Certain Nvidia GeForce graphics cards are on the verge of becoming obsolete, with Nvidia announcing that drivers for GTX GPUs—including the GTX 750, GTX 980, and GTX 1080 Ti—will no longer receive Game Ready Driver (GRD) updates starting October 2025. Furthermore, support for Windows 10 drivers on RTX GPUs will cease in October 2026.
It hardly seems like it was long ago when the GTX 1080 Ti held the title of best graphics card on the market. Fast forward eight years, and its performance is no longer cutting it for today’s gaming standards. The GTX 750, released over a decade ago, is even further behind. For gamers still using these older graphics cards, the time for an upgrade is fast approaching as they struggle to keep up with the demands of modern gaming.
Nvidia’s recently announced driver plans indicate that Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta-based GPUs will receive one last Game Ready Driver update in October. Following this, these cards will transition to quarterly security updates for the next three years, ending support completely in October 2028. While your card will continue to function, the absence of driver updates raises potential risks, including vulnerabilities to hacking and incompatibility with future games.
The impending driver changes particularly affect the GTX 700, GTX 900, and GTX 1000 series, along with workstation-specific Volta-based GPUs like the Titan V and Quadro GV100. Importantly, those with Turing-based GTX 16 series GPUs, such as the GTX 1660 Ti, or any RTX-branded GPUs are not subject to this change.
Typically, GRD updates are issued monthly and are packed with optimizations for the latest games, ensuring that existing Nvidia products remain relevant and capable of running new titles. These releases often come with essential bug fixes and feature enhancements as well. In contrast, the forthcoming security updates will focus solely on mitigating newly-discovered vulnerabilities without introducing new features or game support during the three-year window.
Another significant announcement from Nvidia pertains to its GRD driver support for Windows 10, which will conclude in October 2026. This date coincides with the end of Microsoft’s support for the older operating system. If you happen to own an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 and are still running Windows 10, that dual pressure might just be the nudge you need to upgrade to Windows 11.
If you find yourself gaming on an older Nvidia GeForce GTX card, it may be prudent to consider an upgrade. For a more budget-friendly way of accessing the latest technology with long-term driver support, you might want to look into the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT or the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060. Both of these GPUs provide ample power for modern games at high settings at 1080p—all at a price tag below $300.
If you’re unsure about the process of upgrading your graphics card, our how to build a gaming PC guide has a dedicated section on installing a new GPU. Alternatively, you might explore our best gaming PC guide for some high-performance pre-built options available for purchase today.
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