According to enthusiasts like Bob Pony, the new version of the driver’s 576.40 no longer requires support for PopCNT instructions previously compulsory to start modern graphic adapters.
This means that it is possible to start the RTX 5090 graphics card in systems with the theoretically released in 2006.
For example, one of the users showed a screenshot of the system with the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 and Windows 11 Pro processor running with the new NVIDIA graphics card. Previously, such combinations have caused critical errors, including infinite re -loading cycles.
The PopCNT instruction in the SSE4.2 set is used to calculate the installed lice in binary numbers and has long been standard for modern processors. However, old chips such as Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad do not support this function that limits compatibility with the latest graphic drivers and operating systems such as Windows 11 24h2.
It is still unclear why NVIDIA takes this step, but this kind of support can allow modern video cards even on very old PCs, even though there are serious productivity restrictions.
Source: Ferra
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