NVIDIA GeForce 456.38 WHQL Released: Ampere Support, SLI Finally Dead

nvidia-geforce-logoSource: TechPowerUp!

NVIDIA has released the latest version of GeForce Game Ready software. Version 456.38 WHQL comes with support for the new GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 “Ampere” graphics cards. The mammoth software release also adds optimization for “Fortnite” with RTX and DLSS on all GeForce RTX GPUs. The new NVIDIA Reflex technology is formally launched, with support for “Fortnite” and “Valorant.” Reflex is supported on all NVIDIA GPUs going back to the GTX 900 series “Maxwell.” Optimizations are also added for “Halo 3: OSDT” and “Mafia: Definitive Edition.” Also introduced are the NVIDIA Broadcast app, and a host of new GeForce Experience features, including in-game performance/overlay, one-click performance tuning, HDR ShadowPlay Capture, AV1 decoding, support for new G-SYNC compatible displays.

Buried in the bowels of the driver change-log is a big disclosure, that the RTX 30-series “Ampere” GPUs don’t support SLI (as in implicit multi-GPU), only explicit multi-GPU through modern APIs such as DirectX 12 and Vulkan (if supported by the game). NVIDIA has already restricted the NVLink interface needed for SLI only to its topmost RTX 3090 SKU, so the lack of implicit multi-GPU effectively marks the end of SLI for future GPUs. That said, the technology itself is very much present on all GPUs that support it, provided games do. NVIDIA announced the GeForce RTX 30 series “Watch Dogs: Legion” + GeForce NOW bundle. Buying a new GeForce RTX 30-series graphics card now comes with a year’s membership of the GeForce NOW cloud gaming service, plus you get the next chapter in the Watch Dogs franchise, which supports a ton of NVIDIA RTX features, possibly including DLSS 8K.

You can download the GeForce 456.38 WHQL Game Ready drivers via GeForce.com.