Flight Sim Support

NVIDIA Driver Guide

Community-tested NVIDIA driver recommendations for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Find the best driver for your RTX graphics card.

Last reviewed: December 17th, 2025

✅ Recommended⚠️ Caution❌ Avoid
Top Driver•All Drivers•Clean Install Guide•NVIDIA Settings•Disclaimer

🆕 New Driver Alert: NVIDIA released driver 591.59 on December 18th, 2025. We're gathering community feedback — check back soon for scores and recommendations.

📖 How to Use This Page

1

Find Your GPU

Check the RTX 2000/3000/4000 columns for your series

2

Pick a Top 3 Driver

581.80, 581.08, or 581.57 are all excellent choices

3

Clean Install

Follow our step-by-step guide below for best results

About MSFS Score: Scores (1–10) are aggregated from community reports on forums like Guru3D, Reddit, and Discord. They reflect stability, frametime consistency, and VR performance across multiple hardware configurations. Higher scores indicate fewer reported issues and better overall MSFS 2024 compatibility.

🏆 Top Recommendation

For MSFS 2024 (SU4+) on Windows 10/11 with RTX 20/30/40/50 series

581.80

Score: 9.2/10

Alternatives: 581.08 (9.0) and 581.57 (8.8) are also excellent choices if 581.80 doesn't work for your setup.

Complete Driver Comparison

#1581.80

Stable (WHQL)

9.2
✅ BEST CHOICE for MSFS 2024
Release:Nov 3, 2025
RTX 40/50:Excellent
View Details

Key Feedback

Smooth as silk; excellent frametimes; stable 2D/VR; RTX 5090/4090 optimal; audio stutters resolved; some users report rollback from 581.80 if MSFS2020 launch issues (rare)

RTX 2000

8.7

RTX 3000

9.1

VR

9.0

#2581.08

Stable

9.0
✅ Excellent Alternative
Release:Aug 19, 2025
RTX 40/50:Excellent
View Details

Key Feedback

Outstanding stability; 4070 Super/4090 smooth; many users prefer over newer releases; addresses Cyberpunk black screen crashes from earlier 581; solid performer for older titles

RTX 2000

8.9

RTX 3000

8.9

VR

8.4

#3581.57

Stable

8.8
✅ Excellent Alternative
Release:Oct 14, 2025
RTX 40/50:Very Good
View Details

Key Feedback

Good performance; sharpness improvement; RTX 4090 tested positively; users reverting from 591.44 to 581.57 with success; minor fan control issues reported; preferred alternative to 591.44

RTX 2000

8.5

RTX 3000

8.6

VR

8.5

#4581.42

Stable

8.6
✅ Very Good
Release:Sep 30, 2025
RTX 40/50:Good
View Details

Key Feedback

Working fine with RTX 5080; smooth SU4 Beta; Smooth Motion FPS drops fixed; GODOT stutter fix; no major MSFS issues reported

RTX 2000

8.3

RTX 3000

8.5

VR

8.7

#5577.00

Stable (WHQL)

8.5
✅ Very Good (Legacy)
Release:Jul 22, 2025
RTX 40/50:Good
View Details

Key Feedback

Solid baseline; user-reported 15–20% FPS gains in some scenarios vs older branches; initial stutters resolved with cache clear; R576 branch; recommended for dual MSFS 2020/2024; good legacy support

RTX 2000

8.2

RTX 3000

8.3

VR

8.1

#6581.29

Stable

8.4
✅ Good
Release:Sep 10, 2025
RTX 40/50:Good
View Details

Key Feedback

Marvel Rivals perf fix; Optimus regression fixed; stable but some UE5 artifacts post-sleep on 580 branch; MSFS users report good performance

RTX 2000

8.0

RTX 3000

8.1

VR

8.0

#7581.15

Stable

8.2
✅ Acceptable
Release:Aug 28, 2025
RTX 40/50:Good
View Details

Key Feedback

Stable baseline; some 5090 black screen reports; screen recording issues noted; many prefer 581.08 over this; working for MSFS but 581.08 often preferred

RTX 2000

7.8

RTX 3000

7.9

VR

7.8

#8580.88

Stable (WHQL)

8.0
✅ Good
Release:Aug 5, 2025
RTX 40/50:Good
View Details

Key Feedback

Game Ready for MSFS 2024 SU3; solid baseline; good for pre-SU4; some users report better than 580.97; CUDA 12.7 support; secure baseline (R580 branch)

RTX 2000

7.6

RTX 3000

7.7

VR

7.5

#9580.97

Stable

6.8
⚠️ Caution
Release:Aug 12, 2025
RTX 40/50:Problematic
View Details

Key Feedback

FPS degradation over time on SAZM takeoff; users report reverting to 576.40; mixed feedback for SU3 Beta; not recommended for sustained MSFS sessions

RTX 2000

6.5

RTX 3000

6.7

VR

6.4

#10591.44

Latest (WHQL)

5.2
❌ AVOID (CTDs, frametime spikes)
Release:Dec 4, 2025
RTX 40/50:Unstable
View Details

Key Feedback

Critical issues: CTDs, severe frametime spikes, and VR instability on RTX 40/50 series; 1 FPS drops reported in X-Plane; brightness fluctuations on desktop; Vulkan crashes; may work for non-MSFS games (Battlefield 6, CS2)

RTX 2000

5.0

RTX 3000

5.2

VR

3.5

Detailed Driver Information

Driver 581.80

Released November 3, 2025 • Stable (WHQL)

9.2

MSFS Score

✅ BEST CHOICE for MSFS 2024

Smooth as silk; excellent frametimes; stable 2D/VR; RTX 5090/4090 optimal; audio stutters resolved; some users report rollback from 581.80 if MSFS2020 launch issues (rare)

RTX 2000

8.7

✅ Forward-looking, stable on most 20-series

RTX 3000

9.1

✅ Top choice for RTX 3000

VR

9.0

✅ Best overall VR driver in this set

Driver 581.08

Released August 19, 2025 • Stable

9.0

MSFS Score

✅ Excellent Alternative

Outstanding stability; 4070 Super/4090 smooth; many users prefer over newer releases; addresses Cyberpunk black screen crashes from earlier 581; solid performer for older titles

RTX 2000

8.9

✅ Best blend of stability + features

RTX 3000

8.9

✅ Excellent fallback

VR

8.4

✅ Stable VR baseline

Driver 581.57

Released October 14, 2025 • Stable

8.8

MSFS Score

✅ Excellent Alternative

Good performance; sharpness improvement; RTX 4090 tested positively; users reverting from 591.44 to 581.57 with success; minor fan control issues reported; preferred alternative to 591.44

RTX 2000

8.5

✅ Good, but watch for edge-case instability

RTX 3000

8.6

✅ Very good, esp. if already installed

VR

8.5

✅ Very good, but monitor stability

Driver 581.42

Released September 30, 2025 • Stable

8.6

MSFS Score

✅ Very Good

Working fine with RTX 5080; smooth SU4 Beta; Smooth Motion FPS drops fixed; GODOT stutter fix; no major MSFS issues reported

RTX 2000

8.3

✅ Solid choice

RTX 3000

8.5

✅ Very good (SU4-tested)

VR

8.7

✅ Excellent for SU4 VR

Driver 577.00

Released July 22, 2025 • Stable (WHQL)

8.5

MSFS Score

✅ Very Good (Legacy)

Solid baseline; user-reported 15–20% FPS gains in some scenarios vs older branches; initial stutters resolved with cache clear; R576 branch; recommended for dual MSFS 2020/2024; good legacy support

RTX 2000

8.2

✅ Safe "old but good"

RTX 3000

8.3

✅ Solid "legacy" option

VR

8.1

✅ Solid legacy for WMR / G2 / older stacks

Driver 581.29

Released September 10, 2025 • Stable

8.4

MSFS Score

✅ Good

Marvel Rivals perf fix; Optimus regression fixed; stable but some UE5 artifacts post-sleep on 580 branch; MSFS users report good performance

RTX 2000

8.0

✅ Acceptable

RTX 3000

8.1

✅ OK

VR

8.0

✅ Acceptable

Clean Driver Installation Guide

For the best results, we recommend performing a clean driver installation. This removes any leftover files from previous drivers that could cause conflicts or performance issues.

1

Download Required Tools

Before starting, download these tools:

2

Prepare Drivers with NVCleanstall

NVCleanstall gives you full control over what gets installed:

  1. aRun NVCleanstall, select your recommended driver version from the list, and click "Next"
  2. b
    Select only the components you need. Recommended minimum:
    • ✅ Display Driver
    • ✅ PhysX (required for some games)
    • ✅ HD Audio via HDMI (if you use HDMI/DP audio)
    • ⬜ GeForce Experience (optional — skip for cleaner install)
    • ⬜ Telemetry (skip to reduce background processes)
  3. cOn the tweaks page, check "Disable Installer Telemetry & Advertising" and "Perform a Clean Installation"
  4. dClick "Show Expert Tweaks" and enable "Enable Hardware-accelerated GPU Scheduling" (recommended for Windows 10/11). If you experience instability later, try disabling HAGS in Windows Settings.
  5. eClick "Next" to reach the install screen, click "Build Package" and save it, but do not install yet — proceed to Step 3 first

📸 Click screenshots to enlarge:

3

Remove Old Drivers with DDU

Boot into Windows Safe Mode for the cleanest removal. Tip: Temporarily disconnect from the internet or disable your network adapter before running DDU to ensure Windows does not auto-install drivers.

  1. aOpen Settings (Win + I) → System → Recovery → click "Restart now" under Advanced startup. Follow the Startup Settings path and select option 4
  2. bOnce in Safe Mode, run DDU as Administrator
  3. cSelect GPU as device type and NVIDIA as the manufacturer
  4. dClick "Options" → Under General Options, enable "Remove C:\NVIDIA", "Remove PhysX", and "Create restore point". Under NVIDIA Specific Options, enable all checkboxes. Most importantly, tick "Prevent downloads of drivers from Windows Update"
  5. eClick "Clean and restart" — DDU will remove all driver files and registry entries

📸 Click screenshots to enlarge:

4

Install the Driver

Now install the driver package you prepared in Step 2:

  1. aRun the driver package you saved earlier (e.g., NVCleanstall_NVIDIA_581.80_x64_dch_Desktop_Setup.exe)
  2. bAgree to the NVIDIA license agreement and continue
  3. cUnder Installation Options, select "Custom (Advanced)" and click Next
  4. dVerify that the "Current version" column is empty (confirms DDU cleaned properly) and click Next
  5. eReboot your PC when the installation completes
5

Configure NVIDIA Control Panel

Open NVIDIA Control Panel and configure the following settings:

  1. aUnder "Adjust image settings with preview", select "Use the advanced 3D image settings". Click Apply.
  2. bUnder "Manage 3D settings", choose the Program Settings tab and select Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 from the dropdown menu.
  3. cScroll down to "Power management mode" and choose "Prefer maximum performance". Click Apply.
  4. dUnder "Change resolution", scroll down to PC and select your screen resolution. On the right, under Refresh rate, choose your screen's optimal refresh rate. Optionally, at the bottom select "Use NVIDIA color settings": Highest (32-bit), 10 bpc, RGB, Full. Click Apply.
  5. eUnder "Adjust desktop color settings", you can adjust the Digital Vibrance slider (many users find 60% pleasing, but this is optional and varies by screen).
  6. fUnder "Set up G-SYNC", ensure it's enabled if your monitor supports it.
  7. gUnder "Adjust video color settings", choose "With the NVIDIA settings" → Advanced → Full. Click Apply.

Note: These settings are general recommendations based on personal experience and may not be perfect for all systems. Feel free to adjust based on your specific hardware and preferences.

Disclaimer

Informational purposes only: This is community-sourced guidance and is not endorsed by or affiliated with NVIDIA or Microsoft. Data is aggregated from user reports on Guru3D forums, Reddit, and Discord communities.

Use at your own risk: Neither Flight Sim Support nor M Networks is responsible for data loss, system instability, or hardware issues that may result from following this guide. Always create a system restore point before updating drivers.

Third-party tools: NVCleanstall and DDU are independent utilities not affiliated with Flight Sim Support. We recommend downloading them only from their official sources. Your experience may vary depending on your specific hardware configuration, installed software, and use case.