Nvidia has released an emergency driver update, GeForce Hotfix Display Driver 581.94, to fix performance issues in some games after Microsoft’s recent KB5066835 update. The update affects systems running Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2, which introduced a bug that reduced game FPS in certain instances. Nvidia recommends downloading and applying the latest GPU driver if you experience performance loss while gaming after installing the update.
Nvidia usually releases driver updates in line with major hardware and game launches, but this time they dropped a hotfix to address the issue quickly. This is because GPU drivers are complex and dealing with various hardware and software configurations. Nvidia drops hotfixes when major issues remain unaddressed as existing users wait for their regular release cadence.
The problem seems to be related to Windows updates in general, not just Microsoft’s recent patch. Intel and AMD GPUs also suffer from performance issues brought about by KB5066835. It is unclear if these companies will release driver updates of their own to deal with the issue.
Affected users can check Tom’s Hardware for the latest news, analysis, and reviews. Jowi Morales, a tech enthusiast, has years of experience working in the industry and writes for several tech publications on hardware and consumer electronics.
Source: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpu-drivers/nvidia-releases-emergency-driver-update-for-windows-11-25h2-and-24h2-fixes-reduced-gaming-performance-driven-by-botched-windows-updates