NVIDIA App performance impact tested, overlay has little effect but some filters can hit FPS 3x harder than recording
NVIDIA App itself does not reduce FPS
New testing by TechSpot shows that NVIDIA App has no measurable impact on game performance when it is only installed or running in the background. The test compared a clean driver-only setup against configurations with NVIDIA App installed, closed, and open in the background.
The test system used a GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Games included Forza Horizon 6, Marvel Rivals and Crimson Desert at 1440p. The same Forza test was also repeated with a GeForce RTX 2060, which is much slower than the RTX 5060 Ti, and the result was the same: no measurable FPS loss.
NVIDIA App performance impact, Source: TechSpot
Overlay and recording have little impact
The Statistics Overlay also showed no measurable performance impact. This applied when the overlay was enabled and when it was actively displaying frame rate, latency and GPU utilization data. The RTX 2060 test also showed no measurable loss from the Statistics Overlay.
NVIDIA App recording impact, Source: TechSpot
Video recording did reduce performance, but the impact was small. On the RTX 5060 Ti, native 1440p recording cost 2 FPS in Forza Horizon 6, or around 2%. Marvel Rivals and Crimson Desert each lost 2 FPS, equal to a 3% drop. On the RTX 2060, H.264 recording in Forza Horizon 6 cost 1 FPS, or 2%. The RTX 2060 was limited to H.264 because Turing does not support hardware AV1 encoding.
Filters are the main setting to watch
Game filters had the largest impact. In Forza Horizon 6 on the RTX 5060 Ti, RTX Dynamic Vibrance cost 2 FPS, Brightness/Contrast plus Color cost 5 FPS, and Sharpen+ reduced performance by 8 FPS, or 10%. In Marvel Rivals, RTX Dynamic Vibrance also cost 2 FPS, Brightness/Contrast plus Color reduced performance by 5%, and Sharpen+ reduced it by 8%. In Crimson Desert, Brightness/Contrast plus Color cost 3%, while Sharpen+ cost 5%.
NVIDIA App filter impact, Source: TechSpot
The RTX 2060 showed similar behavior. RTX Dynamic Vibrance had no meaningful performance loss, Brightness/Contrast plus Color reduced performance by 3%, and Sharpen+ caused a 10% drop.
TechSpot concluded that NVIDIA App itself and its overlay are not the issue. Gamers looking for lost FPS should check filters first, mainly Sharpen+ and stacked post-processing filters. The only missing part is more detailed frame-time data, 1% lows and broader FPS logging, which could show whether the app affects pacing rather than average frame rates.
Source: TechSpot
