REFERENCE · CONTROL PANEL · CHECKED ON DRIVER 621.14
The NVIDIA Control Panel is gone: where every setting went
NVIDIA announced on 26 May 2026, with driver 610.47, that the classic NVIDIA Control Panel is retiring for GeForce. Existing installs stay unless you do a clean install, and its features move into the NVIDIA App. Every Manage 3D Settings option still exists in the driver's profile database, so NVIDIA Profile Inspector can change them per game. Use the table below to find each old setting in NPI.
What NVIDIA changed (and what it didn’t)
On 26 May 2026, in the announcement for driver 610.47, NVIDIA said the classic NVIDIA Control Panel is “officially retiring” for Game Ready and Studio drivers. Existing installs stay unless you do a clean installation. The panel remains downloadable from the Microsoft Store with no new features or fixes, RTX PRO keeps it for now, and the NVIDIA App’s Graphics, Program Settings page replaces Manage 3D Settings, with display options moving to the System tab. OFFICIAL · NVIDIA GeForce News · 26 May 2026
Two details complicate the picture. The 610.47 release notes do not mention the retirement and still list a bundled “DCH NVIDIA Control Panel 8.1.969.0”, and later notes (616.56, 616.64) list the same module, so an upgraded PC may still have the panel. OFFICIAL · NVIDIA release notes
What did not change is the driver’s profile database and the setting IDs in it. We read NVIDIA’s own predefined profile database out of the public 621.14 package, and every setting in the table below is part of NVIDIA’s NVAPI header. LAB · DRIVER PACKAGE · F42
Your options now
| Option | What it covers | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA App | NVIDIA lists Graphics, Program Settings and Global Settings, including DLSS overrides and migrated 3D options such as the background frame rate limit. | You want NVIDIA's own interface for the common settings. |
| NVIDIA Profile Inspector | Every setting in the driver profile database, per game, plus hundreds the panel never showed. | You need a setting the App does not show, or per-game control. |
| An existing Control Panel | Whatever it showed before. No new features. | Your install still has it. Do not install it from third-party sites. |
Every Manage 3D setting, mapped
Each row pairs an old Control Panel option with the NPI setting that holds it. The names come from NVIDIA’s own setting names in its public NVAPI header, which match the panel’s labels, and the hex ID is NPI’s. OFFICIAL · NVIDIA NVAPI header We mapped them from those names and have not clicked through the old panel one by one. A few options map to several rows, because the panel wrote more than one setting. The App column says “named by NVIDIA” only where NVIDIA’s own notes name it.
| Ambient Occlusion | Ambient Occlusion - Usage | ↗ | NVIDIA Predefined Ambient Occlusion Usage | check in the App | Compatibility bits |
| Ambient Occlusion | Ambient Occlusion - Setting | ↗ | Ambient Occlusion | check in the App | Compatibility bits |
| Anisotropic filtering | Anisotropic Filtering - Mode | ↗ | Anisotropic filtering mode | check in the App | Texture filtering, anisotropic and LOD bias |
| Anisotropic filtering | Anisotropic Filtering - Setting | ↗ | Anisotropic filtering setting | check in the App | Texture filtering, anisotropic and LOD bias |
| Antialiasing - FXAA | Antialiasing - FXAA Enabled | ↗ | Enable FXAA | check in the App | Compatibility bits |
| Antialiasing - Gamma correction | Antialiasing - Gamma Correction | ↗ | Antialiasing - Gamma correction | check in the App | Compatibility bits |
| Antialiasing - Mode | Antialiasing (MSAA) - Mode | ↗ | Antialiasing - Mode | check in the App | Compatibility bits |
| Antialiasing - Setting | Antialiasing (MSAA) - Setting | ↗ | Antialiasing - Setting | check in the App | Compatibility bits |
| Antialiasing - Transparency | Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling | ↗ | Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling | check in the App | Compatibility bits |
| Background Application Max Frame Rate | Frame Rate Limiter - Background Application | ↗ | not in NVIDIA header | named by NVIDIA | Frame rate limiter |
| CUDA - GPUs | CUDA - Excluded GPUs | ↗ | List of Universal GPU ids | check in the App | Power management, CUDA P2 state, threaded optimization |
| CUDA - Sysmem Fallback Policy | CUDA - Sysmem Fallback Policy | ↗ | not in NVIDIA header | check in the App | Power management, CUDA P2 state, threaded optimization |
| Image Sharpening | Sharpening Filter - Enabled | ↗ | not in NVIDIA header | check in the App | RTX HDR, RTX Video and Dynamic Vibrance per game |
| Image Sharpening | Sharpening - Value | ↗ | not in NVIDIA header | check in the App | RTX HDR, RTX Video and Dynamic Vibrance per game |
| Image Sharpening | Sharpening - Ignore Film Grain | ↗ | not in NVIDIA header | check in the App | RTX HDR, RTX Video and Dynamic Vibrance per game |
| Low Latency Mode | Ultra Low Latency - CPL State | ↗ | not in NVIDIA header | check in the App | G-SYNC, V-Sync and low latency settings |
| Low Latency Mode | Ultra Low Latency - Enabled | ↗ | not in NVIDIA header | check in the App | G-SYNC, V-Sync and low latency settings |
| Low Latency Mode | Maximum Pre-Rendered Frames | ↗ | Maximum pre-rendered frames | check in the App | G-SYNC, V-Sync and low latency settings |
| Max Frame Rate | Frame Rate Limiter V3 | ↗ | Frame Rate Limiter | check in the App | Frame rate limiter |
| Monitor Technology (G-SYNC) | GSYNC - Application Mode | ↗ | Enable G-SYNC globally | check in the App | G-SYNC, V-Sync and low latency settings |
| Monitor Technology (G-SYNC) | GSYNC - Global Mode | ↗ | VRR requested state | check in the App | G-SYNC, V-Sync and low latency settings |
| Monitor Technology (G-SYNC) | GSYNC - Global Feature | ↗ | Toggle the VRR global feature | check in the App | G-SYNC, V-Sync and low latency settings |
| Multi-Frame Sampled AA (MFAA) | Antialiasing - MFAA Enabled | ↗ | Enable sample interleaving (MFAA) | check in the App | Compatibility bits |
| OpenGL GDI compatibility | OpenGL - GDI Compatibility | ↗ | OpenGL GDI compatibility | check in the App | |
| OpenGL rendering GPU | OpenGL - Default Render GPU Override | ↗ | not in NVIDIA header | check in the App | |
| Power management mode | Power Management - Mode | ↗ | Power management mode | check in the App | Power management, CUDA P2 state, threaded optimization |
| Preferred refresh rate | Prefered Refreshrate | ↗ | Preferred refresh rate | check in the App | G-SYNC, V-Sync and low latency settings |
| Shader Cache Size | Shader Cache - Cache Size | ↗ | Shader disk cache maximum size | check in the App | Shader cache size |
| Texture filtering - Anisotropic sample optimization | Anisotropic Filter - Sample Optimization | ↗ | Texture filtering - Anisotropic sample optimization | check in the App | Texture filtering, anisotropic and LOD bias |
| Texture filtering - Negative LOD bias | Texture Filtering - Negative LOD bias | ↗ | Texture filtering - Negative LOD bias | check in the App | Texture filtering, anisotropic and LOD bias |
| Texture filtering - Quality | Texture Filtering - Quality | ↗ | Texture filtering - Quality | check in the App | Texture filtering, anisotropic and LOD bias |
| Texture filtering - Trilinear optimization | Texture Filtering - Trilinear Optimization | ↗ | Texture filtering - Trilinear optimization | check in the App | Texture filtering, anisotropic and LOD bias |
| Threaded optimization | Threaded Optimization | ↗ | Threaded optimization | check in the App | Power management, CUDA P2 state, threaded optimization |
| Triple buffering | Triple Buffering | ↗ | Triple buffering | check in the App | G-SYNC, V-Sync and low latency settings |
| Vertical sync | Vertical Sync | ↗ | Vertical Sync | check in the App | G-SYNC, V-Sync and low latency settings |
| Virtual Reality pre-rendered frames | Virtual Reality - Pre-Rendered Frames | ↗ | Virtual Reality pre-rendered frames | check in the App | G-SYNC, V-Sync and low latency settings |
| Vulkan/OpenGL present method | Vulkan/OpenGL Present Method | ↗ | Vulkan/OpenGL present method | check in the App | G-SYNC, V-Sync and low latency settings |
Some panel options are not profile settings at all. DSR factors and smoothness, Image Scaling’s display side, resolution, colour and G-SYNC setup are display settings. NPI does not handle them; the NVIDIA App’s System tab or Windows Settings do.
Settings that were never in the Control Panel
NPI also exposes things the panel never had: the per-game DLSS override (DLSS override), Smooth Motion (Smooth Motion), Resizable BAR (ReBAR), frame generation counts (frame generation) and shader pre-compile options (shader cache). The NVIDIA App has since added some of these itself, which is why the two tools can disagree.
How to edit an old Control Panel setting with NPI
Our example is “Power management mode” for one game. ↗ is the setting, and Prefer maximum performance is 0x00000001 · Prefer maximum performance.
Open NPI as administrator and pick the game's profile
Type the game or exe name in the profile box. How to use NPI shows the whole window.
Find the setting
Search for “Power Management” or paste the hex ID.
Choose the value
Pick the value from the dropdown, for example Prefer maximum performance.
Click Apply Changes and restart the game
To undo, reset the row or import your backup (reset page).
Questions people ask
Why is my NVIDIA Control Panel missing?
NVIDIA announced the retirement of the classic Control Panel for Game Ready and Studio drivers on 26 May 2026. A clean installation of a recent driver no longer includes it, and the NVIDIA App replaces it.
Can I still download the NVIDIA Control Panel?
NVIDIA says it remains available from the Microsoft Store with no new features or fixes. Do not download Control Panel installers from other sites.
Does the NVIDIA App have all Control Panel settings?
NVIDIA says the App's Graphics, Program Settings page replaces Manage 3D Settings, and that it migrated settings such as the background application frame rate limit. Which individual options it shows is not fully documented, so check the App for each one.
Is it safe to change Control Panel settings with NPI?
The settings are the same driver profile entries the panel wrote, so changing them is as safe as the setting itself. Export a backup first and undo with the reset page.
Will NVIDIA remove the settings themselves?
NVIDIA retired the panel, not the profile database. Every setting in the table still exists in driver 621.14's own data. NVIDIA can remove individual settings in future drivers, which NPI's minimum-driver field would show.
Sources
- 007 First Light GeForce Game Ready Driver Released (announces the retirement) nvidia.com · accessed 8 Nov 2026 · official
- NVIDIA 610.47 release notes (PDF) nvidia.com · accessed 8 Nov 2026 · official
- NVIDIA 616.64 release notes (PDF) nvidia.com · accessed 8 Nov 2026 · official
- NVIDIA app release highlights nvidia.com · accessed 8 Nov 2026 · official
- NVIDIA NVAPI SDK (setting names and defaults) github.com · accessed 8 Nov 2026 · official