GeForce Experience is a companion application for Nvidia GPU owners that allows users to enable the in-game overlay to capture screenshots, record gameplay videos, download the latest GPU drivers, and optimize in-game graphics settings for best performance. However, GeForce Experience users are experiencing the “Can’t Optimize Games” error when they try to use optimal settings for video games. In this GeForce Experience guide, I have listed fixes that’ll help you fix the “Can’t Optimize Games” error.
GeForce Experience Can’t Optimize Games Fixes That’ll Help
GeForce experience is a useful utility that I use for recording gameplay videos, optimizing graphics settings for games for the best performance, using in-game filters using the overlay, and more.
GeForce Experience has a feature that allows its users to optimize games by tweaking the graphics settings for the best possible performance with their PC hardware. Most users use this utility or companion app for this purpose. However, some PC users are reporting that they are unable to optimize their games due to the “Can’t Optimize Games” error which pops up when they try to optimize. The following are the fixes that’ll help you fix this error.
Enable Optimal Playable Settings
If GeForce Experience isn’t optimizing the games, then enabling the “Optimal Playable Settings” will fix the “Can’t Optimize Games” error.
- Open GeForce Experience
- Click on the Gear icon, next to your username
- Select “Games & Apps”
- Check “Automatically optimize newly added games and applications” under “Optimal Playable Settings”
- This will automatically optimize all games detected by the GeForce Experience
Delete User Config File
Deleting the user configuration files will fix the “Can’t Optimize Games” error with GeForce Experience. First, quit GeForce Experience, then open Task Manager, and ensure no processes are running related to GeForce Experience.
- navigate to C:\Users\”your username”\AppData\Local\NVIDIA Corporation\GeForce Experience
- Delete the “CefCache” folder and restart your PC
- Open GeForce Experience and you can optimize your games.
Disable Anti-Virus
Third-party anti-virus software often blocks games and other software by falsely detecting them as malware. If you have installed anti-virus software on your PC, then it’s blocking Nvidia GeForce Experience from optimizing your games. This can be fixed by disabling your anti-virus.
If you haven’t installed any anti-virus software then you just need to disable Windows Defender. Go to Windows Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection and switch off Real-time protection. Now optimize your PC games and GeForce Experience will have no issue doing its job.
Disable Windows Firewall
Windows Firewall might be the culprit that isn’t letting GeForce Experience optimize your games. Disable the Firewall and GeForce Experience will optimize your games.
- Open Windows Settings
- Go to Privacy & Security > Windows Security
- Click “Virus & threat protection”
- Go to the “Firewall and network protection” tab
- Select your Active network, in my case it’s Public Network
- Turn off Firewall
- Open GeForce Experience and it’ll optimize your games
Switch DNS
Our current DNS setting is why GeForce Experience isn’t able to optimize your games. This could be due to GeForce Experience not being able to retrieve optimized settings for your games due to current DNS settings. Switch the DNS settings to Google DNS and GeForce Experience will optimize your games.
- Open Windows Settings, go to Network and Internet
- Select your active Internet connection and click on Edit for “DNS server assignment”
- Select Manual from the drop-down menu
- Enable IPv4
- Type 1.1.1.1 under Prefered DNS and type 8.8.4.4 under Alternate DNS
- Apply the changes, and restart your PC
Update or Reinstall GPU Driver
Your current GPU driver is most likely outdated or it’s corrupt which is why GeForce Experience is unable to optimize your games. If you download GPU drivers through Windows updates, it often doesn’t install the latest driver version. So you have to manually download the latest GPU driver from Nvidia or AMD, depending on your GPU, and install it. Ensure you do a clean installation.
Reinstall GeForce Experience
If none of the above fixes have fixed the “Nvidia GeForce Experience Cannot Optimize Games” issue for you then reinstall GeForce Experience and graphics drivers. A fresh install will fix the issue for good.
That is all for our fixes on Nvidia GeForce Experience not optimizing games. If you are facing other PC issues and errors then also check our hub for commonly occurring PC errors and their fixes.
