How we test, and every result we publish

What we promise

• We only say tested for findings listed on this page.
• We label evidence by kind and never mix them. LAB · our lab CODE · source code OFFICIAL · NVIDIA or vendor REPORTED · press COMMUNITY · forums
• We never present lab results as game performance.
• We correct mistakes publicly, see Corrections.

What kind of testing we do

This site is built without an NVIDIA graphics card. That limits what we can prove, so we say exactly where each kind of evidence stops.

The lab’s trick is simple. NPI 3.x has a hidden command-line switch, -mock, which swaps the driver for a small fake database. That lets us capture the real interface on machines with no NVIDIA card. The same machines show the real no-driver messages when the switch is not used. LAB · F07, F12 Every mock screenshot says MOCK in its title bar. This proves files, messages and the interface. It never proves drivers or games.

Our labs

The machines are GitHub-hosted runners, which is a factual description and not an endorsement. We have no physical test PCs, so there are no real-GPU machines on this list.

How a test runs

1. Record the baseline

   Record versions of the OS, .NET and NPI before each run, and the results of any earlier run on the same case.

2. Change one thing

   Each case changes one input: a flag, a file or an action in the interface.

3. Capture the result

   Windows, dialog texts, exit codes, files created and screenshots are written to a results file for the run.

4. Repeat on both machines

   Every Windows case runs on both lab machines, and a difference is logged as a finding.

5. Record it

   Results go into a results.csv per run, and the readable statement goes into the findings list below.

We do not test on accounts in online games, because of anti-cheat risk. We cite official statements instead, see is NPI safe.

The lab

What it runs

It downloads and hashes every release, scans the files, starts NPI with no driver, captures the interface in demo mode, runs the command-line switches, checks import and export of .nip files, and records what NPI leaves on a PC. A separate lab reads NVIDIA’s public driver package offline and runs NPI under Wine.

Where the code lives

The scripts are plain PowerShell and Python in a public test repository during the build. The test repository will be removed after the build, so the data and screenshots are copied here.

Latest lab runs

Runs on 8 Nov 2026: ci-1, ci-2 (100 cases), ci-4 (118 cases, game-profile imports), r4-1 (hashes, lookalikes, scans), plus the driver-package, Wine and settings-location runs.

Findings

Each finding has an anchor such as #F07. The table shows which of our pages cite it.

Raw data

• Lab run ci-1 results
• Lab run ci-2 results
• Lab run ci-4 results
• Lab run r4-1 results (hashes and scans)
• Findings list
• NPI releases
• Release hashes
• NPI setting definitions from the settings page

The licence of our data is to be confirmed by the site owner. Until then, cite it with a link to this page.

Screenshots

We capture on our own machines at 100 percent scaling, crop to the window and edit nothing else except annotations. Mock-mode shots are labelled. Personal data is removed.

Release hashes we checked

Every official release has a known SHA-256, hashed from the downloaded zip. Microsoft Defender and ClamAV found no threats in the four releases we scanned. LAB · F01, F06, F31 Verify a download with the download page.

When we re-test

We re-run the lab within 72 hours of a new NPI release. We re-read NVIDIA’s profile database when a new driver package ships, and we check pages against the latest versions. Each page shows the NPI and driver versions it was last checked against.

What we have not tested

• Anything that needs an NVIDIA GPU: frame rates, latency, image quality, whether a driver setting takes effect in a game.
• Accounts in online games.
• Multi-GPU and SLI hardware.
• Workstation RTX PRO drivers.
• Reports from forums that we could not reproduce. These are marked REPORTED or COMMUNITY on the page.

Found a mistake?

Tell us through the contact page and see Corrections for what to include.

Questions people ask

Can NVIDIA Profile Inspector run without an NVIDIA graphics card?

Only in a demo mode. NPI 3.x has an undocumented -mock switch that replaces the driver with a small fake database, so the interface opens. Without that switch it shows a clear no-driver message and does nothing else. It cannot change real driver settings without an NVIDIA GPU.

Do you test in online games?

No. We do not test on accounts in online games, because of anti-cheat risk. We cite the developers' own statements instead.

Which drivers did you test?

The lab has no NVIDIA driver installed. For driver facts we read NVIDIA's public driver package, version 621.14, offline, and we say so on every page that uses it.

Why are some screenshots marked mock?

They were captured in NPI's demo mode on machines without an NVIDIA GPU. The title bar says MOCK, and the values in them are the demo database, not a real driver.

Can I use your data?

Yes. The CSV files below can be downloaded and cited. Please link to this page. The licence is to be confirmed by the site owner.

Sources

1. NVIDIA Profile Inspector repository github.com · accessed 8 Nov 2026 · upstream

Keep going

• legalCorrections logReport a mistake
• legalContactContact us
• referenceDownload NPI safelyVerify a download
• referenceSettings ExplorerThe settings dataset
• trustIs NVIDIA Profile Inspector safe?Is NPI safe