HOW-TO · SHADER CACHE · CHECKED ON NPI 3.0.2.3

Which shader cache size should you use?

The shader cache stores compiled shaders so a game stutters less the second time it compiles them. NVIDIA's own header gives Shader Cache - Cache Size (0x00AC8497) a default of 16 GB, and no published test shows that a larger value fixes stutter. We recommend leaving the 16 GB default unless you play many shader-heavy games, never turning the cache off, and clearing it only for a real problem.

You need

NPI
3.0.2.1 or newer
Rights
Administrator
Disk
free space for the cache
Time
5 minutes

Our recommendation

Keep the default, which NVIDIA’s own header lists as 16 GB (0x00004000 · 16GB, a value in megabytes), unless you have a real reason to change it. OFFICIAL · NVIDIA NVAPI header NVIDIA added this size control in driver 496.13. OFFICIAL · NVIDIA, 12 Oct 2021 The evidence for bigger values is thin:

What the sources say about shader cache size
SourceFindingWeight
NVIDIA NVAPI headerThe default size is 0x4000 MB, 16 GB.Official
PC Gamer (Sep 2025)The author's Borderlands 4 stutter went away after raising the cache to 100 GB. No frame-time data is published.One anecdote
Gearbox via GamesRadar (2025)New stutter should fade as shaders finish compiling; wait about 15 minutes.Developer statement
NVIDIA engineer, developer forum (2020)The default size would rise after reports of constant cache invalidation with a small cache.Official, old driver era
Guru3D user (2021)A disabled cache benchmarked better than Unlimited, up to 11 FPS in the worst case.One user

We have no NVIDIA hardware, so we ran no stutter tests, and we say so instead of inventing a chart. A larger cache only helps if the old shaders are being evicted, which you can see when a game that stuttered once stutters again after a few others.

How to change it in NPI

  1. Stay on the Global profile

    The cache size is a driver-wide budget, so the Global profile is the natural place. Whether a game’s own profile can override it is not documented; we did not test.

  2. Search for cache

    Type cache. The rows include ↗ (Shader Cache - Cache Size) and ↗ (Shader Cache - Enabled).

  3. Pick a size

    The values NPI lists, in order: Off, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 4GB, 5GB, 8GB, 10GB, 16GB (the default), 0x00019000 · 100GB and 0xFFFFFFFF · Unlimited. The numbers are megabytes in hex: 0x4000 is 16384 MB.

  4. Apply

    Click Apply Changes. How to use NPI shows the window.

Where the cache lives and how big it gets

NVIDIA keeps its caches in folders under %LOCALAPPDATA%\NVIDIA, typically DXCache for DirectX games and GLCache for OpenGL. Windows has its own DirectX shader cache as well, which Disk Cleanup lists as “DirectX Shader Cache”. We could not check the folders on a PC with a driver, so confirm the paths on yours and look at the folder sizes to see how much space the cache really uses before you raise the limit.

Clearing the shader cache

Clearing helps in one case: a cache that has become corrupted or confused after a driver update, which users report as persistent stutter or crashes in one game. Otherwise it hurts, because every game recompiles its shaders on the next run. To clear it, delete the contents of the NVIDIA cache folders, or use Disk Cleanup’s DirectX Shader Cache entry, with games closed. Then expect a slow first run. COMMUNITY

Shader pre-compile option

NPI 3.0.1.9 added ↗ (Shader Cache - Pre-compile Shader Options) with the values 0x00000000 · Disabled, Low, Medium and High, shown from driver 595.97. CODE · NPI 2994194 We could not test what it changes. Users on the issue tracker also ask where an older precompile option went. COMMUNITY

Shader cache on or off

Leave ↗ on. NVIDIA’s header defaults it to On. OFFICIAL · NVIDIA NVAPI header Turning it off only makes sense while you chase a suspected cache problem.

Before changing the cache

0 of 4 done

Stutter can also come from shader compilation itself, which a cache cannot prevent the first time. See what matters in NPI and driver updates for the resets that follow a new driver.

Questions people ask

Is 100 GB shader cache better than 10 GB?

Not shown. One PC Gamer author reported that raising the cache to 100 GB ended Borderlands 4 stutter, but published no frame-time data, and Gearbox said new stutter should fade as shaders finish compiling.

Should I set the NVIDIA shader cache to unlimited?

Only if you have the disk space and many shader-heavy games. A user report found a disabled cache benchmarked better than Unlimited, so there is no reliable gain from the largest value.

Does shader cache size affect FPS?

Not directly. The cache avoids recompiling shaders you already compiled, so it affects stutter when a game loads shaders, not average frame rate.

Is it safe to delete the shader cache?

Yes, nothing is lost permanently, but the next run recompiles shaders and can stutter. Clear it only for a specific problem, such as after a driver update with corruption reports.

Sources

  1. NVIDIA Game Ready 496.13 (adds the Shader Cache Size control) techpowerup.com · accessed 8 Nov 2026 · official
  2. NVIDIA NVAPI header github.com · accessed 8 Nov 2026 · official
  3. NVIDIA Developer Forums forums.developer.nvidia.com · accessed 8 Nov 2026 · official
  4. PC Gamer pcgamer.com · accessed 8 Nov 2026 · reported
  5. GamesRadar gamesradar.com · accessed 8 Nov 2026 · reported
  6. Guru3D forum forums.guru3d.com · accessed 8 Nov 2026 · community

Keep going

Paste a setting ID such as 0x10835002, or type a name.