Windows 11 January Update Triggers Gaming Woes for Nvidia Users

SEATTLE, WA – Gamers worldwide are reporting a surge of performance issues and graphical anomalies affecting their Windows 11 systems, with NVIDIA confirming that the January update, identified as KB5074109, appears to be the culprit. The widespread problems, including significant frame rate drops and visual artifacting, have led NVIDIA to advise affected users to uninstall the problematic patch as a temporary fix.

According to reports from multiple tech outlets, including Tom's Hardware and Windows Latest, the January 2026 update for Windows 11 has been causing considerable disruption to the gaming experience for those utilizing NVIDIA's GeForce graphics cards. Users have described experiencing stuttering gameplay, visual corruption, and in some severe cases, black screens that can occur during system boot-up or while loading games.

NVIDIA itself has acknowledged the issue, stating that it is actively investigating the reported problems. A spokesperson for the graphics card giant indicated that the issues are not stemming from NVIDIA's GPU drivers, but rather appear to be a direct consequence of the recent Microsoft operating system update. This has led to a situation where the usual troubleshooting steps involving driver updates are ineffective.

Windows Central reports that NVIDIA staff have been vocal about the suspected cause, pointing fingers directly at the Microsoft patch. The severity of the issues has prompted NVIDIA to recommend that users experiencing these problems uninstall the KB5074109 update. While this provides immediate relief for many, it also highlights a recurring pattern of Windows updates negatively impacting PC gaming performance.

The problematic update, KB5074109, was part of Microsoft's routine January patch cycle. However, it seems to have introduced a compatibility conflict with NVIDIA hardware that was not foreseen or addressed prior to its widespread release. TweakTown notes that while some issues, like black screens, may have been addressed in subsequent preview updates for Windows, the broader problems of frame drops and artifacting persist for many.

The situation underscores the delicate balance between operating system stability and the performance demands of modern gaming. As users rely on their PCs for both productivity and entertainment, such update-induced disruptions can be particularly frustrating. While NVIDIA's recommendation to uninstall the update offers a workaround, the ultimate resolution will depend on Microsoft releasing a fix for the KB5074109 patch.

In the interim, PC gamers with NVIDIA GPUs experiencing issues after the January Windows 11 update are advised to:

• Uninstall the KB5074109 update: This can typically be done through the Windows Update settings by going to 'View update history' and then 'Uninstall updates'.
• Monitor for further communication: Both NVIDIA and Microsoft are expected to release further statements and potential patches to address this issue.

The ongoing saga of Windows updates causing gaming-related problems serves as a reminder of the complex ecosystem of hardware and software that powers the modern PC. Users and manufacturers alike will be hoping for a swift and effective resolution from Microsoft to restore optimal gaming performance.