Yes, but modified .inf driver file is needed (with added Hardware IDs for GM204/GM200 cards).

ok so the 2016 modded driver will work on service pack 2 right?

That's up to updates you have.
Since Maxwell 2.0 requires quite late XP driver, specific versions of .NET or Visual C++ may be required.
Some SP3 included updates can be installed manually, so it's not like you need to install SP3 as a whole.

To clarify : I never tested Maxwell under SP2.

i was able to install a 780 ti classified kingpin drivers on xp sp2 but the 2016 nvidia driver software wouldn't work. so i'm guessing drivers will work but nvidia driver software won't?

Nvidia Inspector.

IIRC the last WinXP driver (the whole package with software) requires .NET 4 and C++ 2013 and looks like at least .NET 4 requires SP3.

Don't know when the .NET 4 requirement was added to Nvidia drivers, so it's possible some earlier driver for maxwell would work with .NET 3.5 which supports SP2. Wouldn't hold my breath though.

i have .NET 4 and Visual C++ 2013 installed on my xp sp2 machine. i even tested the 368-81 (2016) driver and it looks like it works (setup opens fast and fine) but of course doesn't install because i don't have a nvidia card installed right now. it says no nvidia card found. i'm really curious now to try 980 ti on sp2.

thanks for the nvidia inspector suggestion.

Just to point out : On GTX 980 Ti under WinXP, you may not be able to set over 60Hz refresh with resolutions that are over 1080p on DVI/HDMI/DP outputs (at least I couldn't).

Ok. On my 7970 i can do 144hz 1080p on XP Professional SP2 (2004). Would i be able do do that on display port?

For nvidia : Try the 35.98 drivers (for scaling) and make sure that if your are using a monitor that exceeds 60hz that you use refreshlock so you can force 60hz when needed if you experience black screen issues if you use a resolution and refresh rate that is higher than hbr1.

Refreshlock is needed since alot of games don't use the refreshrate specified for the desktop and instead use the Mac refresh rate that the monitor supports so if that exceeds hbr1 then you get a black screen.

I can't remember if hbr1 supports 144hz at 1080p or not, I want to say yes. The nvidia drivers for xp only support hbr1. Do not use hdmi with these later drivers unless you want to you'll have overscan issues and be limited to 60hz and i want to say a color issue. DVI and displayport FTW.

It may be possible to modify the edid with a quadro, a mitm device or on the monitor itself to force a max refresh rate so the driver doesnt exceed hbr1 but I didn't have any luck there.

The scaling not working with later drivers is likely due to the driver detecting the monitor as a TV due to the extra features like audio support, nvidia would "fix" thus in the driver via driver updates so it wouldn't detect those monitors as a TV. Thinking the only fix we could do is modify the edid ourself or update the drivers, never had any luck there.

Remember that safe mode is your friend.

Hmm. If I can't get more than 60hz @ 1080p I'll probably just stick with my 7970 . But I might still buy a 980 ti to play with (waste of money).

Sorry to double post but, question : has no one even tried a 980 ti on sp2 before? everyone seems to use xp sp3 these days but really...why 🤣???? back in the day when my Athlon 64 3400+ 2.4ghz (754) was the shizzle i distinctly remember promptly uninstalling sp3 because it made windows noticeably slower compared to sp2. I mean even today sp2 is still better in my opinion. in 2008 Microsoft added too much garbage and bloated the os in my view.

Because using GTX 980 Ti on XP, usually means CPU/platform that comes with it is fast enough to not care about performance penalty from SP3s "additional garbage".
Also, picking usefull updates like one which adds ExFAT support or .NET patches, isn't worth most peoples time for fraction of performance you gain from it.
Also also, installing something, and then having a weird error pop-out because "it needs XYZ update for Windows" is annoying.

I myself just install SP3, and then install other updates if I need them (not picking them selectively).
Alternatively, you can also install a pre-patched WinXP ISO with all updates already inside (including SP3, .NET, AHCI, etc.). No point in making it yourself, if someone already went through all the steps for you and it "just works".

Yeah. interestingly enough the minimum requirements for 780 ti is XP SP3 but i can confirm the drivers worked for me just fine on SP2. I tested a few apps games with no issues but I found that my 7970 actually performed a bit faster than the 780 ti. If I was able to get 780 ti drivers to work on xp sp2 doesn't that mean 980 ti should work ok to? i mean its the exact same driver package? Or is maxwell more difficult to get working on xp? I had to manually update the 780 ti drivers in device manager to get them working btw .