I'm using an RTX 3080 with a Ryzen 7 5700X3D, 16 GB of Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 CL16, and an ASUS TUF B550 motherboard. Newer drivers have caused stuttering, but some Unreal Engine 5 games require updated drivers. Which recent driver version has been the most stable for RTX 3000-series cards, particularly the 3080?
4 Answers
You could test the Studio Driver instead of the Game Ready version. Also check your GPU core temperature versus hotspot temperature. If the thermal paste has shifted or the hotspot delta is unusually large, the card may throttle and cause stutters in demanding Unreal Engine games.
The in-game performance monitor usually reports both CPU and GPU temperatures around 50–60°C, even when I’m playing demanding games.
596.49 is another version worth trying if you’re looking for a stable driver rather than the newest release.
The newest Game Ready Driver mentioned here is 617.14. You can also use the NVIDIA App to check available driver versions and compare the Game Ready and Studio branches.
Driver 610.88 has been reliable on my RTX 3080. I’ve only had a few crashes since installing it, although monitor EDID changes may have contributed to those, so your results could differ.
During a short FurMark CPU-burner test, the temperatures looked fairly reasonable. Is there a particular core-to-hotspot temperature difference I should be concerned about?