Nvidia App Causes FPS Drops in Some Games and PCs

Nvidia's New App: FPS Drops Reported in Some Games

Nvidia's recently launched application is causing frame rate (FPS) drops in certain games and on specific PC configurations. This article explores this performance issue affecting Nvidia's latest game optimization software.

Performance Issues Across Games and Systems

PC Gamer's December 18th testing revealed inconsistent framerates in some games when using the Nvidia App. Several users reported stuttering. An Nvidia employee suggested a temporary solution: 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 FPS increase (59fps to 63fps at 1080p Very High settings) with the overlay off. However, enabling the overlay and lowering graphics to Medium resulted in a significant 12% FPS drop. Cyberpunk 2077 testing on a different system (Core Ultra 9 285K and RTX 4080 Super) showed no noticeable difference with the overlay on or off, indicating the problem's impact varies by game and hardware.

The temporary fix of disabling the overlay, while suggested by Nvidia, hasn't resolved the issue for all users, according to reports on Twitter (X). Some users suggest reverting to older drivers, but a permanent solution from Nvidia is pending.

The Nvidia App: Successor to GeForce Experience

Initially launched in beta on February 22, 2024, the Nvidia App replaced GeForce Experience in November 2024. This official launch, coinciding with a driver update, introduced a new overlay system and eliminated the need for account logins.

While the app boasts improved features, Nvidia needs to address the performance inconsistencies reported by users. Further investigation is needed to pinpoint the cause and provide a comprehensive fix.