NVIDIA unveiled the NVIDIA App yesterday. The new application is available as a beta release at the time of writing. It promises to unify functionality that NVIDIA’s current generation of programs offer.
The company plans to replace these programs, notably GeForce Experience, NVIDIA Control Panel, and RTX Experience, with this one in the future.
The public beta of the NVIDA app is available already. It does not include all features yet. NVIDIA notes in the announcement that it does include “many of the top features” from the existing apps already.
NVIDIA App system requirements
The beta application is compatible with Windows 10 and 11 operating systems only at the time. It requires 600 MB of disk space, 2 GB of RAM, and the GeForce 551.52 or later driver.
The app has the following CPU and GPU requirements:
GPU:
- GeForce RTX 20, 30, and 40 Series GPUs
- GeForce GTX 800, 900, 1000, 1600 Series GPUs
- GeForce MX100, MX200, MX300, 800M, and 900M GPUs
CPU:
- Intel Pentium G Series, Core i3, i5, i7, or higher
- AMD FX, Ryzen 3, 5, 7, 9, Threadripper or higher
The NVIDIA App: functionality
One of the core features of the app is the discovery and installation of drivers and related NVIDIA software. It allows users to install the latest graphics card driver on their devices and also other NVIDIA software, including GeForce NOW or NVIDIA Broadcast.
Driver releases provide summaries of new features and fixed issues. These help users find out more about a release without having to read the full documentation.
All driver related articles are accessible from a single entry point in the NVIDIA app.
The NVIDIA App introduces a new game overlay, which provides access to “gameplay recording tools, performance monitoring overlays, and game enhancing filters”. Filters include new filters powered by AI, but these are limited to GeForce RTX users and about 1200 games at the time.
Filters like RTX Dynamic Vibrance or RTX HDR promise to improve the visual quality of games using AI.
Microsoft is also working on integrating AI into Windows to improve graphics. Called Super Resolution, it promises to improve performance and visuals of games on Windows devices.
Gamers get a new performance overlay, which they may customize. They may add or hide certain performance metrics in the new software.
There is also the new GPU Control Center. This allows users to tune games and driver settings from a single location. Customizations support making global changes and also specific changes to specific applications or games.
Other options include signing-in to redeem bundles and rewards. NVIDIA says that this is optional.
The future
NVIDIA is working on integrating features of the NVIDIA Control Panel that are not yet available in the NVIDIA App. The new app will also get features from GeForce Experience and RTX Experience. These include GPU overclocking and driver rollback options.
The classic NVIDIA programs remain available throughout the beta period. NVDIA appears to have plans to drop support for these apps eventually, but has not yet announced an end of support date.
Some features won’t make the cut. NVIDIA lists Broadcast to Twitch and YouTube, Share Images and Video to Facebook and YouTube, and Photo Mode 360 & Stereo captures specifically.
Closing Words
The new application promises to unify NVIDIA’s offerings for Windows. It is too early to say how good it really is at this point. It should be clear that it will include Telemetry as well. NVIDIA will likely continue to release standalone drivers for its graphics cards.