Nvidia Releases GeForce Hotfix Driver 591.67 to Address Visual Glitches
Gamers on PC may witness certain visual issues like washed-out colors or blocky shadows without even knowing the reason for it. This mostly special driver supplied by Nvidia addresses these issues, but not by standard accepting channels. The driver GeForce Hotfix 591.67 is an urgent patch for issues that arose right after the last stable release (591.59).
Key Problems Addressed by Hotfix 591.67
This update mostly targets those specific bugs that are very disruptive:
- Color Banding in SDR Mode: This was a severe visual problem where color gradients (like skies or shadows) were not appearing to be smooth transitions, but seemed like hard steps or layers. The hotfix now adjusts some color-distribution algorithms to fix this issue and provide a very smooth visual experience.
- Digital Vibrance Not Applying in Games: Digital Vibrance is vital for competitive players in games like CS2 and Valorant. One of the issues with this function is that it increases the saturation of colors and helps players to view their enemies better. Because of a bug in previous drivers, this setting was not being applied in-game. This update fixes that and now the setting works correctly.
- Nvidia System Tray Icon Bug: This bug was persistent but low on priority: the Nvidia icon would quietly sit in the lower-right system tray next to the clock as if it owned the place even after the player selected the option to hide it.
How to Install This Driver Correctly
This hotfix has to be installed manually. It isn't going to show up by itself in the GeForce Experience application. For the clean installation, follow these critical steps:
- Download Manually: Download the driver through the Nvidia support site.
- Use Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU): To start, it is highly recommended to totally remove all traces of the old driver with DDU. This requires booting into Windows Safe Mode and running the utility to avoid possible conflicts, blue screens, or other errors during the installation.
- Install the New Driver: After uninstalling the old driver with DDU, boot back into normal Windows and continue by running the Hotfix 551.67 installer.
A Brief Idea about Hotfix Drivers and Performance
Contrary to the official Game Ready drivers, Hotfixes are not WHQL-certified by Microsoft. These are quick patches built over the last stable driver and meant to address specific issues without undergoing the lengthy process of official validation.
While Nvidia has not made any statements regarding performance improvements, some users have indicated increased frame stability with reduced random stutters across select games after installing this hotfix. These findings are not guaranteed for every user.
Issues and Considerations
- Some anti-cheat software may flag the driver due to it being un-WHQL-certified.
- Some users have almost rarely reported screen flickering on Windows 11.
- A select few users have recorded lowered VRAM frequency drops on specific graphics cards.
Supported GPUs and Operating Systems Supported
- Supported GPUs: Nvidia GeForce GTX 16 Series through RTX 50 Series.
- Unsupported GPUs: GTX 900 Series and Pascal-based cards (e.g. GTX 1080) are unsupported.
- Operating Systems: Windows 10 (64-bit) and Windows 11.
Should You Install This Driver
The answer is quite straightforward: If you are having the specific issues of color banding, wrong shadows, or problems of Digital Vibrance, please go ahead for a clean installation of this hotfix. If your system runs error-free, it is better to sit till the next release of the official Game Ready driver.
