A fix is on the way to solving the Discord bug plaguing Nvidia’s GeForce gaming graphics cards. However, you may or may not already have the update since it apparently automatically downloads itself to your system without your knowledge. We’ve asked Nvidia for clarification on precisely who is affected, how the fix gets applied, and some other details and are still awaiting a reply, but here’s what we know.
Nvidia announced the update (opens in new tab) for Discord a couple of days ago; however, the chipmaker’s vague statement caused more confusion among GeForce graphics card owners. The post didn’t include instructions other than that the patch will arrive as an OTA (over-the-air) update. Apparently, it practically requires no user intervention other than restarting their systems for it to take effect.
“NVIDIA GeForce users can now download an application profile update for Discord. This resolves a recent issue where some GeForce GPUs’ memory clocks did not reach full speed while Discord was running in the background. The NVIDIA display drivers will automatically download and apply the updated application profile to your PC the next time you log into Windows. NVIDIA GeForce application profiles are a group of software settings used by the NVIDIA graphics driver to provide optimum performance when using a selected application,” stated Nvidia in a recent blog post (opens in new tab).
Initially, users were confused if the update would come as a Windows update or a driver update. Nvidia subsequently clarified that it’s an application profile update that the Nvidia driver uses. However, the chipmaker didn’t specify whether the GeForce Experience software is required for the automatic download and update to occur. Not everyone uses GeForce Experience because some gamers prefer to stick to the bare minimum and only install the GeForce driver.
There are still many unanswered questions, though. For example, Nvidia didn’t confirm whether the mechanic is the same on the Studio Drivers and Game Ready Drivers. The company also didn’t touch on the subject of Linux users. There’s also little concrete information about which Nvidia GPUs and drivers specifically were impacted, and whether the same fix will occur on all of them.
The problem with automatic downloads occurring in the background is that you have no clue when or if the update has been installed. Affected users can leave Discord open and run a game to check whether the graphics card’s memory is at full speed, but if the problem persists, it’s also unclear what will trigger an update other than the suggestion to restart the PC. One Twitter user (opens in new tab) reported that Nvidia’s automatic deployment doesn’t purportedly work on Windows 11 systems or systems where automatic updates are disabled. In that case, you’re better off applying the manual fix, which Nvidia has detailed here (opens in new tab).
Our assumption right now is that, at the very least, you’ll need GeForce Experience installed and running to get the application profile update to download and install — which means you’d also need to be logged in to GeForce Experience. We’ve reached out to Nvidia for clarification on some of the inquiries and will update with further information on the fix as it becomes available.
