NVIDIA App's new 'Auto Shader Compilation' feature speeds up game loading and reduces stuttering

With the release of DLSS 4.5 Dynamic Frame Generation with up to 6X Multi Frame Generation, the latest NVIDIA App update is also introducing the new Auto Shader Compilation feature, designed to reduce load times and in-game stuttering. Available in Beta, NVIDIA Auto Shader Compilation (ASC) rebuilds DirectX 12 shaders while your PC is idle after a driver update.

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Anyone who has been playing alongside a steady stream of PC gamers in recent years will be all too familiar with the "Compiling Shaders" process, which can take several minutes. This un-skippable step runs before you can start playing and is all about leveraging your CPU to convert generic shader (i.e., graphics) code into an optimized format for your specific GPU model.

This compilation process often needs to be rerun after a GPU driver update to minimize stuttering and other performance issues. That moment when a PC game's status briefly freezes while a new visual effect is rendered is referred to as "shader stutter." With Auto Shader Compilation (ASC), NVIDIA is looking to minimize this and the need to sit through shader compilation.

As it's launching in Beta, Auto Shader Compilation is turned off by default. Still, it is available to enable in the NVIDIA App's Graphics tab, where you can find it under Global Settings. There, you can also adjust the Cache size (in disk space), set the System Utilization level, and use the Compile Now option to force the process to run. Auto Shader Compilation requires GeForce Game Ready Driver 595.97 WHQL, or newer to run.