NVIDIA's big F you to Windows 8.1 users

[birdie]

From https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5201

Support Plan for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1​

Updated 06/11/2021 05:44 AM

Support Plan for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1

---

Effective October 2021, Game Ready Driver upgrades, including performance enhancements, new features, and bug fixes, will be exclusively available for systems utilizing Windows 10 as their operating system. Critical security updates will be available on systems utilizing Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 through September 2024.

FAQ

Q: Why is NVIDIA dropping support for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1?
A: Microsoft has officially ended support for Windows 7 and Windows 8, with Windows 8.1 nearing the end of its lifecycle as well. The vast majority of our GeForce customers have migrated to Windows 10 OS. In order to ensure GeForce owners experience the best possible security, support, and functionality, NVIDIA will now focus on Windows 10 operating system.

Q: When will the final Game Ready Driver that supports Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 go public?
A: August 31, 2021 (R470 GA5)

Q: When will the first Game Ready Driver that doesn’t support Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 go public?
A: October 4, 2021 (R495 GA1)

TLDR: NVIDIA will stop updating its Windows 8.1 drivers with new features or HW support after August 31, 2021 despite the OS being supported until January 2023.

In other news Kepler cards support will be ceased at the same time.

 

[newtekie1]

NVIDIA will stop updating its Windows 8.1 drivers with new features or HW support after August 31, 2021 despite the OS being supported until January 2023.

Are there really Windows 8.1 hold-outs that just refuse to update to Windows 10 for some reason? I guess I just can't see anyone wanting to keep using that dumpster fire when they can update to Windows 10 for free.

 

[Solaris17]

Are there really Windows 8.1 hold-outs that just refuse to update to Windows 10 for some reason? I guess I just can't see anyone wanting to keep using that dumpster fire when they can update to Windows 10 for free.

Yeah, this seems like a big nothing burger. MS support or not, nvidia isnt the only company thats planning on doing this. God forbid the ones that already have.

Lifecycle FAQ - Windows

Answers to frequently asked questions about the lifecycle policy for Windows products.

docs.microsoft.com

anyway mainstream support ended in 2018

 

[erocker]

Windows 8.1 is dead and was rather obscure to begin with. Upgrade to 10, learn to use it or whatever.

 

[birdie]

1. This is the first time NVIDIA is dropping support for the OS which will still officially supported long after the NVIDIA's cut off date (again, January 2023 for those who cannot read and follow links)
2. Windows 8.1 in many ways is a much better (read stabler) OS than Windows 10 and it also does not receive "feature" (read "I don't need this crap, let me just use my OS") updates
3. Windows 8.1 perfectly supports Vulkan which means it can even run some RTX games (Quake RTX). WineD3D will most likely support D3D RTX to Vulkan translation sooner than later.

The fact that it's dead for your personally does not mean people should rush to upgrade something which works for them perfectly.

The answers I've read here are kinda disgusting and hypocritical to put it mildly.

New does not always mean better.

 

[Solaris17]

The fact that it's dead for your personally does not mean people should rush to upgrade something which works for them perfectly.

The fact that it's ALIVE for you personally does not make it a good business decision for software manufacturers or hardware engineering departments.

 

[birdie]

The fact that it's ALIVE for you personally does not make it a good business decision for software manufacturers or hardware engineering departments.

From https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-81

Support Dates
Listing Start Date Mainstream End Date Extended End Date
Windows 8.1 11/13/2013 01/09/2018 01/10/2023

I'm not sure what you're talking about. It will be officially supported by Microsoft until January 2023. It's dead neither for me, neither for millions of people who are still using it, nor for Microsoft.

I'm appalled by what I keep reading here.

 

[Solaris17]

I'm appalled by what I keep reading here.

Why? If this applies to you then it applies but please. At least try to do some research.

windows 8 vs 10 market share - Google Search

For Microsoft products specifically Windows 10 had over 50% of the OS market share by 2019 alone.

 

[elghinnarisa]

Sprucing around a bit online about the statistics collected about the market share of windows OS per version, or desktop clients in general really. Shows that windows 8 has less than 4% of the shares, with windows 10 making up for over 50%.
Looking at steam stats, which is more related to gamers and since this is about drivers related to consumer grade gaming hardware, it lists windows 8/8.1 as 1.05%, with windows 10 taking a tiny piece of it equal to 92.87%.

To put it in to terms that people may understand

It's dead Jim
Not that I would mind if they kept it supported for years to come, I do like me some legacy support in general. But I can totally see why they don't see much reason for it.

 

[64K]

From https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5201

Support Plan for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1​

Updated 06/11/2021 05:44 AM

Support Plan for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1

---

Effective October 2021, Game Ready Driver upgrades, including performance enhancements, new features, and bug fixes, will be exclusively available for systems utilizing Windows 10 as their operating system. Critical security updates will be available on systems utilizing Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 through September 2024.

FAQ

Q: Why is NVIDIA dropping support for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1?
A: Microsoft has officially ended support for Windows 7 and Windows 8, with Windows 8.1 nearing the end of its lifecycle as well. The vast majority of our GeForce customers have migrated to Windows 10 OS. In order to ensure GeForce owners experience the best possible security, support, and functionality, NVIDIA will now focus on Windows 10 operating system.

Q: When will the final Game Ready Driver that supports Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 go public?
A: August 31, 2021 (R470 GA5)

Q: When will the first Game Ready Driver that doesn’t support Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 go public?
A: October 4, 2021 (R495 GA1)

TLDR: NVIDIA will stop updating its Windows 8.1 drivers with new features or HW support after August 31, 2021 despite the OS being supported until January 2023.

In other news Kepler cards support will be ceased at the same time.

As far as Win 7 goes it's obvious. MS stopped supporting it in any way already. According to the Steam Hardware Survey Win 7 and Win 8 usage is almost zero and Win 8.1 is less than 1% whereas Win 10 usage is almost 93%

Almost all of us have moved on to Win 10
I'm sure Nvidia is aware of this and don't think it's worth spending time on Win 7, 8, 8.1

 

[WhitetailAni]

Are there really Windows 8.1 hold-outs that just refuse to update to Windows 10 for some reason? I guess I just can't see anyone wanting to keep using that dumpster fire when they can update to Windows 10 for free.

Windows 9 is based off of Windows 8.1 Embedded Industry Pro. That's where a lot of it comes from.

 

[bug]

From https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5201

Support Plan for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1​

Updated 06/11/2021 05:44 AM

Support Plan for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1

---

Effective October 2021, Game Ready Driver upgrades, including performance enhancements, new features, and bug fixes, will be exclusively available for systems utilizing Windows 10 as their operating system. Critical security updates will be available on systems utilizing Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 through September 2024.

FAQ

Q: Why is NVIDIA dropping support for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1?
A: Microsoft has officially ended support for Windows 7 and Windows 8, with Windows 8.1 nearing the end of its lifecycle as well. The vast majority of our GeForce customers have migrated to Windows 10 OS. In order to ensure GeForce owners experience the best possible security, support, and functionality, NVIDIA will now focus on Windows 10 operating system.

Q: When will the final Game Ready Driver that supports Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 go public?
A: August 31, 2021 (R470 GA5)

Q: When will the first Game Ready Driver that doesn’t support Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 go public?
A: October 4, 2021 (R495 GA1)

TLDR: NVIDIA will stop updating its Windows 8.1 drivers with new features or HW support after August 31, 2021 despite the OS being supported until January 2023.

In other news Kepler cards support will be ceased at the same time.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, cry me a river. Microsoft extended support means 8.1 will only receive fixes, so that's what Nvidia will offer as well. Actually, Nvidia's 470 branch will be supported till 2024 (and you know this, it was posted on Phoronix before).

Not that Windows 8.1 had many takers in its "heyday".

 

[Space Lynx]

I mean to be fair to Nvidia here, AMD has not supported win 7 or win 8.1 at all... my 5600x and 3600x cpu i am pretty sure said it required windows 10.

 

[Bansaku]

Just update to Windows 10, it's free! Why are there still holdouts?! What logical reason could one prefer to use Windows 8.1 over Windows 10 besides the poor argument that "if it still works why change"? We aren't talking about a perfectly functional and wonderful sounding Yamaha stereo receiver from the 80's or an antique wooden table, it's the freak'n OS, the heart of your system that is responsible for anything and everything you will do on your PC. Not upgrading is illogical. But hey, you do you, just don't expect sympathy because you refuse to simply take 15 minutes to upgrade at no cost.

 

[Deleted member 202104]

AMD stopped official support for 8.1 in 2017. You could force the Windows 7 version to install until the end of 2019. Starting with Adrenalin 2020 there was a hard OS check that stopped any install. You could force the driver from the device manager, but no control center or anything else would install.

Be happy you got to 2021.

 

[GerKNG]

why should they care about 1% of the userbase?
there is literally not a single reason to use anything else than Windows 10 except when you try to get a SuperPi WR... or maybe when you run a dual core laptop from a decade ago.

 

[claes]

@birdie, you do realize that nvidia is offering the same support that Microsoft offers for your OS, right?

MS extended support means no new features, fixes, or updates — just security patches, which nvidia is offering... Seems like nvidia has been supporting your OS long after MS stopped...

 

[erocker]

1. This is the first time NVIDIA is dropping support for the OS which will still officially supported long after the NVIDIA's cut off date (again, January 2023 for those who cannot read and follow links)
2. Windows 8.1 in many ways is a much better (read stabler) OS than Windows 10 and it also does not receive "feature" (read "I don't need this crap, let me just use my OS") updates
3. Windows 8.1 perfectly supports Vulkan which means it can even run some RTX games (Quake RTX). WineD3D will most likely support D3D RTX to Vulkan translation sooner than later.

The fact that it's dead for your personally does not mean people should rush to upgrade something which works for them perfectly.

The answers I've read here are kinda disgusting and hypocritical to put it mildly.

New does not always mean better.

No, it's literally dead. Not supported any longer. I understand it all, I liked 8.1 a lot but sometimes you got to move on. I've also pretty much have Windows 10 set-up and behaving just like 8.1.

 

[Bones]

why should they care about 1% of the userbase?
there is literally not a single reason to use anything else than Windows 10 except when you try to get a SuperPi WR... or maybe when you run a dual core laptop from a decade ago.

From an XOC'er (Me):
XP does even better if you can get your hardware to work with it.
Since the majority of newer stuff doesn't work with XP, Win 10 in that case is the best OS for it BUT XP does better overall if the same hardware can run both.

As for them dropping support it's no biggie for me, I don't have any cards that would need the latest drivers to work anyway.

As for Win 10, screw that stinkin pile of OS shiite - That's the reason why I'm now on Linux and not looking back.
Win 7 still works fine for me and I still use it but Win 10 is right out with all it's crap, spyware, that annoying "Alexa" malware thing.....
I could go on but no need to, you get it.

 

[newtekie1]

The fact that it's dead for your personally does not mean people should rush to upgrade something which works for them perfectly.

The option to upgrade to Windows 10 has been available for 6 years now. No one left on Windows 8.1 is rushing to do anything obviously if they've waited 6 years to do it.

New does not always mean better.

Yeah, but in this case, better means better. And Windows 10 is just better than 8.1.

my 5600x and 3600x cpu i am pretty sure said it required windows 10.

Even if you go back to the 1700X, it only officially supported Windows 10. https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-ryzen-7-1700x#product-specs

And that comes down to Windows 10 having a significantly better scheduler that can properly handle the way AMD does SMT. Using a Ryzen processor on Windows 8.1 makes Ryzen SMT virtually useless. In fact enabling it in Windows 8.1 usually hurts performance. That's because the scheduler just has no idea how to handle the virtual threads. So save you have a 6c/12t ryzen processor. If you load up a program that uses 6 threads, Windows 10 assigns one thread per core. Windows 8.1 on the other hand assigns 1 thread per CPU thread, meaning it only uses 3 actual cores. Multi-threaded things end up being much slower on Windows 8.1 with Ryzen processors.

 

[silentbogo]

I think OP is overreacting. Just like with past news about NVidia's updated stance on SLI profiles - it's not as drastic as emotions tell you.
End of support means "no new drivers", not "no drivers". Older versions are still going to be available on NV driver page and can be found via search if needed.
You can still download a Windows XP driver for GeForce 7000-series... Heck, you can even run Maxwell cards on XP if you are into that kind of thing.

 

[GerKNG]

As for Win 10, screw that stinkin pile of OS shiite

that's literally the 5 years old "i don't want to eat salad" response i waited for.
except for a few very small problems (that are far less bad than what windows 7 had back in the days) windows 10 is by FAR the best windows for every usecase in these days.

 

[Deleted member 205776]

Why would you still use 8.1, or by extension, 7? They are both antique operating systems and should be dropped. Yeah, 7 was great. WAS. Move on already.

Like it or not, Windows 10 is the best so far, especially if you take less than an hour out of your day after installation to configure it, which you only do once. If you want pure privacy, unplug your ethernet cord. Not even Linux is safe.

My Ryzen would destroy me if I attempted to install any Windows under 10.

I used 7 until 2015, then Windows 10 was announced. I kept using it until 2016, giving 10 a year to be compatible with everything before upgrading, and when I finally did, I never went back. Only used 7 for like 2 years but have been using 10 for 5 years now, and had no issues with it.

 

[Sithaer]

Even if you go back to the 1700X, it only officially supported Windows 10. https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-ryzen-7-1700x#product-specs

And that comes down to Windows 10 having a significantly better scheduler that can properly handle the way AMD does SMT. Using a Ryzen processor on Windows 8.1 makes Ryzen SMT virtually useless. In fact enabling it in Windows 8.1 usually hurts performance. That's because the scheduler just has no idea how to handle the virtual threads. So save you have a 6c/12t ryzen processor. If you load up a program that uses 6 threads, Windows 10 assigns one thread per core. Windows 8.1 on the other hand assigns 1 thread per CPU thread, meaning it only uses 3 actual cores. Multi-threaded things end up being much slower on Windows 8.1 with Ryzen processors.

Yeah this is why and when I switched to Win 10 in 2018 May when I built my current 1600x rig.
I was like, there is no way I'm gonna install a dated OS on my new system so I shrug it off and made the switch from Win 7 after many years.

Did not look back ever since, as a casual gamer and media/every day consumer theres pretty much no issues with Win 10 for me at least.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

1. This is the first time NVIDIA is dropping support for the OS which will still officially supported long after the NVIDIA's cut off date (again, January 2023 for those who cannot read and follow links)
2. Windows 8.1 in many ways is a much better (read stabler) OS than Windows 10 and it also does not receive "feature" (read "I don't need this crap, let me just use my OS") updates
3. Windows 8.1 perfectly supports Vulkan which means it can even run some RTX games (Quake RTX). WineD3D will most likely support D3D RTX to Vulkan translation sooner than later.

The fact that it's dead for your personally does not mean people should rush to upgrade something which works for them perfectly.

The answers I've read here are kinda disgusting and hypocritical to put it mildly.

New does not always mean better.

The fact that you and a small percentage of holdouts prefer this over the later OS offerings is not really on Nvidia though either.
I also would say it's fully supported till August by which time Win10 will be using direct storage etc for game's, it's clearly going to be the case that older OS versions won't be up to the required spec to get the best out of games.


I'm not into holding out in this case, the old way is shit, massive load time's, legacy interrupts etc.

Let your past die, kill it if you have to.

Or we are never getting to Next Generation.