Windows users with Nvidia graphics cards will be familiar with the Nvidia Control Panel, a somewhat clunky menu interface for the more advanced functions of its GPUs. Nvidia has also been publishing GeForce Experience, a more modern front-end for game settings and driver installations, for the last few years. This is a bit disjointed, so the company is replacing them both with a unified Windows program simply titled “Nvidia App.” You can download the beta version right now.
The new Nvidia App (which also replaces the RTX Experience for the company’s workstation GPUs) is a one-stop shop for driver downloads and installations, individual game settings, and the promotional “Discovery” portal. The app also handles Nvidia’s in-game overlay, which can display the current framerate and other statistics, stream via Nvidia Shadowplay, take screenshots, record game clips, and activate AI Freestyle in-game overlays.
Nvidia’s announcement notes that it’s not bringing over some social features from GeForce Experience, including broadcasting video and sending images to YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook. The announcement claims that axing these features helps the new Nvidia App have a smaller footprint on your storage disk and a “50 percent more responsive UI.” Nvidia isn’t currently saying when the new app will exit beta or when support for the Nvidia Control Panel and GeForce Experience will end. Note that installing the beta will replace the current versions of GeForce Experience, but not Nvidia Control Panel.
Quickly testing out the app on my system, it does seem noticeably snappier than GeForce Experience, and I like the more straightforward layout of the left column. I could do without the integrated advertising (Nvidia App, if you know I don’t have Modern Warfare installed on my “Gaming Rig,” why are you offering me XP boosts for it?) or the auto-enabled notifications for same. It is letting me download and install drivers without logging in, which is a plus in my book.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.