NVIDIA has formally confirmed that it will no longer support drivers of GTX 10-, 9-, and 7-series GPUs. These GPUs have been in the market for quite some time, and now their time is over. Now, what you can do, in case you are one of those gamers still having an old graphics card, i.e., a GeForce GTX 7, GTX 900, or GTX 10-series card, the news can be crucial to you.
This move by NVIDIA proves that the company is now fully concentrating on the new RTX GPUs and future gaming advancements. When a technology becomes outdated, it becomes difficult to maintain its support, so this move is practical. This will have a direct impact on GPUs for which you will no longer get Game Ready Driver updates, and there may be performance and compatibility issues for new games.
Which GPUs Are Affected?
When it comes to affected GPUs, then, NVIDIA has distinctly targeted 3 complete sets of:
GTX 10-series: GTX 1080 Ti, GTX 1650, and GTX 1660 are all extremely common amongst those who enjoy gaming.
GTX 900-series: These GPUs also used to be of the flagship level, once in particular for the mid-range gamers.
GTX 700-series, i.e., GeForce GTX 7: This is very old by now.
All these graphics cards are mainly based on Pascal and Maxwell architectures. Maxwell architecture showed a new level of improvement in gaming performance, and Pascal took the lead in efficiency and power optimization. However, some high-end GPUs like Volta graphics-based TITAN will still be in support, as their architecture is still relevant and performance is high-end.
When Will Support End?
NVIDIA has officially announced that the final Game Ready Driver for these GTX GPUs will be released in October 2025. After this date:
You will not receive any driver updates
No optimizations for new games
This indicates that such GPUs will be at the end of the life stage, which will affect long-term performance in games. Once the driver release is completed, you will be required to manually run the system without any official updates, which may be a problem for new titles.
What About Windows 10 and Game Ready Drivers?
NVIDIA clarified another important thing for its users:
“We’re extending Windows 10 Game Ready Driver support for RTX GPUs to October 2026.”
This implies that now only RTX GPUs will receive windows 10 game ready driver versions, and older GPUs such as the 10 GTX series, 900 GTX and GTX 7 series will gradually stop getting support with Windows 10.
Apart from this, in the context of Windows 11, it has also become clear that NVIDIA’s focus will now be only on the new GeForce RTX GPUs. When the operating system’s end-of-life comes, only compatible and future-ready hardware will be supported. This move makes it easy to understand that Support for Windows 10 has also been extended for a limited time, especially for modern users.
Why Is NVIDIA Doing This?
To comprehend this action by NVIDIA we would need to view the rate of development of the technology. The first refers to the fact that the company is entirely committed to new RTX GPUs, AI improvements, real-time ray tracing, and next-generation rendering solutions.
Maintaining driver support for older hardware like Maxwell and Pascal GPUs is no longer cost-effective. These GPUs are no longer able to efficiently handle the advanced rendering pipelines of new games and apps. Therefore, NVIDIA is investing its resources in those technologies where future growth is seen.
If you are using Pascal GPUs, you may have already noticed that some new game titles are facing performance or compatibility issues. This clearly states that now is the time for an upgrade.
Timeline: What to Expect Over the Next Three Years
The timeline shared by NVIDIA gives a clear roadmap:
- October 2025: Final Game Ready Driver will be released for these cards
- After that, no day-0 optimizations will be available for new games
- Only quarterly security updates will be given till October 2028
This roadmap shows that NVIDIA is now using a proper phased-out model so that users can get time to adjust. Within the next three years, if your system uses an older GPU, you may start to see a gradual decline in performance.
Comparison with RTX and Volta Architecture
When we discuss RTX 20-series, Volta GPUs, and Turing architecture, all of them are new and modern hardware platforms provided by NVIDIA. Their performance, efficiency, and compatibility level are quite high.
NVIDIA has officially confirmed:
- Support for all GeForce RTX GPUs will be available till October 2026
- GeForce RTX GPUs will be fully compatible and update-ready till October
The Volta architecture used in these still offers top-tier performance as per industry standards. That is why NVIDIA’s entire trust is now on these platforms.
What This Means for Gamers Still on Older Cards
If you are still using graphics cards like the GTX 10 series, you may face some problems. Without updated game-ready drivers, new games may have:
- Crashes
- Bugs
- Low FPS
- Compatibility issues
All these problems occur especially when games use new rendering methods or high-end shaders. Older graphics cards no longer meet those standards and become outdated in front of the newer RTX generation.
In this scenario, gamers would find it sensible to consider upgrading in case they want to play the newest AAA games without any hitch.
What Should You Do If You Have a GTX GPU? (Tips)
If you are still on older GPUs such as the GTX 1080 Ti, GTX 1650 or 900 follow these:
- Perform a proper hardware survey to get an idea of system performance
- Check if you are getting recent major driver updates or not
- Consider switching to RTX GPUs to future-proof yourself
Enable notifications for regular updates and offers from NVIDIA’s official channels or third-party vendors.
A current-generation GPU will be missing the new game-ready drivers and optimizations, thus affecting your gaming performance in case you do not have a modern GPU.
Conclusion
It is quite evident that NVIDIA technology is making this choice in order to target new NVIDIA GPUs, GeForce products, and modern architecture.
If you are still using older graphics cards, now is the best time to plan for the future. Support for all GeForce RTX models is now available, and with them, you will get better performance, security updates, and compatibility.
The future of gaming is evolving fast, and having the latest hardware is a must to enter this new phase.
