Nvidia App Causes FPS Drops in Some Games and PCs

Nvidia's New App Causes FPS Drops in Some Games

Nvidia's recently launched application is causing frame rate drops in specific games and PC configurations. This article explores the performance issues stemming from Nvidia's latest game optimization software.

Impact on Game Performance

PC Gamer's December 18th testing revealed inconsistent frame rates in some games when using the Nvidia app. Several users reported stuttering. A temporary solution, suggested by Nvidia staff, involves disabling the "Game Filters and Photo Mode" overlay.

Testing Black Myth: Wukong on a high-end system (Ryzen 7 7800X3D and RTX 4070 Super) showed a slight performance increase (59 fps to 63 fps at 1080p Very High settings) with the overlay off. However, enabling the overlay at Medium settings resulted in a 12% frame rate drop. Cyberpunk 2077 testing on a different high-end system (Core Ultra 9 285K and RTX 4080 Super) showed no significant difference with the overlay on or off. This indicates the problem affects specific games and hardware combinations.

User reports on Twitter (X) corroborate these findings, with some suggesting driver rollbacks as a workaround. Nvidia hasn't yet released an official fix beyond disabling the overlay.

Nvidia App's Official Launch and Implications

Launched in February 2024 as a beta replacement for GeForce Experience, the Nvidia app officially launched in November 2024. This release, coinciding with a driver update, introduced a new overlay system and removed the need for account logins. While offering enhanced features, the app's impact on game performance in certain scenarios requires further investigation by Nvidia.