NVIDIA Releases Second Hotfix Driver for RTX 50 Series Addressing Multiple Issues

NVIDIA has released another hotfix driver for their graphics cards, focusing mainly on fixing problems with the new GeForce RTX 50 series. This latest hotfix, version 576.26, addresses ten different issues that users have been experiencing.

The graphics card company has been working hard to smooth out problems since launching their newest RTX 50 series. This is their second hotfix in recent weeks, following the major 'Game Ready' 576.02 WHQL driver released two weeks ago.

For those wondering what a hotfix actually is, it's NVIDIA's way of quickly delivering specific fixes to users without waiting for the next regular driver update. These hotfixes are based on the previous regular driver but include additional solutions for particular problems like game crashes and visual glitches.

It's important to note that hotfixes aren't automatically installed through the NVIDIA App. As explained by NVIDIA, "The sole reason they exist is to get fixes out to you more quickly." Users experiencing the specific issues addressed in the hotfix need to download and install it manually from NVIDIA's website.

The new 576.26 hotfix tackles several game-specific problems. Players of Black Myth: Wukong using RTX 50 series cards should see fewer random crashes when the character transforms. Red Dead Redemption 2 players will no longer experience crashes shortly after starting the game in DirectX 12 mode, though the report mentions there were no issues when using Vulkan mode.

Other fixed issues include flickering lights in Forza Horizon 5's nighttime scenes and track corruption in Forza Motorsport during benchmark or night races. Horizon Forbidden West players will be happy to know the game should no longer freeze after loading a saved game, while Resident Evil 4 Remake users should see an end to flickering background textures.

The hotfix also addresses display-related problems. Users of certain LG monitors (models 27GX790A, 45GX950A, 32GX870A, 40WT95UF, and 27G850A) were experiencing blank screens when running in DisplayPort 2.1 mode with HDR enabled – this should now be resolved. Another fix prevents momentary display flicker when using DisplayPort 2.1 with high refresh rates.

This new hotfix includes all the fixes from the previous 576.15 hotfix as well. Those earlier fixes addressed issues like shadow flickering in some games, crashes in Lumion 2024 when entering render mode, and problems with GPU temperature reporting after waking a computer from sleep.

While the hotfix is primarily aimed at RTX 50 series owners, users with older generation graphics cards experiencing similar issues might benefit from installing it too.

For anyone planning to install the 576.26 hotfix, there's no need to install previous drivers or hotfixes first – users can go directly to this latest version. However, NVIDIA reminds users that hotfix drivers undergo "a much abbreviated QA process" compared to regular drivers, so they are provided as-is and considered beta and optional. "The safest option is to wait for the next WHQL certified driver," they added.