NVIDIA has announced the impending retirement of its Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta GPU architectures, marking a significant transition in its product lifecycle. A final driver release is set for October, after which all graphics cards in the GeForce GTX 7-, 9-, and 10-series will shift to a quarterly update schedule focused solely on security. Full support for these models is slated to conclude in 2028, three years from now. While users can continue to utilize their GPUs post-support, they may find themselves at a disadvantage, as these cards will no longer be optimized for new gaming titles and may become increasingly susceptible to technical vulnerabilities.
NVIDIA has characterized its 11-year commitment to supporting this aging hardware as “well beyond industry norms,” a testament to its dedication to customer satisfaction. For those who have been loyal to their GTX cards for nearly a decade, this may be an opportune moment to consider an upgrade to a more current GPU model.
Future Support for RTX GPUs
In other noteworthy developments, NVIDIA has confirmed that its Game Ready Driver (GRD) support for Windows 10 on all RTX GPUs will extend until October 2026. This timeline surpasses Microsoft’s own plans to phase out Windows 10, as the company aims to encourage users to transition to Windows 11. Gamers can expect their experiences to remain optimized for an additional year, although this comes with the caveat of using an operating system that will no longer receive essential security updates.
The latest GRD update, released today, brings enhancements for titles such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and the highly anticipated Mafia: The Old Country. Additionally, it introduces support for 62 new G-Sync compatible displays, further enriching the gaming experience for NVIDIA users.
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