Gaming Optimizer vs NVIDIA ShadowPlay

Gaming Optimizer is a free, MIT-licensed Windows app for managing CPU affinity in games and background processes. It can assign games to fast cores and demote background processes, but CPU pinning is off by default and changes do not occur until it is enabled. The app says it restores altered processes and system settings when a game closes. Its dashboard shows CPU and GPU metrics, network activity, ping and jitter, bottleneck classifications and process zones. It detects game launches through WMI and scans Steam, Epic Games, GOG, Ubisoft Connect and EA App libraries. Per-game reports include average and peak CPU and GPU metrics and bottleneck breakdowns, with a cumulative sessions.csv file. An optional setting locks NVIDIA graphics clocks while a game runs and resets them afterward. The maker says there is no telemetry, analytics or update checking; the only outbound connection is a configurable latency ping. It requires Windows 10 version 1809 or Windows 11, an x64 processor and administrator rights. The README describes ZIP distribution without an installer, while the Releases page lists no releases.

NVIDIA ShadowPlay is a free Windows companion app for PC gamers and creators, combining driver updates, game and application optimization, and recording tools in an in-game overlay. Manual recording supports up to 8K HDR at 30 fps or 4K HDR at 120 fps; NVIDIA describes the performance impact as minimal. Automatic Highlights captures key moments, and overlay metrics include FPS, GPU and CPU utilization, FPS 1% Low, and system latency. GeForce RTX 40-series GPU owners can record with AV1 encoding. The app also includes a GPU control center for graphics settings and tuning, Freestyle filters for supported games, and ways to discover and launch selected NVIDIA apps. Requirements include Windows 10 or 11, a GeForce RTX 20, 30, 40, or 50 Series GPU, driver 551.52 or later, 2 GB of system memory, and 600 MB of disk space. Signing in is optional; NVIDIA says login enables users to redeem GPU bundles and rewards.