Nvidia Preview Driver Adds Frame Generation for Unsupported RTX 40 Games

Key Takeaways

1. Nvidia’s frame generation technology significantly enhances frame rates for gamers with older hardware, often doubling them without major quality loss.
2. The new preview driver version 590.26 introduces Smooth Motion for RTX 40 series GPUs, enabling frame generation for games without native support.
3. Users must create a developer account on Nvidia’s developer site to access and download the preview driver, as it’s not available through regular updates.
4. Impressive frame rate boosts have been reported, with up to 100% increase in some games like Company of Heroes 3 using the RTX 4090 with Smooth Motion.
5. The preview driver may contain bugs, and the timeline for its final release on the Nvidia App is currently unknown.

The discussion about Nvidia’s frame generation and the concept of ‘fake frames’ continues, but one thing is certain: the technology is remarkable. Gamers who have older hardware and have faced challenges running games are finding they can significantly increase their frame rates—sometimes more than double—without sacrificing much in terms of quality. Yet, it’s important to note that not every game is compatible with frame generation, and initially, only RTX 50 series GPUs could enable it for games that lacked support. That has changed now.

New Driver for RTX 40 Series

Nvidia has unveiled its preview driver version 590.26, which introduces Smooth Motion for RTX 40 series graphics cards. This new feature acts as a driver-level frame generation system, allowing improved frame rates in games that do not have native frame generation support. Previously exclusive to RTX 50 series cards, a user on the Guru3D forums discovered that this option is now accessible for RTX 40 series cards via the Nvidia App.

To try this preview driver, users cannot simply get it as a regular update from the Nvidia App. Instead, they must create a developer account on the Nvidia developer site. The only requirement is to provide an organization or university name to set up the account. Once that’s done, the latest driver can be downloaded and installed. After successful installation, those with RTX 40 series GPUs should find the Smooth Motion setting available in the Nvidia App.

Impressive Frame Rate Boosts

According to Videocardz, they observed a doubling of the frame rate in Company of Heroes 3 when using an RTX 4090 with Smooth Motion activated. Meanwhile, PCGamer tested Smooth Motion on an RTX 4080 Super while playing Peak and Sons of the Forest, noting a 52 FPS increase in the first game and a 30 FPS boost in the second.

However, it’s worth mentioning that there may be some bugs present when using the preview driver across any generation of RTX cards. It remains uncertain when this driver will be released as a final version via the Nvidia App for the general audience. Still, this is exciting news for those who own RTX 40 series GPUs.

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