Owners of GeForce graphics cards are currently experiencing performance losses in games when the new Nvidia app is installed. Performance can decrease by up to 15 percent, even if the functions of the Nvidia app are not actively used. Uninstalling the app resolves the issue. Nvidia has recognized this problem, but removing the app is not necessary. The manufacturer recommends disabling some functions of the Nvidia app until an update is available.
In November of this year, the Nvidia app replaced the previous GeForce Experience. The app now serves as a central hub for hardware control, driver downloads, and game optimizations for GeForce graphics cards. Although many settings can still be adjusted through the Nvidia Control Panel, the Nvidia app offers features like Gsync, frame rate limits for individual games, video and image capture, as well as game filters that aim to enhance game graphics using artificial intelligence (AI).
However, the new Nvidia app has been identified as the cause of reduced performance in GeForce graphics cards. For example, Tom’s Hardware tested a GeForce RTX 4060 in various games with and without the Nvidia app. They found that performance was between 2 and 12 percent lower when the Nvidia app was running with default settings in the background. When the game filters were turned off, the performance with the Nvidia app matched the performance without the app.
The AI filters have led to performance loss, even though they are not actively used and the app runs as intended in the background. The manufacturer has now confirmed this and stated in the GeForce forum, “We are aware of a reported performance issue related to game filters and are actively investigating it.”
Nvidia’s suggested solution: turn off AI filters. Nvidia describes how the problem can be temporarily fixed. Players should disable the game filters in the Nvidia app settings under “Features -> Overlay -> Game Filters and Photo Mode” and then restart the game. This aligns with the solution proposed by testers and should restore the graphics card’s performance to its original level.
Why the AI filters of the app affect performance so significantly has not been explained by Nvidia yet. The Nvidia app was available as a beta version before its introduction in November, but beta testers apparently did not identify this problem. Performance losses also vary significantly depending on the graphics card model and game, making them potentially difficult to detect.