Gone are the years when, when we downloaded a driver, we just downloaded and installed the driver. Today, most of the drivers that we can download, especially those for graphic cards, include a complete center from which to have total control over the controller and to configure and optimize the system, and the games, to function. in the best possible way. The problem is that these control centers usually bring functions that, often, we do not need or are not going to use and only consume resources from our PC. In the case of NVIDIA GeForce Experience , for example, we are talking about instant replay .
What is the NVIDIA GeForce Experience
When we install the NVIDIA drivers , the wizard itself allows us to install a plugin called ” GeForce Experience “. This is the control panel and configuration of the graphics card, from which we will be able to have access to a series of functions and tools designed to improve our gaming experience.
One of the main functions that we can find, and one of the most used, is the possibility of configuring the graphic settings of the games according to our PC. The program identifies our processor, memory and installed GPU and recommends an optimal setting with which to have the best quality with a correct refresh rate. It is a way to save ourselves from having to modify the graphics settings of the games all the time.
This control panel will also help us to have the drivers always up to date. NVIDIA GE frequently looks for new versions of the drivers and, when there is a new version, it allows us to download and install it directly from the program itself.
Furthermore, GeForce Experience allows us to enable an overlay (which we can launch with Alt + Z) of the desktop from which we will be able to access a series of additional tools and functions of the drivers. For example, we can find:
- Screenshot : With the Alt + F1 key we can take a screenshot of any game.
- Photo mode : With Alt + F2, we can enable Ansel, a “photo mode” in games that support it.
- Filter : Alt + F3 allows us to activate FreeStyle, a series of special filters to give a different touch to games.
- Instant replay : a function that is constantly recording the screen (discarding the content every few seconds) so that, if something special happens, we can save the fragment of the video.
- Record : a screen recorder included within the controller itself that allows us to video record our game session.
- Broadcasting : we can activate or deactivate the streaming of our game over the Internet.
In addition, it also allows us to control the performance of the PC while we play (see the FPS), access the photo and video gallery and control our webcam and microphone if we are streaming.
The problem with these tools, which can be useful for some users, is that for many others they are not. If we are never going to make use of them, they will only consume resources on the PC, and they will make us lose the odd FPS.
Disable instant replay in NVIDIA
If we don’t make use of this feature, then the best we can do is disable it. To do this, the first thing we must do is open the main window of NVIDIA GeForce Experience. Once inside, what we must do is click on the gear-shaped icon. A window like the one below will appear. In it, what we must do is click on the “Settings” button in the ” Overlay within the game ” section.
The options related to this superimposed panel will automatically appear. Before going to the section to deactivate this function, we are going to see the options it offers us. Within this Configuration menu we move to the ” Video Capture ” section.
Here we are going to find all the options related to this function. For example, we can choose how many seconds we want the program to be constantly recording, as well as the quality of the recording. The higher the resolution, frame, and bit rate values, the more space each clip will occupy.
To disable this feature, we will go back until we reach the NVIDIA overlay panel. As we will see, the ” Instant Replay ” option will appear green, which will indicate that this function is activated and working. We click on it and we will see the option to save the last recorded clip, or deactivate it.
We select this option and that’s it. NVIDIA will disable the repetition function of your GeForce Experience, and we can see how it now appears gray, as well as a message that indicates that the function has been successfully disabled.
From now on we can continue using the other tools that this panel offers us, such as filters or photo mode, without instant repetition consuming resources on the PC.
Disable GeForce Experience Entire Overlay
Don’t like or don’t use NVIDIA’s overlay panel? No problem. From GeForce Experience we will also be able to deactivate it. In this way, in addition to saving PC resources, we will avoid that annoying NVIDIA messages appear every time we open a game in which, for example, they invite us to activate the filters.
To deactivate this panel, what we must do is return to the main GeForce Experience window. From there, we click on the gear-shaped button to enter the settings, and we move to the “In-game overlay” section.
Here we will see a small switch. By clicking on it we can completely activate or deactivate this panel.
Clever. From now on this overlay window will no longer work. The NVIDIA control panel will stop consuming resources unnecessarily, although we will not be able to use the functions and features offered by this add-on either.
In case we want to activate it again in the future, we simply have to follow the same steps and activate the switch that we have just seen. At the moment it will load the panel again, and all the tools will be available again.
