Nvidia Is Automatically Updating Systems to Fix the Discord Bug

GeForce RTX GPU
GeForce RTX GPU (Image credit: Shutterstock)

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 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.

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 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.

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.

Zhiye Liu
News Editor and Memory Reviewer

Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

  • Jagar123
    I was lucky as my RTX 2080 wasn't impacted by this issue. However, the confusion surrounding the automatic fix by Nvidia is poor form. I hope they are able to add some context to how this process actually works. I know tech heads can manually fix it fairly easily but the Joe Schmoes of the world won't even know this bug exists. Nvidia needs to make sure the automatix fix is fool proof fix so those users don't lose performance, even if it is unbeknownst to them. As it stands right now, no one knows how this automatic fix even applies itself.
    Reply
  • mopeygoth
    My 4080 was only running 24800mhz instead of 25000mhz on the memory, litterly unplayable!
    Reply
  • CelicaGT
    Odd. I have not updated my driver, I do not have Nvidia Experience installed. The issue which was present is gone. (I was one of the initial reporters of this). I did not take the steps reported to fix the issue. I guess nothing to see here......
    Reply
  • Viking2121
    I had this problem on my 3080ti but I've sense used Nvidia Inspector to get around it, I didn't really notice it until I seen a topic and my memory did down clock when I tested it, but whats 200mhz, like 0.1 fps lol.
    Reply
  • jp7189
    I would actually be a little cheesed if nvidia could push stuff down to my computer without the GeForce experience installed.
    Reply
  • tennis2
    jp7189 said:
    I would actually be a little cheesed if nvidia could push stuff down to my computer without the GeForce experience installed.
    Right!?
    I don't have GFE installed, cuz nah.
    What else do they push onto my system without my knowledge?
    What else do they know about me?
    Reply
  • azalea_k
    I only have GFE installed so I can use Moonlight streaming (which is going away soon in the Nvidia backend anyway), with all the updaters (and telemetry) disabled from running at startup.

    Having just installed the latest drivers (528.49), which report the Discord GPU clock bug fixed, I think the only reason GFE was mentioned was because it can (but probably shouldn't) be used to automatically download or update drivers.
    Reply
  • mikeebb
    I don't use GFE with my GTX 750ti. But the latest driver package includes a Discord fix. Not totally clear whether that's in the driver, or only GFE, in the descriptive materials available pre-install, but it looks like it's in the driver, not GFE itself, though of course GFE can (and usually does, absent extreme measures) automatically download everything.
    Reply