Back in December of last year we reported that Nvidia planned to end driver support for 32-bit operating systems at release 390, however, at the time this was just a rumor, the official support document was vague and it wasn"t clear exactly when support would end. Now, the company has updated the document and stated that driver support for 32-bit operating systems will be ending this month.
The page was updated on Friday to state:
NVIDIA is making the following updates to our operating system support effective April 2018:
- Drivers: Game Ready Driver upgrades, including performance enhancements, new features, and bug fixes, will be available only on 64-bit operating systems. Critical security updates will be provided for 32-bit operating systems through January 2019.
- This includes the following operating systems:
- Microsoft Windows 7
- Microsoft Windows 8/8.1
- Microsoft Windows 10
- Linux
- FreeBSD- GeForce Experience: Software upgrades with new features, security updates, and bug fixes will be available only on Windows 64-bit operating systems. Existing features and services such as optimal game settings will continue to work on Windows 32-bit operating systems.
The latest driver was released two weeks ago on March 27, and is version 391.35, it included the 32-bit flavors. When a new driver drops this month, it could be the first to not include 32-bit support, or maybe the last.
Nvidia typically releases one or more driver updates a month, so we will not have long to wait. However, the company says it will support "critical security updates" for 32-bit operating systems until January 2019, so we might still see a driver drop for those still hanging on to the past.