Nvidia is abandoning driver support for 32-bit operating systems after it releases version 390, the company announced. After that, it’s 64-bit or bust.
“Later driver release versions will not operate, nor install, on 32-bit operating systems. Driver enhancements, driver optimizations, and operating system features in driver versions after Release 390 will not be incorporated back into Release 390 or earlier versions,” the company said.
This change affects 32-bit builds of Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10, Linux, and FreeBSD. That said, Nvidia will continue to dole out critical security fixes, as needed, until January 2019.
Going all-in with 64-bit isn’t too surprising. There isn’t much reason to install a 32-bit OS these days, save for older systems with data hardware or in rare instances where compatibility could be a concern. The majority of those systems wouldn’t be very good at gaming, anyway.
Coinciding with the driver announcement, Nvidia also said it is ending support for its NVS 310 and NVS 315 graphics cards based on its dated Fermi architecture. Its 390 driver release will be the last one for these cards. These were never good gaming cards to begin with, let alone today.
If you’re unsure about which version of Windows you’re running, you can check by right-clicking This Computer (or My Computer) and selecting Properties.