THE CRUNCH
Open-source PlayStation 3 emulator RPCS3 developers have found a workaround for a previously unidentified Nvidia driver bug that was limiting performance. The fix, credited to coder Yahfz, delivers speed boosts of up to 37% in titles like Gran Turismo 5 and Saints Row IV, while also reducing VRAM usage. The team has reached out to Nvidia via its developer forums and a direct message to a senior QA boss, though they b
The performance uplift varies by system configuration. Testing on a 13900K with an RTX 3080 showed a 20% increase in frame rates, while a 9800X3D paired with an RTX 5090 saw a 25% boost. The developers note that AMD GPU drivers do not exhibit this issue, suggesting the problem is specific to Nvidia's stack.
The improvement is not limited to high-end hardware. On a more mainstream GTX 1060, the workaround yielded a 20% performance gain. The team emphasises that the bug affected 'most games' and was not an isolated incident, though the exact nature of the driver flaw remains undisclosed.
Despite the clear benefit, the RPCS3 team has struggled to get Nvidia's attention. They report that previous attempts to report the bug via developer forums were unsuccessful. A direct message sent to Nvidia Software QA boss Manuel Guzman has now been acknowledged, but the company has yet to implement a fix.