The GPU giant Nvidia is under fire recently after the release of the 364.47 WHQL Driver. Users reported issues such as stuttering, black screens, multi monitor problems and even blue screen of death (BSOD) which was caused by the driver itself.
The company altered their 364.47 WHQL Driver thread to include the following statement:
“UPDATE: After finding a critical installation issue, the team has replaced yesterday’s driver (364.47) with today’s new driver (364.51).
This driver has been submitted to Microsoft for WHQL-approval and we will update the driver package online as soon as we have the certified package.” – Nvidia Forums
They also added a statement on the 7th of May, 2016 rather than the driver forums. The statement was located over on the “Nvidia Support Knowledgebase” and reads:
“We had received reports of some users having issues installing driver version 364.47. Initial investigation suggests the issue was related to doing an “Express” installation. If you happen to have a pending installation of 364.47, we recommend that you do not install it and either use the new 364.51 beta version or wait for the WHQL certified version.” – Nvidia Knowledgebase
Followed by an update on 8th of May, 2016:
“After finding a critical installation issue, the team has replaced yesterday’s driver (364.47) with today’s new driver (364.51).
This driver has been submitted to Microsoft for WHQL-approval and we will update the driver package online as soon as we have the certified package.” – Nvidia Knowledgebase
You may be reading this and thinking it’s not that big of a deal. Potential reader, go read any of the released driver PDFs (click for the 364.51 release notes PDF) and you will see why Nvidia doesn’t publicly add performance or issues under the driver page itself now. They haven’t for years.
Now the problem is due to the fact that this driver was labeled as a “WHQL Driver” or “Windows Hardware Quality Labs”. This is the Windows Certification process. It means the driver has been heavily tested in multiple situations.
Clearly both Nvidia and Microsoft are to blame for this issue. Thankfully it was this driver that a large amount of people had issues with. Why? The GPU company hasn’t cared about optimization or performance increases for years so I’m glad they are eating their words now.
A new “BETA” driver showed up the day after Nvidia released the 364.47 WHQL driver which is labeled “364.51 BETA”. Sorry, but you don’t get to go up a number set when your previous driver failed.
What are your thoughts on the current state of the GPU industry? Are they just getting lazy? Let us know down in the comments.
Sources: Nvidia Driver Feedback Forum, Nvidia Driver, Nvidia Support, WHQL