Recommended reading

The latest Nvidia driver lets you run ancient CPUs in Windows again without crashing

News
By published

Now you can get that cursed PC build up and running.

A dusty heatsink and fan being cleaned by a brush
(Image credit: Getty Images, Andrey Maximenko)

Ever wanted to run an old Intel Core 2 Duo alongside an RTX 50-series graphics card using Windows 10 as your OS? No, me neither. And if you did, well, as of last year you couldn't… but now you can. You're welcome.

That's according to X user TheBobPony, who says the latest Nvidia drivers (576.40) no longer require the PopCnt CPU instruction. This instruction is one that CPUs in the early and mid 2000's and earlier lacked, but since then all have included it and it's even become a requirement to run Windows 11 from version 24H2 onward.

Windows 10 still allowed pre-PopCnt CPUs to run the OS, but last August TheBobPony noted that Nvidia drivers weren't playing ball with the CPU instruction—not GTX 750 or newer GPUs, anyway. So incredibly-old-CPU users that were also using newer Nvidia GPUs (a gigantic population, I'm sure) were out of luck once again.

Now, it looks like Nvidia has opened the door to such configurations once again. So, as TheBobPony says, "you could possibly pair an RTX 5090 with Core 2 Duo now." Y'know, if that's your kind of jam, along with, presumably, playing Defiled with a Zweihander in Dark Souls and other such half-nerfed glass cannon shenanigans.

On Windows 10, that is, because Windows 11 still has the PopCnt requirement. The fact that the screenshot seems to show an old CPU (Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650) running on Windows 11 initially gave me pause, but I'm guessing TheBobPony has just bypassed those requirements or chose to delay updating to 24H2.

PopCnt (population count) is a CPU instruction that counts the number of activated bits (bits set to 1, not 0) in a binary number. Apparently it's important for some AI workloads, so it would make sense that 24H2 was the Windows version that introduced the requirement for it, given it was a ground-up redesign, a "full OS swap" to make way for the AI PC era.

Anyway, for those of you still holding on to a Core 2 Duo, Pentium 4, or some other ancient chip, feel free to pair that up with a new Nvidia GPU on Windows 10. And if you do, please let me know how it performs (if it performs at all) in games.

Best CPU for gamingBest gaming motherboardBest graphics cardBest SSD for gaming


Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.
Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.
Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.
Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.

TOPICS
Jacob Fox
Jacob Fox
Hardware Writer

Jacob got his hands on a gaming PC for the first time when he was about 12 years old. He swiftly realised the local PC repair store had ripped him off with his build and vowed never to let another soul build his rig again. With this vow, Jacob the hardware junkie was born. Since then, Jacob's led a double-life as part-hardware geek, part-philosophy nerd, first working as a Hardware Writer for PCGamesN in 2020, then working towards a PhD in Philosophy for a few years (result pending a patiently awaited viva exam) while freelancing on the side for sites such as TechRadar, Pocket-lint, and yours truly, PC Gamer. Eventually, he gave up the ruthless mercenary life to join the world's #1 PC Gaming site full-time. It's definitely not an ego thing, he assures us.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.