese characters while Smooth Motion is enabled."
That's a high specific instance, but it's affected enough users that NVIDIA saw fit to roll out a patch before its next major GPU update.
The 581.47 is otherwise based on the 581.42 release, so installing it gets you the same benefits as the Game Ready release. Nevertheless, we suggest installing the hotfix only if the specific game crashing issue applies to you. Why is that? Hotfixes are technically beta software, so there's an inherent risk (albeit a small one in this instance). Additionally, any hotfix items get rolled into the next major release anyway.
If you want to install the hotfix, you have to fetch it manually, as it's not offered through the NVIDIA App.
