Guide
Games slower after a Windows 11 update? Check your NVIDIA driver
If you use an NVIDIA graphics card and games feel slower after a Windows update, your PC may not be broken. Windows 11's October 2025 update makes some games run up to half as fast while the NVIDIA driver is older than 581.94. NVIDIA mentions it in the release notes of driver 581.94 too.
Which PCs are affected
- Windows 11 with update KB5066835 installed: build 26100.6899 or 26200.6899 and newer. Press Win + R, type winver and press Enter to see the build.
- An NVIDIA graphics card with a driver older than 581.94.
- Windows 10 is not affected.
See your driver version
- NVIDIA App or NVIDIA Control Panel shows the driver number.
- Or open Device Manager, go to Display adapters, double click the graphics card and look at Driver Version.
- Device Manager shows a longer number such as 32.0.15.8194. Look at the last 5 digits: 58194 is driver 581.94.
How to fix it
Update the graphics driver to 581.94 or newer with NVIDIA App or from nvidia.com, then restart the PC. No need to remove the Windows update.
If games still crash or stutter after that, install the driver again as a clean install.
Measure that it really helped
Measure average FPS and the 1% low in the same game, at the same spot, before and after the driver update. It shows much more than a feeling.
Let Savenz Optimizer check it
The Home page of Savenz Optimizer reads your Windows build and NVIDIA driver version itself. When your PC is affected, a warning tells you to update the driver. Result Card measures average FPS and the 1% low before and after so you see the result.