NVIDIA has addressed an issue with increased CPU usage on certain systems with its latest driver update (version 531.18). In this update, one of the known issues reported by the company is CPU usage. Within days of installation, users across the web, on multiple public social media platforms and on the NVIDIA forums reported that their systems were experiencing issues with CPU usage being higher than normal. Today the company released a hotfix to temporarily fix the issue.
NVIDIA “Hotfixes” address increased CPU usage issues with the latest driver update and warns users that this is a “Beta” level fix that is ongoing
NVIDIA wants users to understand that the current hotfix driver (version 531.26, the link will load the EXE) is in “Beta” stage and is not considered a final fix by the company. This new hotfix fixes the following issues:
This hotfix fixes the following issues:
Higher CPU usage by NVIDIA Container can be observed after exiting a game [4007208]
[Notebook] Random bug checking can be observed on certain laptops with GeForce GTX 10/MX250/350 series GPUs [4008527]
The company responded with an official statement on its NVIDIA forums regarding the reported higher CPU issue and “random error checking” performed on certain NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10/MX250/350 series graphics cards.
A GeForce driver is incredibly complex software. We have an army of software developers constantly adding features and fixing bugs. These changes are checked into the main driver branches, which eventually go through a massive QA process and are released.
Because so many changes are checked in, we typically try to match driver versions with major game or product versions. This process has served us fairly well over the years, but it does have one significant weakness. Sometimes a change important to many users can sit and wait until we are able to release the driver.
The GeForce Hotfix Driver is our way of trying to get some of these fixes to you faster. These drivers are basically the same as in the previous released version, with a small number of additional targeted fixes. The fixes that make it are based in part on your feedback in the driver feedback threads and in part on how realistic it is for us to address them quickly. These fixes (and many more) will be incorporated into the next official driver release at which the hotfix driver will be removed.
These hotfix drivers are beta drivers, are optional, and are provided “as is”. They go through a greatly shortened QA process. The only reason they exist is to get fixes to you faster. The safest thing to do is to wait for the next WHQL certified driver. But we know many of you are willing to try these.
These HotFix drivers represent a lot of additional work from our development teams, I hope they add value to you. We’ll try it and see if people like the idea and want us to continue.
As recommended by NVIDIA, it may be advisable for users to wait for the official WHQL certified driver than to install this latest hotfix from the company. However, as a reader, you decide how long you wait. As we have mentioned several times, please make sure to back up your system when installing this update so you don’t lose data or render your system inoperable.
Here is the product compatibility list for this update:
Driver Compatibility DESKTOP GeForce RTX 40: GeForce RTX 4090, GeForce RTX 4080, GeForce RTX 4070 Ti NVIDIA TITAN: NVIDIA TITAN RTX, NVIDIA TITAN V, NVIDIA TITAN Xp, NVIDIA TITAN X (Pascal), GeForce GTX TITAN X GeForce RTX 30: GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, GeForce RTX 3090, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, GeForce RTX 3080 (10GB/12GB), GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, GeForce RTX 3070, GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (GDDR6 & GDDR6X), GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB & 8GB), GeForce RTX 3050 GeForce RTX 20: GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, GeForce RTX 2080, GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, GeForce RTX 2070, GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, GeForce RTX 2060 12GB, GeForce RTX 2060 GeForce 16: GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER , GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER, GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, GeForce GTX 1660, GeForce GTX 1650 GeForce 10: GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, GeForce GTX 1080, GeForce GTX 1070 Ti, GeForce GTX 1070, GeForce GTX 1060, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, GeForce GTX 1050, GeForce GT 1030, GeForce GT 1010, GeForce 900: GeForce GTX 980 Ti, GeForce GTX 980, GeForce GTX 970, GeForc e GT X 960, GeForce GTX 950 GeForce 700: GeForce GTX 750 Ti, GeForce GTX 750, GeForce GTX 745 (all Maxwell GPUs) MOBILE GeForce RTX 40: GeForce RTX 4090 laptop GPU, GeForce RTX 4080 laptop GPU, GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU GeForce RTX 30: GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU, GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU, GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU GeForce RTX 20: GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, GeForce RTX 2080, GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, GeForce RTX 2070, GeForce RTX 2060 GeForce MX : GeForce MX450, GeForce MX350, GeForce MX330, GeForce MX250, GeForce MX230 , GeForce MX150, GeForce MX130, GeForce MX110, GeForce GTX 16: GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, GeForce GTX 1650 Ti, GeForce GTX 1650, GeForce 10: GeForce GTX 1080, GeForce GTX 1070, GeForce GTX 1060, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, GeForce GTX 1050 GeForce 900M: GeForce GTX 980, GeForce GTX 980M, GeForce GTX 9 70M, GeForce GTX 965M, GeForce GTX 960M, GeForce GTX 950M, GeForce 945M, GeForce 940MX, GeForce 930MX, GeForce 920MX, GeForce 940M, GeForce 930M GeForce 800M: GeForce GTX 860M, GeForce GTX 850M, GeForce 845M, GeForce 840M, GeForce 830M
Source: VideoCardz; Nvidia
