DirectX 12 Ultimate Game Ready Driver Now Available

Nvidia has just released some brand new driver updates which will add support for DirectX 12 Ultimate. As well as this, there’s support for the new GPU scheduling feature and a few other updates worth looking into.

Nvidia’s release of this new Game Ready Driver and Studio Drivers makes it the first GPU maker to offer full DirectX 12 Ultimate support.

It’s not a huge surprise that Nvidia is the first. Nvidia’s GeForce RTX graphics cards have been leading the way in many areas of DirectX 12 Ultimate – particularly with DirectX Ray Tracing (DXR), mesh shaders, and variable rate shading (VRS).

DirectX 12 Ultimate

The driver update should allow games that use DirectX 12 Ultimate to benefit from technologies such as variable-rate shading, mesh shading, and the one that everyone’s most interested in – ray tracing.

This new driver update should make it a bit easier for developers to optimize games for the latest Nvidia graphics cards and Xbox Series X. With Nvidia’s much-anticipated Ampere graphics cards, this can only be a good thing.

Senior product manager at GeForce software, Sean Pelletier said: “At Nvidia, DirectX 12 Ultimate support is more than a checkbox, it is an assurance that we have done the work necessary to give our customers a complete product with a feature set that can move the industry forward.”

GPU Scheduling

The other main thing that Nvidia addressed was support for hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling. This was first introduced by the Windows 10 update in May 2020.

This feature lets the graphics card directly manage video memory. This can significantly improve performance of the minimum and average FPS. The aim here is to reduce latency and improve performance overall.

Support for New G-Sync Compatible Displays

Another element of Nvidia’s update was to include support for nine new G-Sync compatible displays across brands such as Samsung and Dell.

This should deliver a baseline variable refresh rate experience to help make your gaming monitor produce smoother and clearer images.

GeForce’s Optimal Playable Settings

The last part of the update to talk about is Nvidia’s one-click optimal settings. This enables users to configure game options for your PC’s hardware which should result in smoother gameplay.

So far, over 700 games are supported but a few recent ones have been added to the list. These are as follows:

  • Age of Empires III: Complete Collection
  • Command & Conquer Remastered Collection
  • Deadside
  • Gears Tactics
  • Mafia II: Definitive Edition
  • Monster Train
  • One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4
  • Outer Wilds
  • Roblox
  • Shop Titans
  • Streets of Rage 4
  • Total Tank Simulator

How Do You Download the New Nvidia Driver?

Updating your drivers is relatively simple these days. All you need to do is head over to Nvidia’s website and find their new driver download which is labeled as 451.48 WHQL.

Alternatively, if you already have GeForce Experience installed on your system, you can install the driver through there. This can be found under the Drivers tab.

If you find any bugs or issues with this driver, Nvidia encourages you to let them know through its Driver Feedback Forum.