Why it matters: After complaints of DisplayPort problems on Nvidia's last two generations of graphics cards when used with newer monitors, a fix is finally available for affected users. Both reference design and third-party cards are able to be fixed via a BIOS update.

A number of users of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 900 series and GeForce 10-series have experienced problems using newer monitors connected via DisplayPort 1.3 or 1.4. Problems have ranged from blank screens to the inability to properly boot up at all.

Unfortunately, regular driver updates cannot fix the problems that many users have experienced. That said, the fix is now available to flash the BIOS of affected graphics cards. Nvidia's tool first unloads the existing driver from your system and then proceeds to flash the BIOS of your GPU. Do not interrupt the process during this time since a failed flash attempt could lead to serious problems.

Add-in board partners need not worry about updating their own cards. Nvidia has ensured that the tool released works on both reference design cards and custom designs.

This firmware update tool should only be run if you are experiencing any problems running a Maxwell or Pascal-based graphics card with a DisplayPort output. Following the flashing of firmware, a restart is recommended.

Until there is further information available about the specifics of this tool, it is advised to hold off on using it unless you are experiencing exactly the described symptoms of DisplayPort problems.

To be able to run the tool if you are unable to boot with DisplayPort, you must use a DVI, HDMI, or VGA cable instead or use a different monitor all together. Nvidia also recommends changing boot modes from UEFI to Legacy or from Legacy to UEFI. Forcing use of integrated graphics is also an acceptable solution in order to run Nvidia's update tool.

Download Nvidia's DisplayPort Firmware Update tool.