It's a bit of a busy day for Nvidia, in terms of announcements. The GPU maker has made available a new graphics driver, it added three more monitors to its list of 'G-Sync Compatible' displays, and unveiled a new RTX Triple Threat bundle that awards purchasers of GeForce RTX series graphics cards with a trio free games.
Game Ready driver
Starting with the driver, the new 419.35 WHQL release is a 'Game Ready' package that delivers optimizations for Apex Legends, Devil May Cry 5, and The Division 2.
"Game Ready drivers provide the best possible gaming experience for all major new releases, including virtual reality games. Prior to a new title launching, our driver team is working up until the last minute to ensure every performance tweak and bug fix is included for the best gameplay on day-1," Nvidia explains of its Game Ready designation.
The latest driver includes a few bug fixes as well. They include:
- [G-Sync]: With a G-Sync and G-Sync Compatible display connected in clone mode, flashing occurs on games played on the G-SYNC display with G-Sync enabled.
- [Apex Legends]: DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error message may appear and then the game crashes.
- [Hitman 2]: Pixelated corruption appears in the game.
- [Batman: Arkham Origins]: PhysX fog renders incorrectly.
- [GeForce RTX 2080][PhysX][Assassin’s Creed 4 - Black Flag]: Smoke dispersal appears accelerated.
- Microsoft.Photos.exe randomly crashes.
- NVDisplay.Container.exe causes high CPU usage.
Follow this link to grab the latest driver, or fire up GeForce Experience to get it.
G-Sync Compatible displays
The latest driver package also introduces support for three additional non-G-Sync monitors that have been certified as G-Sync Compatible. The new additions include:
- Acer ED273 A
- Acer XF250Q
- BenQ XL2540-B/Zowie XL LCD
Nvidia announced in January that it was bringing G-Sync support to other variable refresh displays, including ones marketed and sold as FreeSync. However, out of the 400 adaptive sync displays Nvidia initially tested, only 12 passed muster. Nvidia said at the time that it would continue to test more displays.
"We're going to test every async monitor the world has made, and for the ones that pass, we're going to certify them, and we're going to optimize the software to support them, and we're going to turn it on in our software so that whatever Geforce customer enjoys that panel can now enjoy it as if they purchased a G-Sync monitor," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said during CES.
The recent additions bring the total number of certified G-Sync Compatible displays to 15. That doesn't mean you won't be able to get G-Sync to work on FreeSync panels that are not certified. If you own one that is not listed, you can try your luck by manually flipping the switch in the Nvidia Control Panel. In fact, MSI said a few weeks ago that 16 of its FreeSync monitors work just fine with G-Sync, even though they are not certified.
That said, Nvidia warns that the experience may not be up to par if your monitor is not officially certified.
RTX Triple Threat bundle
Finally, Nvidia announced a new game bundle to incentivize gamers to make the leap to RTX. As part of that, it is giving away download codes for Battlefield 5, Anthem, and Metro Exodus when purchasing a qualifying GeForce RTX 2080 Ti or 2080 graphics card, gaming desktop, or laptop.
If you purchase a GeForce RTX 2070 or 2060 card, desktop, or laptop, you get to choose one of the three. Follow this link for more details.
