I’ve read through the release notes and can’t see anything specific that relates to this issue.
After I’d typed last night I realised I’d actually reverted back to the 457.30 drivers (which was fine because everything worked ok).
This morning I did a manual install of the 457.51 driver using the official installer from NVIDIA’s website.
Once again everything MSFS wise ran fine.
I then updated to the 460.79 driver again using the official NVIDIA installer from their website.
Now MSFS runs cr@p. Stuttering every half second right from the start of the programme loading screens.
Rolled back to 457.51 and everything works fine again.
My conclusion is there’s definitely an issue with this driver and MSFS.
No didn’t use DDU as I wanted to retain the MSFS specific settings I use in the NVIDIA control panel.
I know some people can have mixed experiences with updating NVIDIA drivers but in this case it seems quite specific that for me, the 460.79 driver doesn’t work with MSFS.
I have 3 x Acer 4k monitors connected via Display Port to a Zotac RTX3090 Trinity. (and yes, the Zotac firmware is up to date )
There are also widespread issues with any driver released after 446.14 and VR applications. In effect, some are reporting any driver since 451.48 included are causing stuttering and lag spikes. I personally believe the issue is rooted way lower in the system into the new HAGS feature + wddm 2.7 introduced with Win10 2004.
NVidia is aware but only recently and this might have to wait a driver in 2021 for a solution. Last week during the HP Reverb G2 AMA on Reddit:
NB: It seems you can mitigate a certain number of “spikes” problems in deactivating all background apps which are “monitoring” hardware events/state (MSI Afterburner, RGB software, etc…)
Still no joy with NVidia Surround on my RTX 2060 Super and 460.79.
I give each new release a try, more in hope than optimism, to see if NVidia Surround will work but each time the NVidia control panel crashes as soon as Surround is enabled. The Windows crash logs are not very informative and the threads in NVidia forums give the impression that NVidia have abandoned this feature.
Fortunately I can always go back to 456.55 where it all works OK.
I am sure that I can’t be the only one in the world using NVidia Surround as I see no other reports in the msfs forums of this but for the life of me I can’t figure out what in my system is causing it.
In the meantime I will continue using 456.55 until propper multi monitor support is rolled out and I can consign Surround to history. Or perhaps that may be a whole new can of worms?
I don’t use Nvidia Surround but this driver version is a mess. Even scrolling through a webpage feels like an old Windows 95 pc with a pentium.
I will reinstall my lastet 457. version.
For anyone wanting to try/experiment with stripped down Nvidia drivers, they exist and can be found here on Guru3D …
A cleaned RTX version is available too. All have bloatware removed. I have just installed 460-79 and I don’t have the numerous Nvidia threads running in the background now, hopefully less is more!. I have been struggling with simulator stuttering recently, something that has become worse with either driver updates or game updates. I rolled back to an earlier driver with no joy. One can download a driver cleaning tool and do the job yourself if you wish too.
I am confident these drivers are safe, scan them with your AV and set a restore point in Windows if you are unsure.
This is what I usually do before asking questions indeed, especially since spending 5 minutes searching online is often faster too. Nevertheless in this case, I didn’t find what was left out, only what was left in, except what is visible in this post noticeably:
Hello Captain! I am sorry I did not have much time earlier with you, I have been wanting to get back here to write to you. Unfortunately I never recorded or took screen-shots of all the running processes on my computer relating to the Nvidia driver, (there is normally quite a few from what I recall). If I had anticipated your question, I would have done this for you. I have the ‘trimmed’ down driver version installed. Assuming you have an official Nvidia driver, check the running Nvidia processes using your computer task manager, (Windows). There are only two Nvidia processes running in the background NOW and they are NvContainer while using the trimmed down driver. I am trying these drivers because I have a significant stuttering problem that has crept into my simulator from somewhere.
The driver trimming tool is available from the Guru3D website, if you need detailed information about it’s use and what it hopes to achieve, there is probably instructions that come with it. For me it’s very simple, I am hoping fewer Nvidia processes running in the background would equal fewer stutters. I have not had the chance to put this theory to the test, I’m just clutching at straws. Take care. BRGDS. Charles
Thank you for the follow up. I should have been more precise as well. I know about the “trimming tool” (as a matter of fact I’ve just discovered this topic over there a few days ago!). However what was puzzling me was the qualification “bloatware” which led me to believing there would be something else than just “NVidia” installed alongside the driver and I was wondering then what could this be?!!?
Having said this, the stuttering problem is present in any driver past 446.14 which is the last version before HAGS and Win2004. I’ve very good results with 457.30 and FS2020 with regard to the NVidia induced stuttering. However the main stuttering source in FS2020 is not the driver but the Coherant GT and the way they’re refreshing the gauges:
(copied from a post you might not have access to)
Glass Cockpit Refresh Rate is the main source of stutters
HAGS is killing VR with NVidia 457.30 and SteamVR 1.14.15.
Yes, I realised using the term ‘bloatware’ was probably a bit confusing, I picked it up from their forum and the main thread title relating to the ‘trimmed drivers’. I should have said Nvidia background processes as this would have probably been more specific. Thank you for the extra information and informed insight. I have seen a reference to HAGS before but have not followed this up yet. I am using a i7-2600K overclocked to 4.2GZ and a GTX 1070, it’s worked surprisingly well at 1080P until recently. I now have to turn off one side of the glass cockpit in the A320 to get 33FPS at high simulator settings. I have ‘Game Mode’ disabled and have right clicked the properties of the MSFS.exe, (executable) to set turn off ‘full screen optimisations’ and made a change to the DPI setting as suggested in many of these forums. I am not sure if this really helps though? I will try my instrument refresh rate set at high, it sounds counter-intuitive to me at first and so it has never occurred for me to try that.
Take care and keep safe. BRGDS. Charles
Ah ha! HAGS was turned on! I will let you know tomorrow if this has helped reduce my stuttering. If it has , I will have to give you a big virtual hug!
NB: “My 4K Settings” is recommending HAGS ON and Gauges Refresh MEDIUM, however, it is because of more recent discovery I’m starting to recommend HAGS OFF, Game Mode OFF and Gauge Refresh HIGH but you’ll have to wait until Dec. 22 for more.
Wow, there is quite a bit here to read! I will take a look at this tomorrow, thank you for what you are doing to help! Time for bed now. Yours aye. Charles
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Only 417Mb zipped.
I will take a look at this tomorrow, thank you for what you are doing to help! Time for bed now. Yours aye. Charles