Nvidia's desktop software situation has felt disjointed for a while. There is the Nvidia Control Panel which controls many basic display settings, but it is separate from the GeForce Experience which requires an Nvidia account to download driver updates and automatically optimize game settings for performance goals.
Starting today, all that changes with the new Nvidia app, which merges the Control Panel and GeForce Experience into one, along with connections to other Nvidia apps and features. The user interface appears to have been completely redesigned and, perhaps most importantly, you will no longer need to log into an Nvidia account just to get driver updates through the app. Nvidia says that login is now optional and is intended for users who want to redeem packs and rewards.
The most interesting part is a unified GPU control center in this new Nvidia app. Basically, it integrates optimal GeForce Experience game settings and separate controls from Nvidia games through its Control Panel app. That means you can now modify game settings and controller settings in a single location, or set a global profile for all games and apps.
Nvidia says it will eventually integrate all Nvidia Control Panel features into this new app, including display and video settings. “In addition, we will be adding several GeForce Experience and RTX Experience attributes, such as GPU overclocking and driver rollback,” Nvidia says.
However, not all features will be transitioned. Nvidia is removing Streaming to Twitch and YouTube, Sharing images and videos on Facebook and YouTube, and 360 and stereo photo mode captures.
The GeForce Experience performance overlay has also changed. The stats overlay shown in the screenshot below not only tracks various rendering metrics, but also a game's rendering latency and overall PC latency. Nvidia previously tracked some of these metrics in the GeForce Experience overlay, but they now appear to be completely customizable, so you can display the exact stats you want to see, just like third-party frame rate apps.
Users can download other Nvidia apps from within he Nvidia app, such as Nvidia Broadcast, Nvidia Omniverse, and GeForce Now. Plus, as long as you have an RTX graphics card, you can play with ai-powered Nvidia Freestyle game enhancement filters, like the RTX Dynamic Vibrance feature that also moved over from the old Nvidia Control Panel.
