How to install only NVIDIA display drivers (no additional software) (2023)

Graphics drivers are an important and essential part of how a modern PC works, but they are often packed with annoying bloatware. Some software can be useful, what do you do if you want to get rid of the extra junk?

The easiest way to get rid of NVIDIA bloatware is to run a third-party program like NVSlimmer, which will automatically remove this additional software. You can also try a custom installation and deselect any additional software you don't want. Another option would be to selectively uninstall unwanted software after updating your NVIDIA display driver.

We'll go over everything you need to know about the software that comes with your NVIDIA graphics driver and how to get rid of that bloatware if you don't want it.

What is a graphics driver anyway?

Every computer you've ever had relied on a graphics driver. This is essential software on all PCs and is especially important for people who rely on a lot of graphics power for gaming and video editing software.

It may surprise you that most people don't know what a graphics driver actually does.

The graphics driver in your computer is responsible for sending instructions to the graphics card so that it can process images.. One way to think of it is that your graphics card is a machine for producing images, and the graphics driver is the instructions your computer needs to run that machine.

Most of the time you don't have to worry about installing or updating your graphics driver. If you have a standard Windows PC and a popular graphics card, there's a good chance things will update automatically when your computer goes through this.regular software updates.

However, graphics drivers can come with a lot of additional software that isn't always necessary.

What is bloatware that comes with graphics drivers?

Consider the additional software that came with yoursnvidia graphics cardIt's a somewhat complicated conversation.

On the one hand, there are a lot of people who see this as unnecessary bloatware. There are even some programs that can be installed with your graphics driver that many people consider to be spyware. There's also the risk of all that extra software slowing down performance that you can use elsewhere.

Some programs are legitimately useful. If you want to overclock, tune, or use the other proprietary software that comes with yournvidia graphics card, you can save time and effort by installing everything in one place.

Here is a list of some programs thatcouldcome with your NVIDIA graphics driver, which you probably don't need:

• Preview
• Optimum
• GF experience
• GeForce Game Ready Controller
• HDAudio (Save this ifneed an audio driver)
• NV3D Vision
• NV camera
• telemetry
• Shadows game
• Shield Wireless Controller

Use:The exact software included depends on your graphics card version and operating system. Older NVIDIA cards would include "Miracast" for example, but that hasn't been included for several years.

This is not an exhaustive list of all the bloatware that can ship with an NVIDIA graphics driver, but it is a list of some of the main culprits. You'll want to check with the software that comes with the current version of the driver for your graphics card to see what specific bloatware comes with your download.

Graphics Card Software Benefits

First we need to take a look at the benefits of using the NVIDIA software bundled with the graphics driver. These programs require a lot of heat to be bloatware, but there are some situations where they are very useful.

GeForce Experience is probably one of the most important ones we have to talk about. While there are people who don't use GeForce Experience, think it slows down their PC performance, or just don't like it, it can be very helpful.

With GeForce Experience you can optimize your graphics and gaming experience. This software is very gamer friendly so if you are notgambling, this may not be the right option for you.

Many of the other programs that ship with your NVIDIA driver will be quite conditional. Here are two solid examples: The Shield wireless controller is great if you don't have a controller for your wireless controller. With ShadowPlay you can record, stream and share gameplay footage with friends.

You can already see that you don't necessarily need to take a scorched-earth approach to removing additional NVIDIA software. It may be beneficial to keep some of these programs but remove most of them.

Disadvantages of add-on graphics card software

Now we have to jump right into the controversy and talk about the downsides of all this bloatware that comes with the NVIDIA graphics driver.

The truth is, you don't really need most of the software. Even the best parts of GeForce Experience are likely to be better served by third-party optimization programs.

It may seemShadows gameand other features are great for streaming and sharing images, but if you plan to stream to Twitch or YouTube, there are better options for you that are more responsive and use less PC power.

A new:Now we have to talk about the biggest villain when it comes to NVIDIA bloatware: telemetry. Telemetry is marketing software thatA lot of people would thinkbeing "downright spyware" bundled with NVIDIA drivers (although others disagree and say sodoes not spy on you).

Telemetry tracks information about your experience with the graphics card. Read crash reports, knowwhat games are being played, and collects user data.

NVIDIA claims that they do not use data at the individual level, but rather use the aggregate of all user data when they share that data with third parties. However, there is no way to know exactly what NVIDIA is doing with this information.

The big plus here is that additional NVIDIA software comes in handy. However, it is definitely not the best option when it comes down to it.optimize gamesand share the game.

What is all that extra software that comes with NVIDIA drivers?

To give the additional software that came with your NVIDIA driver a fair chance, let's take a closer look.

Even if you have come to this article, you are firmly convinced of it.Software NVIDIABecause it's bloatware, it's important to know exactly what it's doing to your PC and your information.

We are going to look at some of the most talked about extra software when it comes to NVIDIA.

geforce experience

GeForce Experience is popular software that comes bundled with your NVIDIA graphics driver.

GeForce Experience automatically optimizes your graphics experience based on the game you're playing. You can also stream to YouTube, Twitch, or devices that have NVIDIA Shield installed.

GeForce Experience also allows you to configure some custom graphics card options. You can even make specific adjustmentsto individual games. This raises the question of what exactly GeForce Experience offers that NVIDIA's control panel doesn't.

NVIDIA Dashboard

NVIDIA Dashboardallows you to set global and specific settings for your graphics card. This is perfect for people who mod and want to get that kind of dialed-in precision you can't get anywhere else.

Whether NVIDIA Control Panel is better than a third-party option all depends on what you want to achieve with your graphics card. The NVIDIA Control Panel can also do most of the adjustments that GeForce Experience can do.

NVIDIA's control panel is less equipped to optimize for a specific game, but even that can be achieved if you're willing to poke around in settings for a while.

Optimum

Optimumis an interesting piece of software that can offer you some benefits depending on the type of device you are using.

As its name suggests, Optimus is used to optimize laptops and other devices with integrated graphics cards.. These devices have traditionally struggled when it comes to balancing battery life and graphics performance. Optimus constantly tries to correct and compensate for this by detecting what software you are using and adjusting PC performance and battery usage accordingly.

However, some people argue that this software can affect performance rather than arguing that removing itimprovetu FPS:

NVIDIA 3D Vision

Unless you have outdated hardware on hand, NVIDIA 3D Vision is one you'll definitely want to remove.

NVIDIA 3D Vision was the software used with video and stereoscopic 3D gaming glasses.NVIDIA removed that focus in 2021, which means the value you get from NVIDIA 3D Vision today is pretty limited..

telemetry

Finally, we need to quickly talk about telemetry. We have already mentioned the pros and cons of this software, but it is worth taking a closer look at it. Telemetry does not offer anything to you as a user of the software.

It's there only for NVIDIA to collect marketing information about the types of games you play, the hardware you use, and collect data about crashes when things go wrong..

You could argue that telemetry helps NVIDIA build a better product, but its primary purpose is to collect marketing information from you.

Can NVIDIA drivers be installed without additional software?

SincelataOften install NVIDIA drivers without the additional software. Your first option is to skip the "Auto Driver" installation option on the NVIDIA website and insteadUse the manual driver search form.:

This will allow you to choose which NVIDIA software you want to install. Unfortunately, much of this software comes bundled with other software that you may not want yet.

So, you have three more options to choose from when it comes to installing bloatware-free graphics card drivers. You will need to do a custom install or look into some options to try to remove all bloatware after installation.

How to install NVIDIA drivers without bloatware

Here is a quick guide toInstalling NVIDIA driverssin bloatware.

Perform a custom installation

Our first option is probably the best option, but it doesn't always work.

When you install the driver, you have the option to do a custom installation. This is an advanced option that allows you to change things like the folder where the driver is installed and also allows you to disable all additional bloatware.

However, this option is not always displayed. It seems that NVIDIA is a bit reluctant to hand out bloatware removal keys when it comes to a custom installation. In this case, you may be able to remove some of the bloatware (after installation) using the Windows Uninstall Programs screen:

Use third-party software

Your best bet is to get some third-party software designed to remove bloatware. There are many options, however.NVSchlimmerIt is one of the most popular options.. All you have to do is run this software and you can selectively remove what you don't want to install along with your driver.

It also allows you to set your driver installation to be manual instead of as part of the regular Windows update.

That means you don't have to constantly remove bloatware when your graphics card decides it's time to be ready for an upgrade.

try the DIY

You can try removing the bloatware yourself, but this has had many mixed results and may cause the driver to fail to install.

All you have to do is open the zip file after installing the driver.You can browse the files and delete all the foldersfor unnecessary bloatware.

Caveat:However, some of these files are required for the installer to run and may cause the installation to hang. Try this only if you really want a specific piece of NVIDIA software removed and can't seem to remove it via NVSlimmer (or other approaches).

What about AMD drivers?

AMD graphics drivers are a bit less aggressive when it comes to bloatware. You can do a minimal install that just adds the graphics driver without any extras during the install, though you'll often end up with "AMD Software: Adrenaline Edition" which offers some nice (although non-essential) features:

(Video) How to Properly Install NVIDIA Drivers - Manual Install Explained | Windows 10 (2023 Working)

The same options also exist when it comes to using third-party software to remove bloatware after installation.

Related reading: Installing games on a separate hard drive: brilliant or stupid?