Nvidia has patched out a bug in its latest driver package, 436.02 WHQL. The initial release drivers had been forcing the installation of Nvidia’s companion app, GeForce Experience (GFE), without prior user consent, however, the green team has since fixed the issue and GFE need not be installed any longer.
The bug, which has now been patched out, had caused the installer to always install GeForce Experience, despite a lack of consent from the user to do so. It also greyed out the option to deselect the GFE application from the list of components to be installed via the custom install screen, making it impossible for users to avoid the utility.
In an update on the Nvidia forums a little while later (via TechPowerUp), a staff member confirmed the forced GFE install was indeed a bug and that a fix was in the works. Driver downloads were temporarily suspended, but are now back up-and-running with a patched file available to download from the Nvidia GeForce driver page offering full user autonomy over GFE as intended.
The 436.02 driver package, or the ‘Gamescom Game Ready Driver’ as it’s commonly known, brings with it some major improvements and features. Nvidia is touting faster performance in Apex Legends, Battlefield V, Forza Horizon 4, Stange Brigade, and World War Z, along with new functionality for anti-lag, image sharpening, and integer scaling that may seem familiar.
With 436.02, Nvidia is finally introducing integer scaling for its Turing architecture (RTX 16- and 20-series graphics cards). This has been a highly-requested feature in the gaming community, which utilises whole number upscaling in-game. This is particularly useful in pixel games that can become distorted with traditional scaling techniques.
Integer scaling was recently introduced for the first time by Intel, following feedback from its Odyssey community program.
And the green team is also introducing its own anti-lag solution within the GeForce drivers, going head-to-head with AMD’s recent Radeon Anti-Lag functionality. Not only that, but Nvidia’s rolling out another Freestyle feature called “Sharpen”, bearing many similarities to AMD’s FidelityFX sharpening tool.
You can download the latest Nvidia drivers through the GeForce driver page.