NVIDIA's New GPU Hotfix Driver Fixes Game Crashes, Temp Sensing Issue And More
Just days after NVIDIA began rolling out its 'Game Ready' 576.02 WHQL driver package that's packed to the brim with bug fixes, it's made available an out-of-band hotfix to iron out even more wrinkles related to its GeForce GPUs. The incremental release—hotfix driver version 576.15—is based on the same 576.02 driver release, but with over half a dozen additional bug fixes, almost all of which apply to its GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs.
Hotfixes are not uncommon, though they can fly under the radar because they're not doled out or automatically installed through the NVIDIA App. Instead, you have to (A) know that a hotfix exists in the first place, and (B) seek out and download/install it yourself.
This latest one aims to fix a range of lingering annoyances, such as games displaying shadow flickers or outright crashing, lower than expected idle GPU clocks, a temperature monitoring, bug, and more. Here's the full official list...
- [RTX 50 series] Some games may display shadow flicker/corruption after updating to GRD 576.02
- Lumion 2024 crashes on GeForce RTX 50 series graphics card when entering render mode
- GPU monitoring utilities may stop reporting the GPU temperature after PC wakes from sleep
- [RTX 50 series] Some games may crash while compiling shaders after updating to GRD 576.02
- [GeForce RTX 50 series notebook] Resume from Modern Standy can result in black screen
- [RTX 50 series] SteamVR may display random V-SYNC micro-stutters when using multiple displays
- [RTX 50 series] Lower idle GPU clock speeds after updating to GRD 576.02
Some of the early reactions to the hotfix are mixed. One user on NVIDIA's support forum who owns a GeForce RTX 5080 notes that after installing the hotfix, "I haven't seen a black screen issue nor horizontal artifacts in general apps. Still testing..."
Another user hasn't been so luck, reporting that the display shadow flicker/corruption bug "is NOT fixed, as it's still occurring with the Moonlight application." And yet another users states that their system still crashes whenever they have a GeForce RTX 5070 installed, but works fine when they swap it out for an older GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card.
So, your mileage may vary, as is often the case when it comes to driver releases (both the regular releases and supplemental hotfixes). Even so, if you're experiencing any of the above issues, it's worth giving the hotfix a try. We'd even suggest it if you're running into any of the issues on an earlier generation GPU, particularly the GeForce RTX 40 series, even though most of the bug fixes explicitly state they apply to the RTX 50 lineup.
On the flip side, if you're not experiencing any of the above issues, there's no point in installing the hotfix. It won't improve performance and you won't be missing out on anything—the same bug fixes get rolled into the next regular release anyway, so you can throw FOMO out the window.
Check out the 576.15 release notes for more info, which also includes a direct download link.
