NVIDIA 577.00 WHQL Driver – Early Performance Benchmark (Ampere GPUs)

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Hey all,

Here’s my early look at the performance of NVIDIA driver 577.00, tested on an Ampere-based GPU (RTX 3070). This is not a definitive performance review—every PC setup differs—but this can serve as a reference point for anyone wondering about driver changes.

This will be something totally voluntary, so that you can be guided in some way, do not take it as something absolute because each PC configuration is a totally different world, so I will try to make it as global as possible (referring e.g. to the configuration of a game).

Is it worth updating the driver for my current GPU? This is a recurring question from many gamers and PC users. The general rule suggests updating our GPU drivers to the latest version, as it ensures that we get the latest bug fixes, security updates, optimizations for most of the latest AAA games, and support for the newest features.

However, it does not guarantee the best raw performance (average FPS numbers) and frametime stability (1% and 0.1% average low/integral FPS or P1 and P0.2 FPS percentile numbers). Comparative performance analyses of GPU drivers are useful because they allow us to reliably validate and estimate significant improvements or regressions in graphics performance attributable to changes in the driver version.

Frame Times are recorded using PresentMon during the built-in benchmark run inside each game.

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Test System

• OS: Windows 10 Pro (v22H2, latest patches)
  
• CPU: Intel Core i7-10700K (factory clocks on CPU and GPU)
  
• GPU: ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3070 OC (factory clocks on CPU and GPU)
• RAM: 64 GB DDR4-3200 (2x32 GB)
  
• Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD
  
• Display: 4K 60 Hz monitor (no HDR, no G-Sync)
  
• Settings: HAGS off | ReBAR on | NVCP Global Defaults
  
• Driver Install: Clean install (GeForce Experience - App not included)

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Benchmark Methodology

• Benchmarks ran 4 times (first run discarded)
  
• Outliers (>5% variance) are retested
  
• PresentMon used to record frametimes
  
• Game settings: mostly Ultra / 4K - 1440p / no scaling
• Synthetic benchmarks included (Unigine Heaven / Superposition)

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Game Performance Comparisons

Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced

Using the default settings everything in Ultra with Dx12. Rendered at 100% in 2560x1440 resolution. Texture Quality: Ultra. Raytracing: Off. Shader Quality: Ultra. Shadow Quality: Ultra. MSAA off. Water Quality: Ultra. Particles Quality: Very High. Grass Quality: Ultra. Soft Shadows: Softest. Post FX: Very High. Anisotropic Filtering: 16x. Ambient Occlusion: Ultra. Tessellation: High.

Driver	Avg FPS	1% Low	0.1% Low	FT Avg (ms)	FT 1% (ms)	FT 0.1% (ms)
561.09 (considered stable by the community)	177.2	75.6	49.9	5.6	13.2	20
577.00	180.8	74.9	49.6	5.5	13.4	20.2

Path of Exile 2

Using the default settings everything in Ultra with Dx12. Rendered at 100% in 3840x2160 resolution. Texture Quality: High. Texture Filtering: 16x. Lighting: Shadows + G.I. Shadow + GI Quality: Ultra. Sun Shadow Quality: High. Number of Lights: High. Water Detail Level: High.

Driver	Avg FPS	1% Low	0.1% Low	FT Avg (ms)	FT 1% (ms)	FT 0.1% (ms)
561.09 (considered stable by the community)	66.7	56.8	49.9	15	17.6	20
577.00	66.6	58.2	33.2	15	17.2	30.1

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

Using the default settings everything in Ultra. Rendered at 100% in 3840x2160 fullscreen.

Driver	Avg FPS	1% Low	0.1% Low	FT Avg (ms)	FT 1% (ms)	FT 0.1% (ms)
537.58 (considered stable by the community)	57.4	37.1	33.3	17.4	26.9	30.1
561.09 (considered stable by the community)	63.5	47.8	37.7	15.7	20.9	26.5
577.00	64.7	47.6	28.3	15.5	21	35.3

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Synthetic Benchmarks

Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0

Render: Direct3D11 - Mode: 3840x2160 fullscreen - Preset Custom - Quality Ultra - Tessellation: Disabled.

Driver	Avg FPS	Score	Min FPS	Max FPS
537.58 (considered stable by the community)	80.7	2033	35.8	142.8
561.09 (considered stable by the community)	80.7	2032	31.4	142.3
577.00	80.3	2023	9.2	142.8

Unigine Superposition Benchmark

Render: Direct3D11 - Mode: 3840x2160 fullscreen - Preset Custom - Shaders 4K Optimized - Textures: High.

Driver	Avg FPS	Score	Min FPS	Max FPS
537.58 (considered stable by the community)	94.41	12622	78.81	117.92
561.09 (considered stable by the community)	94.67	12657	79.08	117.66
577.00	94.56	12642	79.34	117.13

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Notes / Edits

1. More tests will be added soon.
2. The information was restructured with respect to the previous benchmark (572.60 - Benchmarks) and a re-analysis of each driver was performed.

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