Nvidia has issued a hotfix addressing a GPU monitoring issue introduced in its GeForce Game Ready Driver 576.02, which was recently rolled out for the RTX 5060 Ti. The update, intended to support the new card, inadvertently introduced a bug that disrupted temperature monitoring across a wide range of GeForce graphics cards, including models from the RTX 30, 40, and 50 series.
Users began reporting the problem shortly after installing the update, noting that their GPU temperature readings had become static—frozen at a single value regardless of workload or thermal conditions. This created a significant concern, particularly because many systems rely on accurate thermal feedback to regulate fan speeds and cooling performance. With the temperature data locked, third-party tools like MSI Afterburner and FanControl were unable to adjust cooling profiles, potentially exposing GPUs to thermal stress during resource-intensive tasks such as gaming, 3D rendering, or video processing.
The root of the issue appears to stem from Nvidia’s internal temperature API, specifically the “NvAPI_GPU_GetThermalSettings” function. The malfunction most commonly occurs after a system resumes from sleep mode, though some users reported that the problem appeared immediately upon startup. Given the widespread nature of the reports and the range of affected hardware, the bug raised concerns within the enthusiast and professional PC communities alike.
In response, Nvidia has released Hotfix Driver 576.15, a targeted update designed to restore functional temperature monitoring. According to the company’s support documentation, the hotfix corrects the issue where GPU temperature readings fail to update after a system wakes from sleep, thereby allowing fan control software to operate normally and preventing the risk of overheating.
While the temperature monitoring bug was the most critical flaw, the hotfix also resolves several other issues introduced by the earlier driver release. Among the listed fixes are visual anomalies such as shadow flickering and corruption in select games, crashes within Lumion 2024’s render mode, and shader compilation errors affecting game stability. Laptop users on the RTX 50 series also benefit from a fix for black screens when resuming from Modern Standby, a power state often used in portable systems. Additionally, the update addresses performance concerns, such as micro-stuttering in SteamVR when using multi-monitor setups and an unintended drop in idle GPU clock speeds.
Notably, the hotfix has not yet been incorporated into a full WHQL-certified driver package, which means users seeking stability improvements must manually download and install version 576.15 from Nvidia’s official support site. As of now, there’s no confirmed timeline for when these fixes will be folded into a general driver release, leaving affected users with little choice but to apply the interim solution.
For Nvidia, this situation highlights the ongoing challenges of maintaining broad driver support across a large and evolving lineup of GPUs. While hotfixes serve as a critical stopgap, they also underscore the importance of thorough regression testing—especially as driver packages grow more complex with the addition of support for new hardware generations and features. The RTX 50 series, in particular, has been under close scrutiny, and stability concerns like these only add to the pressure as Nvidia seeks to balance its efforts between cutting-edge development and core PC user experience.
As with all driver updates, users are advised to monitor performance and thermals closely following installation and to report any further anomalies through official support channels. While the hotfix provides a necessary patch, long-term reliability will ultimately depend on how Nvidia integrates and refines these fixes in future certified releases.
