Has anyone tried the newer Nvidia 551.xx drivers? Big temp and power drop for me!

[N069NT]

About two weeks ago Nvidia dropped their 551.52 drivers and I downloaded it. Normally I ignore the latest driver prompts in GeForce Experience, but I always at least look up the user experiences of the latest drivers on a popular tech forum. For these, I read where several reported big power and temp drops around larger three cooler GPUs like mine.

 

Okay, well why not give them a go? I did so and could not believe my eyes or hand behind the computer not feeling as much heat out the back! The screenshot I took shows GPU % utilization where it should be (in these case approaching a cloud layer while on a final IFR approach in the CJ4): around 75-80%. However, the remarkable thing is the massive drop in GPU wattage use as well as temps to 170-180W and 45-50C. Normally in this case I'd be at 280+ watts in GPU power consumption as well as in the 60s in C temps. And that would be with a 70% fan curve setting at max use. Now, I can dial that back to 55%.

 

I do not know what Nvidia has done, but I'd be curious to know other's experiences if they've upgraded (there has since been 551.61 released). This is good news as we head into the warmer months. And I can also confirm after two weeks of use, I have a slight but noticeable power bill consumption drop in the daily use monitor in the hours I'm simming.