14 DAY TRIAL // It is a generally known fact that, in order for any PC component, or, indeed, the entire system to run properly and at an optimum performance, the latest drivers should be used for all hardware. However, in some cases, updating a driver may prove less than favorable, sometimes even fatal, to the respective component or the entire configuration. One such situation has arisen recently, with the latest NVIDIA driver found to be causing any and all cards to suffer from serious overheating.
The latest NVIDIA driver is 196.75 and it has sparked a large number of complaints from a variety of end-users. According to them, their systems start suffering low FPS, they freeze or even lock down when playing 3D games. This includes not only graphically intensive titles like Crysis or StarCraft 2 Beta, but also older, less demanding titles such as Warcraft 3 and World of Warcraft. Initially, WoW players blamed the latest patch, but the Blizzard staff identified the issue as a failing of the graphics drivers.
The Blizzard staff immediately contacted NVIDIA, which quickly responded and confirmed that it was working on the issue. In the meantime, the 196.75 driver has been removed from the official website and the GPU maker advises all consumers to revert back to the older, 196.21 version until the problem is solved.
“We are aware that some customers have reported fan speed issues with the latest 196.75 WHQL drivers on NVIDIA.com. Until we can verify and root cause this issue, we recommend that customers stay with, or return to 196.21 WHQL drivers. Release 196.75 drivers have been temporarily removed from our Web site in the meantime,” NVIDIA said, IncGamers reports.
Among the more serious issues reported is the GPU going as high up as 104 degrees Celsius. This temperature does not only prevent the card from running correctly, but it can also permanently damage it and the system.
End-users may find the corresponding drivers available for download here.