What Happened To Your FPS
If your games suddenly started feeling sluggish after a recent Windows update, you are not imagining things. A recent Windows update introduced a bug that quietly ate into gaming performance for some users, especially those using Nvidia graphics cards.
The result was simple but annoying. Lower frames per second, micro stutters, and games that just did not feel as smooth as they did before. Nothing changed in your hardware, nothing changed in your game settings, but performance still dipped. That is the kind of issue that can drive PC gamers crazy.
Nvidia has now rolled out a hotfix driver designed specifically to tackle this problem. If your system was hit by the buggy Windows update, this driver can help you reclaim some or all of the FPS you lost.
How The Nvidia Hotfix Helps
A hotfix is a small, targeted update that focuses on urgent issues instead of waiting for the next full driver release. In this case, Nvidia is going after the performance hit caused by the latest Windows update.
Here is what the hotfix is aiming to fix for affected users.
- Reduced FPS in certain games after updating Windows
- Random stuttering or hitching during gameplay
- Less consistent frame times that make games feel choppy even if FPS seems okay on paper
The problem appears to be tied to the way the Windows update handled certain system level processes that interact with the GPU. When that interaction is not efficient, your graphics card is not being used as effectively as it should be. The Nvidia hotfix adjusts how the driver works with the updated Windows components so your GPU can stretch its legs again.
This is not a performance boost in the sense of overclocking or new optimizations for games. It is more like removing a software bottleneck that never should have been there in the first place. If your FPS dipped because of the Windows update, the hotfix should help bring it back toward normal levels.
Should You Install The Hotfix
If your games have been running perfectly fine after the Windows update, you might not need the hotfix at all. Hotfix drivers are mostly aimed at people who are actively running into the specific issue they are meant to solve.
You are a good candidate for the hotfix if you notice any of the following after a recent Windows update.
- Your usual games suddenly feel slower or less responsive
- You get new stutters or hitches in places that used to run smoothly
If that sounds like your setup, installing the hotfix is worth trying. It is an official Nvidia release, just not part of the main Game Ready driver branch yet. You usually download it directly from a support or knowledge base page instead of through GeForce Experience by default.
Before installing any driver, it is always smart to do a quick check.
- Make sure you are actually running the latest Windows update that caused the problem
- Create a system restore point in case you want to roll back
- Close all your games and background apps before starting the installer
After installing the hotfix, reboot your PC, launch one or two games you know well, and see how they feel. Pay attention to how stable the frame rate is and whether those annoying new stutters are gone.
What This Means For PC Gamers
This situation is a useful reminder of how fragile PC performance can be when operating system updates and graphics drivers get slightly out of sync. You can have great hardware and good settings, and a single buggy update can still mess things up overnight.
The good news is that both Microsoft and Nvidia tend to respond pretty quickly to issues that affect a lot of players. A hotfix like this is a sign that the problem was real, repeatable, and important enough to get a fast targeted patch.
If you care about stable performance, here are a few simple habits that can save you headaches in the future.
- Avoid installing major Windows updates on day one if you are in the middle of a competitive season or a big single player playthrough
- Update your Nvidia drivers regularly but read the release notes to see what each one actually changes
- If something suddenly breaks, check recent updates first before you start changing in game settings or reinstalling your games
For now, the key takeaway is straightforward. If your games started underperforming after the latest Windows update and you are on an Nvidia GPU, the new hotfix driver is probably the quickest path back to the smooth gameplay you had before. A short install, a reboot, and you might just get your missing FPS back.
Original article and image: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpu-drivers/nvidia-releases-emergency-driver-update-for-windows-11-25h2-and-24h2-fixes-reduced-gaming-performance-driven-by-botched-windows-updates
